#55: IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME

So. Much. Love. For the #CoconutGroveFilmFestival!

Except for the enriching Miami Film Lab events I have attended in the past couple years, I have never, in recent memory, in #Miami experienced such a gushy, film-sodden festival full of quality content and people who really give a toss about film.

Friday night, we had a fun party at Mr. C Miami - Coconut Grove Hotel, where I met so many people I had heard of, or had written to but never met, or hadn't seen since the last Miami Film Festival that it was a union and a reunion. We hung out with #local #filmmakers Mariana C. Serrano , Frank Kelly , Michael Ruiz-Unger , DP Sherman Johnson and Composer Juan Carlos Enriquez who came all the way from Texas, and the astounding Sebastian Torres Greene who came down from NY. Even our resident rockstar Alexis Garcia came to hang. All this richness was concocted by the kindest man in filmmaking that I know: Xavier Manrique and his buddy, the LA seasoned #FelipeTorresUrso.

There were films in competition on Friday, Saturday - including the short #SuccessentuLife - Sunday, and I daresay, she looked lovely up there on the big screen:

With an extra treat of panels on Sunday. I LOVED what #DavidFrankel had to say about filmmaking:

The Director's job is to listen to everyone... And by listening, ensure that no one f's up the movie.

I paraphrase, but it was pithy stuff, all culled from his rich experience making shows like Entourage and films like Devil Wears Prada, which, whether you like it or not, launched and/or solidified the careers of so many. Also, Meryl Streep is great but she's greatest as a villain, in my opinion. And Stanley Tucci as this much-maligned but devoted to the point of martyrdom assistant is so fabulous and touching. I digress.

The astonishing feat of this #filmfestival is that 2 months ago, it didn't exist, and it proved to be such a success and meaningful to so many people over the course of three days, that it proved the maxim: if you build it, they will come. I paraphrase Field of Dreams, but you get the idea.

Miami is a big city but there's still so much more to be done for artists, because we haven't all moved to NY, LA or Atlanta, so thank goodness for those with ingenuity, connections, energy, innovation and drive to create the new. We hope to bring you more of the same excitement at the Key Biscayne Film Festival , which has been beautifully supported by a devoted group of committee members and the Key Biscayne Community Foundation .

There's more excitement to come, wherever people have the will to create.