Key West Film Festival to Showcase Cinema Nov. 15-19
Movie aficionados can enjoy more than 30 films from genres including narrative features, documentaries, foreign language, and LGBTQ- and Florida-focused themes during the sixth annual Key West Film Festival.
Launching the 2017 festival, set for Wednesday through Sunday, Nov. 15-19, is the acclaimed film, “The Shape of Water,” starring actress Octavia Spencer in director Guillermo del Toro’s first offering to be produced in English. The movie is a romantic “creature feature” with an amphibious being and set in Cold War–era America.
The closing film, “Last Flag Flying” by director Richard Linklater, features actors Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell and Laurence Fishburne as Vietnam veterans who journey on a road trip to bury one of the men’s sons.
Themed “Passion Meets Paradise,” the festival offers screenings and question-and-answer sessions with industry insiders and critics.
The event’s third annual Critics Focus program is to be led by Kenneth Turan, film critic for the Los Angeles Times, and Joshua Rothkopf, film editor for Time Out New York. Other critics include Eric Kohn, Alison Willmore, David Fear, Jeffrey Wells and Steve Dollar.
The annual Brett Ratner Florida Film Scholarship honors a Florida student filmmaker with a $5,000 grant.
Films are to be screened at island venues including the San Carlos Institute, 516 Duval St.; Key West Theater, 512 Eaton St.; The Studios of Key West, 533 Eaton St.; and Tropic Cinema, 416 Eaton St.
Social festivities are to be held at Audubon House & Tropical Gardens, 205 Whitehead St.; the Harry S. Truman Little Truman White House, 111 Front St.; Mangoes Key West, 700 Duval St.; and the Waterfront Brewery, 201 William St.
The festival’s second annual Golden Key for Costume Design event is to honor designer Mark Bridges and includes a screening of the 2011 Oscar-award winner, “The Artist.” Deborah Nadoolman Landis of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is to present the award to Bridges via satellite.
A silent auction with film memorabilia benefits “the community at large affected by Hurricane Irma,” said Brooke Christian, festival founder and chairman.
The auction includes donations by actress Angela Bassett, Sony Classics, IFC Films, Magnolia Pictures, Lions Gate Films and others.
Event information, schedule and ticketing: keywestfilmfestival.com
Key West visitor information: fla-keys.com/keywest or 1-800-LAST-KEY