MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE

By Daniela Del Rey

I had the utmost pleasure of attending CinemaSlam for the first time this year. I remember looking back at pictures of previous winners on social media, smiling proudly with their certificates, so I was eager to finally watch which shorts belonged to those faces in the pictures this time around.

If you don’t know what CinemaSlam is, it’s a short film competition open to film students at every college and university around South Florida, and they showcase a final selection during the festival. After all the films are shown, a jury of filmmakers come up to the front and hand out certificates/awards to the cast and crew of some of the films.

This year, there were eight short films that were chosen to be showcased. The first one that played was Opposite Sex by Lidia Rosa Hernandez, representing the Center of Cinematography, Arts, and Television. Opposite Sex is about a sensual couple who one morning both go through, I guess I would say, ‘epiphanies’, about someone from the woman’s past. Without revealing too much, this short film overall kind of reminded me of a novella. It has that same overly-dramatic dialogue and setting. To be honest, the reveal towards the ending could’ve been shown more clearly. After the film ended, I was left quite confused. However, I enjoyed the relationships between the characters. They were very believable. The production design and the way the flashback scene was shown were also great!

The second short film that played was Vivir by Fernando Dumas, representing Miami Dade College (woot woot!). Vivir is about a scared young man who gets pressured into robbing a bar at gunpoint by his brother and his colleagues, which of course doesn’t end well for him. It doesn’t sound like the most compelling concept ever, but the ending has a very surprising twist and the way that Dumas reveals it is very endearing. I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say that Vivir begs one question, and one question only: do we all live in a simulation? According to Elon Musk, we do, but honestly, who knows. I, for one, hope we don’t…

The third short film that played was Masters of War by Arminio Stephano Rivero, representing Miami Dade College. I would firstly like to point out that this short film was made by a Film Production 1 student, which is incredible, so kudos to Arminio! Masters of War is based on Bob Dylan’s anti-war propaganda song by the same name. It showcases what seems to be a ‘faceless’ politician (all the characters in the film were masked, wearing morph suits) agreeing to give a false speech to the people of America in return for a large sum of money. Overall, Masters of War brought Bob Dylan’s song to life in a unique way. It was very straightforward with the messages that it was trying to convey – 1) politicians suck, and 2) wars contain more cons than pros.

The next short film that played was To the Top and Beyond: The Antrel Rolle Story by Christopher Fodde, representing Miami Dade College. The documentary is based on Antrel Rolle’s life, and how he became one of the best safeties in the NFL. The visual effects were great, and I enjoyed the fact that Rolle decided to share the incident he had with a police officer, shedding light on police brutality. Altogether, this documentary was very well done and entertaining. It contained moments of laughter, happiness, anger, and most of all, inspiration.

Next up was Zindagi (Life) by Vasisth Sukul, representing the University of Miami. Zindagi is about a man mourning the loss of his newlywed wife, so much to the point where he becomes depressed, and contemplates committing suicide, but a woman suddenly comes into his life and helps him heal. It’s a sweet story about the loss of a loved one, and the process it takes to move on from it. I specifically loved the ending shot, where he looks out onto the view on his rooftop because that’s the moment we as the audience knew that everything was going to be okay.

The sixth short film that played was P.R.A Nation by Jorge Martinez, representing the University of Miami. P.R.A Nation is about a man who seeks vengeance for the kidnapping and murder of his parents by the Venezuelan government. I thought this short film was very well shot. It makes me wonder if it was actually shot on location. I also liked how it sheds light on the corruption of the Venezuelan government. It was very compelling at some moments, but there was some subplot happening at the same time that was a little confusing. I was also not so keen on how it ended in a cliffhanger. I wanted more! Perhaps it’s a web series in the making, but overall, it was great.

The seventh short film that played was Rene De Dios and the South Beach Shark Club by Robert Requejo Ramos, representing Miami Dade College. The documentary is about Rene De Dios’ love for shark fishing, and how he created a following and this small community of South Beach locals who also love doing what De Dios did-shark fishing! This documentary was very well done, and it had some touching moments. It went to show what happens when a group of people comes together to do what they love, and the importance of not stopping doing what they love, whatever obstacles that may come their way.

The final short film that played was Cherry by Chantal Gabriel, representing the University of Miami. Cherry is about a little girl who has an imaginary best friend, and after she gets told that she can’t be homeschooled anymore, and begins to make a real friend before starting middle school, her imaginary best friend begins to feel jealous. What Cherry is really about, however, is growing up. We all have imaginary friends growing up, but one day, we just don’t feel the need to acknowledge their presence anymore because, well, we know they’re not really real. And even though we know that, they are still in our thoughts, and we will never forget about them, and that’s what the ending of Cherry shows, which I really enjoyed.

Well done! I am honestly glad that I finally got the chance to attend CinemaSlam this year. It was a wonderful experience, and I enjoyed watching every short film. Congratulations to all the winners, and to Mr. Robert Requejo Ramos for receiving the Sarah Fuller scholarship! I would highly recommend my fellow film students (and filmmakers too!) to try and come to events like these because they really do mean a lot to us students, and we could always use more support.