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From:TheBahamasWeekly.com Entertainment
FLIFF on Location: Grand Bahama Island – Take 4! In 2011, the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) entered into a three-year partnership with the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, to present a mini fest on Grand Bahama Island. “Those were three fun years as celebrities including Dennis Haysbert, Giancarlo Esposito and Joelle Carter participated," said president and CEO of FLIFF, Gregory von Hausch.
"In 2013, the FLIFF contingent sailed right into Hurricane Sandy. We were the only ones allowed to disembark the ship when we reached Freeport," said von Hausch. "All the other passengers had to stay onboard and the ship plopped us on the dock, then set steam back to Palm Beach. The Hurricane hit and really knocked the island for a loop. Pelican Bay was one of the few businesses that had generators and could remain open. Consequently, we had some of our highest attendance numbers!”
Returning for year four, FLIFF will bring over fourteen films. They will screen twice each on
Saturday and Sunday, March 16 and 17, at Pelican Bay Hotel. Local admission to each film is $5, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the Grand Bahama Children’s Home. A $20 for a Fast Pass gives you admission to all the films. Tickets will be available at Pelican Bay’s front of house.
For those wanting to travel from Fort Lauderdale, the trip will take you to Freeport, Grand Bahama Island from March 15 - 19. Transportation is being provided by Bahamas Paradise Cruises. Lodging and the festival is at Pelican Bay Hotel.
TRAVEL COSTS Book your Bahamas Paradise Cruise for just $99pp each way by March 8 and get a Free Upgrade to an Ocean View Cabin. Taxes, port fees and gratuities extra.* Call Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line...800-995-3201. Roundtrip on Bahamas Paradise Cruises (includes all meals): *BPCL cruise price based on double occupancy. Two nights taxes, port fees and gratuities total $122pp." Room Rates at Pelican Bay (includes ground transportation from boat to hotel, daily breakfast & Closing Night Party): Waterside Room $125/night + 20% tax Waterside State Room $150/night + 20% tax ALL GUESTS receive their personalized FAST Pass, at no cost, providing entry to all films. You will also receive a FLIFF On Location: Grand Bahama Island T-Shirt! TRAVEL SCHEDULE March 15 4:30pm Be onboard Boat departing from the Port of Palm Beach 5:30pm Boat departs 7:30pm Meet in Dining room (tbd) for group dinner (or have dinner on your own). March 16 8am Boat docks at Freeport. Take the shuttle provided free of charge by the Ministry of Tourism. Check into Pelican Bay Hotel. 3pm Films screenings begin. Attend as many or as few as you desire. Your FAST Pass provides access to all. March 17 6am - 10am Breakfast in the Main Dining Room 2pm Films screenings begin 8pm Wrap Party sponsored by Pelican Bay March 18 6am - 10am Breakfast in the Main Dining Room 3:30 Depart Pelican Bay for Freeport on Shuttle. 5:30 Boat sails back to Palm Beach. March 19 8am Arrive Palm Beach FLIFF will arrange island excursions. Please indicate your interest in participating.
FILM SCHEDULE:
ALDABRA:ONCE UPON AN ISLAND Saturday, 1pm Sunday, 2:30pm Steve Lichtag, Czech Republic-USA / 2017 / English / Family Film Take an awe-inspiring journey to a magical coral island, with captivating stories told by the heroes of the movie—Elvi the Giant Tortoise, Buster the Robber Crab, Coastguards the Blacktip Sharks, Snooper the Wingless Rail, and many more. Giant land tortoises swim for their lives through shark-infested waters. Turtle hatchlings make a dash for the open sea. The world’s largest terrestrial crabs scale palm trees to harvest coconuts. Flightless birds still share the extinct dodo’s belief that they have no predators and bully the locals. The most ferocious tides in the world carve gravity-defying sculptures out of coral and lime- stone. All of these awe-inspiring creatures co-exist on the world’s second largest coral atoll as it was 5,000 years ago, before it vanishes beneath the waves as it has on at least six occasions in the past. Watch trailer. THE ART & TIMES OF FROSTY MYERS Sunday, 4pm Chris Stearns, USA / 2017 / 100 min / English / Documentary
