January 30, 2008

Miami International Film Festival Announces 25th Anniversary Edition Program

163 Films – 121 Features and 42 Shorts – Highlight 2008 Festival
Including 10 World Premieres, 46 North American &
U.S. Premieres, 25 East Coast Premieres and 28 Regional Premieres

A Miami Dade College Cultural Experience

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 – The Silver Anniversary of the Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), a Miami Dade College (MDC) cultural experience, will be take place from February 28 – March 9. Patricia Riggen’s Under the Same Moon, a Mexican film highlighted in the MIFF Abroad program, will open the Festival.

“We are very excited about this year’s film program as well as the business and education programs,” said Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón, President of Miami Dade College. “Thanks to the MIFF team, our college’s employees and our generous partners, we can continue to dazzle festivalgoers and to provoke thought through film.”

Among the talent expected at this year’s festival are Colin Firth, Juliette Binoche, Kate del Castillo, Carlos Santana, David Schwimmer, Harvey Keitel, the Coen Brothers, Carlos Saura, Tony Shalhoub, Alfred Molina, Emilio and Gloria Estefan, Kate Beckensale, Heather Graham, Christopher Cooper, Demi Moore, Fito Paez, Gael Garcia Bernal and Andrzej Wajda.

MIFF’s 25th Anniversary edition program has experienced a 300% growth in film submissions since the 2007 edition and the Festival’s film screenings have expanded nearly 20% in the same period. Among the 25th Anniversary program press conference topics will be the Festival’s dynamic and developing film exhibition screenings and events and film production business and education elements.

“Our growth is a testament to MDC’s and the City of Miami’s commitment to the arts and to film as an industry,” said Festival Director Patrick de Bokay. “We are simply a reflection of the communities we serve through film. Our team is both proud and humbled by our Festival’s reception this year.”

With the generous support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, films in competition are eligible for a Knight Grand Jury Prize. The Knight Grand Jury Prizes carry a cash award of$25,000 each in the four categories judged by four different juries: Dramatic Features: World Cinema Competition, Dramatic Features: Ibero-American Cinema Competition, Documentary Features: World & Ibero-American Cinema Competition and the Shorts Competition. Films in competition are also eligible for audience awards. The Awards Ceremony will be held on Saturday, March 8.

Film Exhibition: Screenings and Events

• Gusman Premieres: The Red Carpet Experience (15 films)
• Dramatic Features: World Cinema Competition and Dramatic Features:
  Ibero-American Competition (29 films)
• Documentary Features: World and Ibero-American Cinema Competition (16 films)
• Shorts Competition (29 films)
• International Panorama (22 films)
• Florida Focus and Florida Shorts
• Reel Music Scene
• World Issues World Film
• Film Foundation Special Presentation
  

Film Production: Business and Education

• Reel Seminars
• Miami Encuentros
• MIFF Abroad: Inside Mexico
• Miami Film Society
• 2008 Poster Unveiling
• 2008 Media Summit

For more information about the 25th Anniversary of the Miami International Film Festival programs please call (305)237-FILM (3456) or visit our website at www.miamifilmfestival.com.

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The Miami International Film Festival is the gateway for International and Ibero-American film. Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2008, MIFF plays a leading role in maintaining and further enriching film culture in South Florida. Miami’s unique geographical and cultural position has made MIFF a premiere venue for showcasing film and fostering film business throughout the year. Cash awards are given in four competition categories: World Features, Ibero-American Features, World & Ibero-American Documentaries, and Short Films. Knight Grand Jury prizes of $25,000 are awarded in dramatic and documentary competitions. Save-the-date: February 28-March 9, 2008.

Miami Dade College has a long and rich history of involvement in the cultural arts, providing South Florida with a vast array of artistic and literary offerings including The Miami Book Fair International, the Florida Center for the Literary Arts, The Miami International Film Festival, the Cultura del Lobo performing arts series, The Cuban Cinema Series, the Miami Leadership Roundtable speakers’ series, numerous renowned campus art galleries and theaters, and the nationally recognized School of Entertainment and Design Technology. With an enrollment of more than 165,000 students, MDC is the largest institution of higher education in the country and is a national model for many of its programs. The college’s eight campuses and outreach centers offer more than 200 distinct degree programs including baccalaureate, associate of arts and associate of science degrees. In 2006, MDC admitted its 1.5 millionth student.

MDC: Media Relations Department: Juan Mendieta (305) 237-7611, (305) 323-0033,
jmendiet@mdc.edu; Beverly Counts Williams (305)237-3949, (305) 298-1123
brodrigu@mdc.edu

Contact Information
Miami International Film Festival Press and Publicity Department
Maria Lanao
(305) 237-3868
maria@miamifilmfestival.com

Melissa Reigle
(305) 237-3865
mel@miamifilmfestival.com