By Rob Owen
“Roll Cameras. Speed. Mark. Action Background. And…”
Since it first lit up its screens in 2006, the Central Florida Film Festival — CENFLO for short — has developed into an international event where people come to wrap themselves in the cinematic machine.
“What we are doing is creating networking,” said Bob Cook, the festival’s executive director, in a telephone interview. “We connect writers with directors, directors with producers, producers with distributers, and hopefully deals are made. And once those deals are made, they shoot those films in Florida.”
Cook added that those jobs opportunities extend to college students as well. “I know for a fact that UCF, Valencia and the University of Florida up in the Gainesville area have all created projects here in Central Florida.”
This year the festival will run from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 at the West Orange 5 Cinema, 1575 Maguire Road in Ocoee. Attendees can enjoy a host of feature films, documentaries and shorts showcasing independent filmmakers doing what they love. Workshops and seminars on the industry will also be available to anyone interested. Those attending will have a chance to rub elbows with people in the film industry and make connections.
While being in the festival may open doors to a future in the movies, getting your work shown is not easy. Of 200 films submitted annually, only 65 to 70 are showcased. Only one in three is accepted into the festival.
“Film is subjective art. Everyone has their own opinion,” explained Cook.
Those who do meet the bar’s high standard get the chance to put their name out there, make contacts and measure themselves against other filmmakers in competition. Th ere are awards for best Florida project, best documentary, best short, best feature and a best student project especially for college submissions.
Winners might gain even more.
According to the festival’s website, www.centralfloridafilmfestival.com, the workshops and seminars throughout the festival are there to help improve hopeful filmmakers’ skills. Topics include film financing, acting and producing films in Florida and feature industry leaders such as the legendary Burton Moss. Moss was agent to Rita Hayworth, Barbara Eden, Lana Turner, Robert Vaughn and many other stars of the “Golden Age of Hollywood.” Moss will be sitting in on the “Acting in Film” panel.
The festival also offers big names on the screen. Opening night’s highlight, “War Flowers,” throws Christina Ricci and Tom Berenger deep into the South during the American Civil War. That film will be shown at 7:25 p.m. and will include a question and answer session with director Serge Rodunsky. Earlier in the day, at 2:15, there will be a showing of “True Bromance,” starring Adrian Grenier, best known for his work on HBO’s hit series “Entourage” and Devin Ratray. Ron Howard’s and Canon’s Project Imagination’s short film, “When You Find Me,” will be screened Saturday night. Ron Howard’s daughter, Bryce Howard, directed the short. The festival is one of the few selected to show the film.
CENFLO also is famous for not only showcasing stars, but making them.
In 2008, The Central Florida Film Festival selected a small independent film called “Pretty Ugly People” as best picture. The film’s plot follows a girl, played by Missi Pyle, who drops a large amount of weight to try and impress old college friends, but instead finds out that those friends are not the same people she remembers.
The film beat four other features in the finals, including a black and white crime drama and a mock documentary about brothers trying to get enough money to put one of them through rehab.
“Pretty Ugly People” brought a great deal of attention to director Tate Taylor and producer Brunston Green, both graduates of the University of California, Los Angeles, where five-time Oscar winner Francis Ford Coppola attended as well. Moving forward, the two made names for themselves when last year when they received Oscar nominations for their work on “The Help.”
The festival kicks off at 9:45 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 31, with student short films and documentaries in theaters 1, 3 and 6. Student entries represent the University of Central Florida and Full Sail locally, but extend to Florida State and Columbia universities, along with the New York Film Academy. In keeping with the festival’s international flair, there are entries from Israel and Canada too.
But what of films rejected by the festival? What happens to them? At CENFLO unused films aren’t thrown out. This festival differs from others, according to Cook, because when someone doesn’t make the cut, the festival still offers a critique of the film.
Amateur filmmaker and current Florida State University student Mike Isasi has experience with not getting into festivals.
“I’ve submitted a couple of animated shorts to Florida film festivals before. Never got into any of them. But I did get a letter back from CENFLO saying that I needed to work on my editing and story continuity. At least I got something back,” he said.
Cook explained the process saying, “If you don’t get in, we tell you why you didn’t get in and where you need work. What we try to do is make the filmmaker better.”
Isasi’s latest film, “Gregory,” is another short featuring a mutant working a 9 to 5 job. Isasi is completing the editing and continuity flaws and hopes to send “Gregory” out to various festivals when it’s finished.
“Festivals are where it’s at,” said Isasi, “ They give us nobodies a chance to get out there and make our names. And in a place like Florida, that’s hard to do. Hollywood is on the other coast, so how are we supposed to get out there? At least this way, people can see my films on the big screen and that’s what I really want.”
The festival is open to the public and is especially aimed at those interested in the world of independent films. Individual screenings are $10 per movie, but a Movie Watcher Pass can be purchased for $25 a day. The pass includes all festival movies on three screens, as well as a medium soft drink, medium popcorn and three ballots for the Audience Choice Award. Tickets can be purchased in advance from West Orange 5, either online or call 407-877-8111. All proceeds from the festival will benefit Building Homes for Heroes.