Something appealing, something appalling. Something for everyone, a comedy, a tragedy, a documentary, something you've not seen anywhere else... tonight!  Yes, it's the 33rd Florida Film Festival, Road Trip For Yer Mind edition! 

Since In Focus Magazine has been covering the FFF for the last 33 years, you know how much we anticipate the next 10 days of sitting in the dark with both strange friends and friendly strangers, exchanging notes on what we've seen and what's coming up.  Our anticipation probably pales in comparison to that of those associated with the films, many of whom are having their very first audience showing here at the FFF. 

So here's a brief guide to some films which we can recommend as you're putting your schedule together.  Many thanks to the Directors, Producers and marketing staff who reached out and provided advance links to their films.  

Fck’n Nuts is 12 minutes of hysterical gore, brought to you by the disturbed and twisted mind of Sam Fox.  With Fck’n Nuts, Fox takes aim at the ‘meet the parents’ genre, but these parents are NOT the in-laws you’ll come to love once you know them!  Co-produced by Joe Badon (2023's Blood of the Dinosaur) and Cosmic Family Films, Fck’n Nuts has already garnered numerous awards worldwide.  Tapping into her unique style of cinematic color oversaturation, Fox gives us much that is cringeworthy, everything a midnight short should be!  

Fuck'n Nuts opens with a shot of a darkened front porch, one where you expect to find a skulking Freddy/Jason type.  When Dan (Vincent Stalba) shows up with flowers to profess his undying love to his girl Sandy (Maddie Nichols), she tries and fails to warn him off, knowing what happened to her last crop of suitors.  Fox tells In Focus that the film is based on her own childhood, with parents who were “literally F-ing Nuts”, and that she watches horror to unwind.  This takes “write what you know” out of the parking lot and straight into the waiting room of the insane asylum.  Midnight Shorts showings: 4/13 11:59 PM/Enzian and 4/19 11:59 PM/Regal Winter Park Village. 

If God is all powerful and represents forgiveness and love, why are people forced to bear horrific illnesses and loss?  It’s a question that’s been the source of debates, most recently in Anthony Hopkin’s 2024 film, Freud’s Last Session and one which arises again in The Way We Speak, an entry into the Narrative Features Competition.  In this film, artfully directed by Ian Ebright, the existence or absence of God is debated by Simon (Patrick Fabian), a pro-science essayist and atheist, and best-selling Christian author Sarah (Kailey Rhodes).  The very arrogant Simon is married to Claire (Diana Coconubo) a successful surgeon, who is dying of cancer.  Simon is openly angry at Claire for accepting her fate, because, of course, it’s all about him.  Sarah takes an instant dislike to Simon, both on and off stage, based more on the verbal abuse he doles out to Claire than on what he says during the debates.  Simon also sees himself as a Don Juan, living under the mistaken idea that all he’s irresistible to women. 

Very quickly, Sarah begins to get under Simon’s skin and the more that thorn pricks him, the more he lashes out at everyone around him.  We watch Simon fence with the world as it spins out of control.  Especially when he learns Sarah is hiding a secret that cuts to the heart of one of his closest relationships.  Though he is a debater and uses words as tools, Simon is a failure when it comes to communicating with those closest to him.  Showings: 4/13 12PM Regal Winter Park, 4/18 6:15PM Enzian. 

Water For Life is a beautifully shot, engrossing documentary about the fight for water rights in Latin American communities.  Encompassing a 12-year period, three indigenous peoples in Chile, El Salvador and Honduras take up the fight for the survival of their tribes and towns against corrupt, polluting multi-national corporations.  The corporations fight them with lies and brutality, both in court and on the ground.  Dams, hydroelectric plants and gold mines are coming to their sacred, native lands, and the development of all three will poison the water, the land and the people who have lived for generations in their communities.  When we send exploratory ships to other planets, what’s the first evidence of life we search for?  Water.  Yet here on earth, we poison and squander it, as if there’s an endless supply. Frightening. 

In Water For Life, though winning the support of outside environmental groups aids the people in their struggle against immense power, it is the overwhelming strength of will exhibited by each and every community member that will win your heart.  The leaders all face tremendous risks, as do their families.  But they persevere because they know what is at stake.  Each are willing to be beaten, be imprisoned or even die to preserve what they may lose for eternity.  Producer/Director Will Parrinello tells In Focus that he is “drawn to the stories of individuals and communities who are actively struggling to protect the earth for all of us, the earth which they see as sacred.”  Each of us, like Berta Caceres in Honduras, Alberto Curamil in Chile and Francisco Pineda in El Salvador, can, in fact, be catalysts for change. Part of the Documentary Features Competition, showings for Water for Life are 4/14 11AM at Regal Winter Park, 4/19 1:30PM at Enzian.      

Are you a fan of twisty shows like X-Files or Stranger Things?  Enjoy reading Stephen King or Richard Matheson?  New Life, directed by John Rosman and produced by T. Justin Ross is a Festival film you don’t want to miss. An entrant in the Narrative Features Competition, the first 10 minutes will suck you in.  What is Jessica (Hayley Erin) running from… or running to?  Why is she being hunted by a covert organization? Who can she trust?  Why does Elsa (Sonya Walger), the agent hunting Jessica, have Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” on constant repeat?  Jessica’s life plan was to see the world – will she get that chance?  Oh, and there’s a dog. We’re intentionally keeping it mysterious here! New Life Showings: 4/14 2:15PM Enzian and 4/17 9:30PM Regal Winter Park 

Lady Parts, another entry in the Narrative Features Competition, is based on personal experiences from writer/producer Bonnie Gross and director Nancy Boyd.  If you read the film’s description, you may go ‘vaginal surgery? Eh, not for me’, but you’ll definitely be missing out.  This film is filled with so much laughter and joy that the medical aspect - vaginal health care - really takes a backseat to the heartfelt, entertaining, family dynamics.  Lady Parts is more about finding yourself, even if it means you must return to your childhood bedroom to locate what you lost.  You’ll adore Paige (Valentina Tammaro) and her parents, Linda (Amy Lyndon) and Steve (Peter Larney) as well as the men who support her on her journey to mental, emotional, and physical health.  Some of the best scenes take place around the dinner table and in bathrooms.  Lady Parts is not about sex.  It’s not about malformed body parts.  It’s about recognizing that when a women internalizes mansplaining, it only makes that woman feel less able to be strong and powerful.  And we are.  We definitely are.   Showings: 4/14 5PM Enzian, 4/17 7PM Regal Winter Park 

And that wraps up what In Focus Magazine.com has had the opportunity to preview.  Thanks to the exceedingly gracious filmmakers for sharing their work, many of whom will be in attendance at the Festival!  For more information, or to purchase tickets, please visit Floridafilmfestival.com.