By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com

Slamdance Goes Miami 2020

Posted Thursday, June 6th, 2019 - Comments Off on Slamdance Goes Miami 2020
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LOS ANGELES (June 6, 2019) – Slamdance  today announced Slamdance Miami, their inaugural South Florida festival, which will kick off May 28-31, 2020 and shine a spotlight on the next generation of multicultural filmmakers. In collaboration with Slamdance alumni partners and Miami’s leading arts and educational organizations, Slamdance Miami seeks to help local, Caribbean, Central and South American filmmakers get established on an international stage and launch long-term careers. The festival will showcase works covering all forms of media including film, digital, interactive, gaming and hybrid forms of storytelling. Slamdance Miami will follow the 26th annual Slamdance Festival, taking place January 24-30, 2020 in Park City.

“Slamdance is an established creative force and Miami boasts exceptional arts organizations matched with a strong local media scene,” said Slamdance president and co-founder Peter Baxter. “Miami’s rich history involving the ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic diversity of its creative community provide an inspiring glimpse into our cultural future. As an organization that has always valued inclusivity, Slamdance aims to do increasingly more to ensure our programming reflects the world we live in. We see this collaboration with Miami’s vibrant arts scene and its ties to the Caribbean and Latin America as a valuable opportunity to engage with a broader range of perspectives and creative voices. Miami is the perfect place for us to nurture and showcase the new storytellers and storytelling to come.”

“We are ecstatic that Slamdance is coming to Miami-Dade County in 2020,” said Sandy Lighterman, Film and Entertainment Commissioner of Miami Dade County Office of Film and Entertainment. “Slamdance will give our local filmmakers a chance to be recognized on the global stage, as well as, bring new emerging filmmakers to our area. Slamdance’s presence will be a game-changer for independent filmmaking in South Florida.”

The festival will be programmed by Slamdance alumni from Miami, Central and South America in addition to leaders from a collection of Miami-based arts and education organizations including Black Lounge Film Series, Miami Dade College, Miami Dade County Office of Film and Entertainment, Miami Film Festival, Miami Media and Film Market, Miami VR Expo, O Cinema, OUTshine Film Festival and Third Horizon Film Festival. In the spirit of Slamdance, films will be programmed democratically, meaning that each programmer will get an equal say in which submitted projects make the final cut.

O Cinema will serve as the Official Cinema Venue for Slamdance Miami. Additional location partners include Faena, Miami Beach Cinematheque, The Colony Theater and The Wolfsonian-FIU.

Founding support for Slamdance Miami has come from Sandy Lighterman, Miami Media and Film Market  co-founders Patricia Arias and Jose Luis Martinez and Slamdance alumni Kareem Tabsch, co-director  of O Cinema.

“O Cinema is thrilled to be the official host venue for Slamdance Miami,” said Kareem Tabsch. “As an alumnus of the festival myself, I know first hand what an important platform it is for independent film. Having the festival in our community is an exciting step forward for our growing community of filmmakers. Slamdance and O Cinema both share the same ethos – that the power and impact of seeing diverse voices that reflect our world is important. We’re excited to be partners in this next step in Miami’s growing cinematic identity.”

An education program in collaboration with Miami Dade College and Brazil’s Academia Internacional de Cinema will further support emerging artists and their work, and will be free for the public to attend. Additionally, local grants provided by Miami-Dade County and others will support participant travel.

“Miami-Dade County is proud to launch its Inaugural Slamdance Miami Film Festival for emerging independent filmmakers,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “Developing the next generation of exceptional artists, this festival will showcase the diverse talent pool we have right here in South Florida.”

For more information on Slamdance, visit: https://www.slamdance.com

Follow Slamdance on Facebook,  Twitter and Instagram

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ABOUT SLAMDANCE:
By filmmakers, for filmmakers. Established in 1995 by a wild bunch of filmmakers who were tired of relying on a large, oblique system to showcase their work, Slamdance has proven, year after year, that when it comes to recognizing talent and launching careers, independent and grassroots communities can do it themselves.

In addition to the Festival, Slamdance serves emerging artists and a growing community with several year-round initiatives. These include the Slamdance Screenplay Competition, its educational program Slamdance Polytechnic, DIG showcase of Digital Interactive and Gaming art, distribution efforts through Slamdance Presents, worldwide screening series Slamdance on the Road, and LA screening series Slamdance Cinema Club

Notable Slamdance alumni include: 2019 Founder’s Award recipient Steven Soderbergh (High Flying Bird), The Russo Brothers (Avengers: Infinity War ), Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk), Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity), Marc Forster (Christopher Robin), Jeremiah Zagar (We The Animals), Lena Dunham (Girls), Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room), Gina Prince-Bythewood (Shots Fired), Lynn Shelton (Outside In, Humpday), Sean Baker (The Florida Project), Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night) and Ari Aster (Hereditary). Box Office Mojo reports alumni who first showed their work at Slamdance have earned over $17 billion at the box office to date.

 

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