The internationally recognized University of Miami School of Communication announces its inaugural Shorts Miami International Film Festival, to be held Feb. 3-5 at the Bill Cosford Cinema in Coral Gables. The festival seeks to showcase emerging and established filmmakers in a competition that aims to promote excellence in short form narrative and documentary filmmaking.
Monetary awards of $500 will be given to the best jury-selected U.S. or international short film (20 minutes or less) in each of the following competitions: Narrative and Documentary. A $500 Best of the Festival cash-award will also be given to the jury-selected short film of any genre that exemplifies the power of short films to resonate with international audiences.
The 2023 Shorts Miami International Film Festival jury, consists of distinguished professionals in narrative and documentary filmmaking. The narrative competition jurors include: actress/writer/producer Sope Aluko (“Black Panther,” “Black Panther:Wakanda Forever”), actor/director/screenwriter Nestor Carbonell (“The Morning Show,” “The Dark Knight”), film director and Academy Award winner David Frankel (“The Devil Wears Prada,” “Marley & Me”), and producer/showrunner Zorana Popovic (“PRVA TV,” “Superstar TV”). The documentary competition jurors include: Phyllis McGrady (Senior VP “ABC News”), Byron Pitts (“Nightline”), Antonio Mora (“Good Morning America”), and Ira Rosen (“60 Minutes”).
The festival enhances the mission of the school by putting a global spotlight on the impact and ability of short films to communicate across borders. As School of Communication Dean Karin Wilkins explains: “Our School of Communication is committed to the study and practice of communication as foundational to every human endeavor and essential to a better world. Leveraging our community as a global resource, our program at the University of Miami serves as an exciting base for our inaugural short film festival as we seek to celebrate and appreciate diversity within our field, integral to our perspectives, our purpose, and our potential.”
26 finalists will screen at this year’s event, representing 10 countries: Spain, Italy, Serbia, Portugal, United Kingdom, United States, Russia, Mexico, France, and Brazil. In its first edition, the festival is putting a special spotlight on short films from Serbia produced at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts of the University of Arts in Belgrade, Serbia.
The festival opens on Friday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m., with a screening of the Narrative finalists followed by an opening reception. On Saturday, Feb. 4, the program will start at 5 p.m. with a reception preceding the 6 p.m. screening of the Documentary finalists. The festival will close on Sunday, Feb. 5, at 6 p.m., with a showcase of Serbian short films followed by a reception.
Admission to the Shorts Miami International Film Festival is free and open to the public.
Registration is required at https://events.miami.edu/event/shorts_miami_international_film_festival.
All events are held at the Bill Cosford Cinema located at 5030 Brunson Drive, Memorial Building Ste. 225, Coral Gables FL 33146. Visitors can park at the open parking lot adjacent to the Memorial Building. Parking costs $2.00/hour, payable via PaybyPhone app.
For a complete listing of the program, rules of the festival, and jury information visit, www.shortsmiami.com.
