Arts & Culture TV & Film

Fort Myers Beach Festival Opens April 25; will screen world premier of Isaacs’ Mace Neufeld Documentary

THE FORT MYERS BEACH FILM FESTIVAL

The Fort Myers Beach Film Festival (www.FMBFilmFest.org) is back for its 12th year, attracting independent film fans, filmmakers, and distributors to spend five days and nights on the Gulf beaches of Fort Myers Beach, Florida.

Attendees come from all over the world to exchange ideas, make new contacts, and enjoy some compelling and interesting films encompassing a wide range of tastes. This year’s festival runs from April 25 – 29 with events for all ages.

The Fort Myers Beach Film Festival began in 2000 and ran through 2005 with funding and support from Fort Myers Beach Town Council. When there was a change in Council leadership, the Festival went into a six-year hiatus until 2012, when Fort Myers Beach Friends of the Arts wanted to bring back this jewel of Estero Island.

Janeen Paulauskis is executive director of the Ft. Myers Beach Film Festival

Fast forward to 2018, with the Fort Myers Beach Film Festival putting the spotlight independent films and filmmakers in Fort Myers Beach from April 25 – 29.  Janeen Paulauskis is executive director (since 2012). Award-winning filmmaker Stanley Isaacs is artistic director for the festival since in 2013.

Filmmaker Stanley Isaacs is artistic director.  His “Sometimes Lucky Is More Important Than Smart: Conversations With Mace Neufeld” will see its World Premiere on April 25 at the Ft. Myers Beach Film Festival.

This year’s opening night film is the World Premiere of Isaacs documentary “Sometimes Lucky Is More Important Than Smart: Conversations With Mace Neufeld. The Neufeld documentary is part of Isaacs’ acclaimed Film Preservation Project which captures the lives and works of great Hollywood producers.

Isaacs’ previously released, “Tough Ain’t Enough” – about producer Albert Ruddy and “It’s Always About The Story” – about Alan Ladd Jr. – were awarded Best Documentary Awards in 2014 and 2016.

On Saturday, attendees will be able to attend a workshop, “From Idea to Execution”, an interactive seminar on filmmaking hosted by Isaacs. The afternoon will feature an “encore screening” of Isaacs’ Neufeld documentary.

Schedule:

Wednesday, April 25

2 p.m.
Opening Ceremony
Beach Theater, 6425 Estero Boulevard

3 – 11 p.m.
Independent Film Screenings

World Premiere of Stanley Isaacs’ “Sometimes Lucky Is More Important Than Smart: Conversations With Mace Neufeld.”
Beach Theater, 6425 Estero Boulevard

Thursday, April 26
Filmmaker Dolphin Cruise
Estero Bay Express, Fish-Tale Marina, 7225 Estero Boulevard

3 – 11 p.m.
Independent Film Screenings
Beach Theater, 6425 Estero Boulevard

Friday, April 27
11 a.m.
Workshop

3 – 11 p.m.
Independent Film Screenings
Beach Theater, 6425 Estero Boulevard

7 p.m.
Family Film location and selection

Saturday, April 28
11 a.m.
Workshop “From Idea to Execution” a concise interactive seminar on filmmaking hosted by Stanley Isaacs.

Encore screening of Isaacs’ Mace Neufeld documentary Saturday afternoon

3 – 11 p.m.
Independent Film Screenings
Beach Theater, 6425 Estero Boulevard

Sunday, April 29
2 p.m.
Closing Awards Ceremony
Fish Tale Marina, 7225 Estero Boulevard

3 – 9 p.m.
Independent Film Screenings- Award Winners
Beach Theater, 6425 Estero Boulevard

2005 poster for Fort Myers Beach Film Festival.

About the author

Stanley Isaacs

Stanley Isaacs is an award-winning filmmaker, preservationist and educator. He has written, produced and directed a wide range of film and television projects in a career that spans nearly four decades. He is the founder and CEO of 100% Entertainment, Inc. (www.100percentent.com), an independent production company and The Film History Preservation Project, (www.thefilmhistorypreservationproject.org), a multi-award-winning documentary series, whose Mission Statement is to preserve cinema history by enshrining a legacy of priceless stories and insights from legendary producers that can be studied and appreciated for generations, by film buffs, fans, students, preservationists and historians around the world.

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