The career of sculptor Forrest “Frosty” Myers over the past half-century. Coming to New York City from San Francisco in 1961, he entered a rap- idly changing art scene. American artists were ripping away established European traditions, replacing them with Abstract Expressionism, Pop, Minimalism, Conceptualism, Earth Art, Hard Edge painting and sculp- ture, and embracing Art and Technology. The cultural changes of the social justice movements and the anti-war protests were intertwined with the daily lives of Frosty and other artists. Their camaraderie at the famed bar, Max’s Kansas City, created synergies in art, music and culture. They pioneered living and working in abandoned lofts and led the urban renewal in what became the downtown scene in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. Special Guests: Frosty Myers and Debra Myers. Watch Trailer. THE BEGINNER Saturday, 1:30pm Alexandra Sell, Germany / 2017 / 98 min / English subtitles / Bittersweet Comedy What happened to Annebarbel to make her such a cold fish; devoid of emotion, at least outwardly – though inside we imagine the wheels turning. We meet her husband and see no sparks. Then her mother...hmmm. It becomes clear, Annebarbel must do something to break the cycle in which she is living. Perhaps therapy or a hobby can clear the fog, allowing her to not only look out,but to be seen. Part drama, part mystery, and a whole lotta parts comedy, THE BEGINNER is a charmer, eliciting laughs and a tear or two. THE CUTLASS Sunday, 6pm
Trinidad & Tobago / 2017 / 97 min / English / Thriller
Winner of FLIFF Best American Indie Inspired by true events, a trip to a remote beach house turns to horror as a young woman finds herself in the grasp of an unpredictable and dangerous man. Taken from her friends at gunpoint and dragged deep into the island rain- forest, she must quickly learn to navigate this unforgiving landscape and the tangled mind of her abductor. Watch trailer. Special Guests: Darisha Beresford and producer/editor Drew Umland. FIDDLIN' Saturday, 5pm Sunday, 4:30pm USA / 2018 / 96 min / DCP / English Documentary Julie Simone. Winner of FLIFF Audience Award A celebration of true Americana and artistic expression in the face of adversity. This hopeful, optimistic film shines a light on what is best about America and shows the uplifting and healing power of music. The film is an Old Time and Bluegrass music documentary that takes place at the World's Oldest Fiddler’s Convention in the Appalachian Mountains. Fiddlin’ is authentic, inspiring and humbling. With kids holding instruments instead of phones, it almost feels like we have taken a step back in time. Watch trailer. Special Guest: Lynn Levy, producer. JUST BELIEVE Saturday, 5:30pm Alessandro Aronadio, Italy / 2018 / 100 min / Italian w/English subtitles / Comedy Massimo is the owner of the “Miracolo Italiano”, a bed and breakfast now reduced to a dilapidated building. Too few customers and too many taxes. Mas- simo has an epiphany: in order to survive, he has to transform the B&B into a place of worship, where he will host tourists in exchange for a donation. Tax free. And to do so, he must establish his own religion, involving his sister Adriana, and the ideologist Marco. “Selfism” is born, the first religion in which you can be absolved from taxes and contributions. Get ready to convert! LIKE A CAT ON THE HIGHWAY Saturday, 3:30pm Sunday, 7pm Riccardo Milani, Italy / 2017 / 98 min / Italian w/English subtitles / Comedy What happens when the teenage children of the most diverse people on the face of earth fall in in love? He is an intellectual and she is a former cashier with a common goal, this love story which has the life expectations of a cat on a highway, must end! A totally lovable odd-couple, can they survive their clash of cultures? View trailer. MEANT TO BE BROKEN Saturday, 4pm Jonathan Zuck USA/2018/94min/English/Comedy Harvey has led a cautious and conscientious life until he gets fired and finds out he has one month to live. Throwing caution to the wind, he finally steps into the bar he passes every day on the way to work. There he meets Luke and confesses he's never broken any rules. Luke responds "Do you want to?," and so the quest begins. Along the way they accidentally kidnap a woman who joins them on their adventure, but she might prove to be more trouble than they are looking for. Watch trailer. PIGS IN PARADISE Saturday, 7pm Sunday, 5pm Charles Smith, 2018 / Bahamas / 75 min / English / Documentary In the middle of paradise, with billionaires and celebrities for neighbors, is an island populated only by swimming pigs. For decades, this archipelago of 365 islands would remain largely unknown to the world. It would not be a ruthless pirate, pioneering loyalists, a notorious drug kingpin, or the infamous Fyre Festival that would unveil Exuma to the world, but rather the most unlikely of creatures. Appearing