The first annual West of Cannes Film Festival (WOCFF) is a short film festival for South Florida filmmakers by South Florida filmmakers. The event will be open to the public and is scheduled for November 20 - 22 at The Main Street Playhouse, 6766 Main Street, in Miami Lakes.
Independent filmmakers from Southeast Florida counties have had the opportunity to submit their short films to be judged and potentially selected as one of five winners. All submissions were received by November 1.
Those filmmakers eligible to submit included legal residents of a Southeast Florida county (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Monroe, or Martin), and 18 years of age or older. Students attending a Southeast Florida University but are not legal residents of Florida were also able to submit. Submissions were limited to no longer than 30 minutes, with no minimum run time, and must have been completed after November 2013. Short films previously screened at other events were also eligible.
The submission categories are for narrative, documentary, and experimental short films and winners will be named for Overall Grand Jury Winner, Overall Audience Award, Narrative Winner, Documentary Winner, and Experimental Winner. All five winners will be awarded with the West of Cannes “Neon Palm” Award, an homage, with a cultural Miami twist, to the Cannes “Golden Palm” Award.
Finalists will be selected and notified by November 8. Finalists’ films will be screened at the festival on Friday and Saturday, November 20 and 21 with the award ceremony following on Sunday, November 22. A jury of judges consisting of industry professionals including HBO producers, Univision directors, and local established filmmakers will select the winners for the event. Those not selected as finalists will have their short films screened in the days leading up to the event at the playhouse.
WOCFF is made possible by Main Street Players and Samurai Snacks Productions, a nonprofit independent video production house based in Miami with filmmakers Alexander Casanova, Ashley Perdigon, Jason Lyzniak, and Ileana Hernandez.
For more information on the festival, visit www.westofcannes.com.