The roster of cultural programs offered in Miami has expanded to include a film curriculum offered by a variety of local organizations.
MOCA
The Miami Museum of Modern Art, MOCA, just hosted Optic Nerve 13 Film Festival as a part of the 15th anniversary of the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami. This year MOCA broadened the scope of its annual Optic Nerve Film Festival, for the first time, submissions were accepted from artists around the country allowing MOCA to create new connections and contexts for the participating artists. Over 150 submissions were received and reviewed by a jury of film and art professionals. The winner, Brian Bress, was announced just a couple days ago.
As a part of Films At MOCA, the Museum will be premiering Strangers No More, on Wednesday, October 26 with a special introduction by executive producer, Lin Arison. Free with museum admission. The MOCA Art Institute also offers an array of comprehensive educational programs in art and communications that promote a well-rounded understanding of art and the world using an engaging curriculum and incorporating the dynamic museum environment to build skills, develop aesthetic analysis and promote creativity through exposure, experience and interdisciplinary discussion.
Tower Theater
Tower Theater, one of Miami’s oldest cultural landmarks, opened in December of 1926. At the time, it was the finest and most modern theater in the South. In 2002, under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Department, the City of Miami authorized Miami-Dade College to manage theater operations. Tower Theatre serves as a gathering place for cultural connections in Little Havana, offering the community alternative and culturally specific exhibitions, performances, educational lectures, and film.
Sweat Records
Beloved local record store, Sweat Records, is an active supporter of the arts. They support cinema via a local listing for independent theaters, event and screening information, and by working with local organizations such as Legal Art. Recently, Sweat Records and O Cinema partnered to present, Cinematique 6-Pack, a bi-weekly series of six music-related movie screenings. The first was the South Florida premiere of a modern dark comedy, Rubber, directed by Quentin Dupieux aka international DJ and producer Mr. Oizo. Earlier this month, Sweat Records hosted a workshop to help empower Miami’s local music-makers with LegalArt, an organization dedicated to providing artists with affordable legal services, grants and educational opportunities. The IP (Intellectual Property) Bootcamp: Copyright Infringement for the Musician program featured attorney and artist Michael Longo discussing copyright infringement in the music arena, and how infringement is shown in court through relevant cases of music involved in memorable cases.
Gusman Center for Performing Arts
The Gusman Center for the Performing Arts hosted the third season of “Flickin’ Summer Movies’ showcasing cult classics including The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The center hosted happy hours before screenings followed by a dance party with DJ spinning retro-classics. This fall, the Gusman Center, with Miami Downtown Development Authority, will be offering complimentary screenings of the documentary, I Am. Tom Shadyac, the director of Jim Carrey’s comedies Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Eddie Murphy’s The Nutty Professor, shot a documentary on how to change the world. I Am follows Shadyac on a twenty-first century quest for enlightenment.