in magazines, videos, newspapers, commercials, TV shows, and countless selfies, the Swimming Pigs of Exuma, in the Bahamas, have become a bucket-list sensation and have been named one of the marvels of the universe. Watch trailer. Special Guest: Charles Smith A POLAR YEAR Saturday, 3pm Sunday, 6:30pm Samuel Collardey, Greenland / 2017 / 94 min / Danish & Kalaallisut w/English subtitles / Dramedy Anders, 28, has just graduated when he leaves his native Denmark to teach at the primary school in Tiniteqilaaq, a tiny village on Greenland's remote East coast. As soon as he arrives, he finds himself at odds with tightly-knit locals. Only through a clumsy and playful trial of errors can Anders shake his Euro-centric assumptions and embrace their snow-covered way of life. Special Guest: Samuel Collardey. Watch trailer. RESCUE UNDER FIRE (ZONA HOSTIL) Saturday, 2pm Adolfo Martínez Pérez, Spain / 2017 / 90 min / English + Spanish w/English sub-titles / True Story Action Adventure The crew of a medical helicopter suffers an accident when helping a joint force of USA and United Nations troops under Spanish command in Afghanistan. The Spanish army has only one night to organize the rescue of the crew and the injured, but what seems routine turns into hell once they receive the order to rescue the helicopter as well. Things only get worse when during the night a huge concentration of Taliban begin to surround them. Watch trailer. THE RETURN OF THE HERO (LE RETOUR DU HEROS) Sunday, 2pm Laurent Tirard, France / 2017 / 91 min / French w/English sub-titles / Comedy Action Adventure 1809...In Napoleon’s army, the charming Captain Neuville is to marry the naive Pauline when the war breaks out, forcing Neuville to depart for the battlefield. After not hearing from the captain for months, Pauline soon becomes ill with worry. Her sister, Elizabeth, devises a plan to write fake letters on behalf of Neuville thinking he would never come back. But it all goes south when Neuville reappears. Watch trailer. SHARKWATER EXTINCTION Saturday, 8pm Sunday, 3pm
Rob Stewart Canada/2018/96min/English/Documentary
A thrilling action-packed journey that follows filmmaker Rob Stewart as he ex- poses the massive illegal shark fin industry and the political corruption behind it — a conspiracy that is leading to the extinction of sharks. From West Africa, Spain, Panama, Costa Rica, France, and even in Florida, Stewart’s third film dives into the often-violent underworld of the pirate fishing trade to expose a multi- billion-dollar industry. Stewart dedicated his life to conservation, saying: “Conservation is the preservation of human life. And, that, above all else is worth fighting for.” He taught the world to love the oceans and their creatures and not fear sharks through his iconic images of hugging and free diving with sharks and mantas. Watch trailer. SONG OF BACK & NECK Saturday, 6pm
Paul Lieberstein, USA / 2018 / 85 min / English / Comedy
Fred has a problem. His back and neck leave him virtually incapacitated on a daily basis. He has devel- oped ways to operate daily tasks while experiencing excruciating pain. Sound funny? Well,it is in this movie. Fred’s dad is a top-flight lawyer on a firm he co-founded decades ago with his legal partner. Fred is more than a bit a schlimazel, loser...but very sweet, attempting to be helpful, but basically a coffee boy at daddy’s firm. But Fred has feelings, desires and longs to love and be loved. When a beautiful married woman hires the firm to assist her on what will be a messy divorce, Fred is smitten. Watch trailer. WE ARE SISTERS Saturday, 7:30pm When Betty, Hiltrud and Martha reunite to celebrate Hiltrud's 100th birthday, the three sisters have to face their past covering an entire century and two World Wars. It is the compelling story of fascinating individuals, family feuds, love and loss, of a defamation trial that throws an entire village into turmoil, of a chicken traded for a Rembrandt and ultimately of three strong women with the courage to embrace independence and emancipation. Based on Anne Gersthuysen's best-selling novel, the movie merges amusing anecdotes, world affairs and a capturing story from a female perspective.
FLIFF On Location: Grand Bahama Island is sponsored by Pelican Bay Hotel, Bahamas Paradise Cruises, The Bahamas Weekly and The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. For further information contact Greg@fliff.com
FLIFF on Location: Grand Bahama Island HISTORY:
FLIFF On Location: Grand Bahama wraps 3rd year with record number of Bahamian films
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