48 Hour Filmmaking Challenge

Panthers! It’s officially April and that means we’re just a few weeks away from our second annual Panther Film Festival! We know that the semester can get complicated, so maybe not everyone who wanted to make a short film was able to find the time. Fret not, Panther FIlmmakers, as you still have some time left to make a short film — and, thanks to generous offers of help from local filmmakers, we can help you get it done.

This weekend, take part in our new 48 Hour Filmmaking Challenge. The “challenge” will grant any students who are interested in making or being part of a short film the chance to meet and collaborate with other aspiring filmmakers on campus. Join us this Saturday, April 6 at 10:00 AM in DM 457 for the first day of the challenge. Participants will be placed in groups and spend the day planning their short. Students will work together to come up with a story, write a script, rehearse lines, location scout, storyboard, and develop shot lists to execute the following day. We ask that submissions for this challenge not exceed a total runtime of (5) minutes.

Then, on Sunday, April 7, filmmaking groups should return to FIU with all of Saturday’s preparations in mind and ready to shoot. Local veteran filmmaker Manuel Delgadillo will be on site with professional equipment to help groups film their shorts. We ask that groups come ready to roll in order to ensure that that every group interested in receiving assistance is able to work with Manuel and the other veteran filmmakers that will be helping. We strongly encourage students to bring their own SD Cards or have a laptop on hand to download the footage and audio recorded.

By the end of Sunday, students will ideally have all that they need in order to begin piecing together and editing their submissions. Don’t forget, the deadline for submissions for this year’s Panther Film Festival is Sunday, April 14th, 2019. We hope to see both new and familiar faces this weekend and encourage first-time filmmakers to take advantage of this opportunity to work with other students who might already have some experience. If you have any questions regarding the 48 Hour Filmmaking Challenge or Panther Film Festival, please send an email to fiupffest@gmail.com or reach out to Mario Avalos at 786-853-0071.

Oscar Wrap Up

So, the Oscars happened.

I made no secret of the fact that I was going to hate watch the Oscars this year, because let’s be honest the Academy was a mess. Too much Queen and too much Roma and not to get all Drake or anything but I’m upset. However, I have to admit that I had fun watching with everyone. Chatting with everyone made me realize that watching the Oscars should always be a group activity. If you missed Our watch party, you can hear us talk about it some more in this week’s podcast but for now here are a couple highlights.

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The Last Resort: A Poignantly Nostalgic View of Miami Beach

Prior to the influx of Caribbean & Latin American immigrants, the wild youth culture of MTV, and the introduction of cocaine to its ports, Miami, in a snapshot of an era, was home to the largest population of Jewish retirees. In The Last Resort (2018), a documentary dually directed and produced by O-Cinema co-founder Kareem Tabsch and former Vice President of the Knight Foundation, Dennis Scholl, we get a closer look at the works of two childhood companions who made an effort to capture and preserve the essence of 1970’s Miami Beach through their photography.
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Love and Desire, 1970s German Style

We hope to bring to you all with every newsletter a review of a classic, and not to mention awesome, film available to the FIU community through the Kanopy streaming service. This week we watched RWF’s Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, a remake of Douglas Sirk’s All That Heaven Allows set in a post-WW2 Germany still reeling from the recent tragedy and failure of Munich. Amidst this all, Emmi, an elderly Polish widow, and Ali, whose real name is El Hedi ben Salem Mubarak Muhammad Mustafa, but is nevertheless known by a name that has become shorthand for all Arab (namely North African) workers, strike up an unlikely relationship.

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Oscar Watch Party: Feb 24, 7:00 PM

Join us on February 24, in GC 140 this year for our second ever Oscar’s Watch Party! Presented by the Film Studies Program, Sigma Tau Delta, the Film Initiative, and the Graduate English Association, the night is a celebration of FIU’s film community. In addition to watching the Academy Awards, there will be a lot of great food, snacks, and games like Oscar’s Bingo. This event is free, DOORS OPEN AT 7:00 PM, and open to all! Feel free to come dressed in your Award’s Night best and take your picture on the red carpet as well!

Miami Film Festival Volunteer Opportunities

The Miami Film Festival is welcoming everyone from casual movie-goers to film professionals to celebrate their 36thannual comprehensive festival. The ten-day event—an iconic cultural fete for the city of Miami—boasts annual attendance of over 70,000 film enthusiast. The Festival is reaching out to Florida International University students for  eager volunteers who can help make the festival a smooth and memorable experience for all of their guests.

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