Weather permitting (it was a monsoon out there this evening!), Friday night November 30th brings a new holiday tradition to Central Florida: a Christmas themed Popcorn Flick in Central Park, Winter Park at 7:00 PM to coincide with other seasonal festivities including the official lighting of the city Christmas tree. The plan is to no longer have a December Popcorn Flick, with the idea that it will now be held on the final Friday night in November as part of the holiday kickoff celebration.

So come join us for a cherished holiday classic, the original 1947 version of MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET starring Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood, William Frawley, Thelma Ritter, and Jack Albertson. This three-time Oscar-winning fable is a delightful comedy-fantasy about Kris Kringle working at Macy's, and six decades later it's still a perfect holiday film for the whole family. So even if the ground's a little wet, pack up the folding chairs and picnic basket and join the celebration--it's amazing how much fun a free movie under the stars with free popcorn can be.

--Matthew

Snap your fingers and it's upon us. Yes, the dreaded final entry postmark deadline for the 2008 Florida Film Festival hits this Friday, November 30. With programming decisions getting made beginning in early January, it's imperative that all submissions are received in our office by the end of the first week of December. This gives our committees just enough time to get through everything in a thorough and organized manner.

So if you're one of the thousands to recently hear about not getting in to Sundance (I'm sorry about that), do not despair. The life of your film has not ended before it even got started--there are plenty of wonderful regional festivals eager to preview your work that can do great things for both you and your film. But this particular one needs you to send in your submission pronto. Good luck--we look forward to seeing your artistic creations (soon).

--Matthew

As one of the dozen theaters nationwide that comprise the Art House Project--the group of alternative cinemas committed to building audiences for independent film at the local level that formed as part of the Sundance Institute's 25th anniversary celebration back in 2006--Enzian will be screening a specially selected series of short films from the 2007 Sundance Film Festival on Tuesday night the 27th at 9:45 PM only.

This outstanding collection of films is really the cream of the crop, and includes: Ray Tintori's DEATH TO THE TIN MAN (2007 Sundance FF Honorable Mention-Short Filmmaking Award), Jenifer Malmqvist's PEACE TALK, Caran Hartsfield's KING, Fellipe Gamarano Barbosa's SALT KISS, Brian Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky's GOD PROVIDES, Don Hertzfeldt's EVERYTHING WILL BE OK (2007 Florida Film Festival Grand Jury Award-Best Animated Short), and Sophie Barthes' HAPPINESS (Montreal World Film Festival First Prize (Short Films) Nominee).

Yes, some of these did indeed already play in town during the 2007 Florida Film Festival last spring. But believe me when I tell you that the four that didn't are all excellent, and you won't have a better opportunity to see such a stellar group of films for only $5. So come out and see some great films and support Enzian, the Sundance Institute, and indie filmmaking--you'll be glad you did!

--Matthew

The 9th annual Central Florida Jewish Film Festival came to a rousing conclusion on Monday night with a virtually sold-out Enzian for the Florida Premiere of Stefan Schaefer and Diane Crespo's ARRANGED. This intelligent and heartfelt romantic comedy-drama about an unconventional friendship between two young Brooklyn women--one an Orthodox Jew, the other a devout Muslim, both teaching 4th grade at the same school and expected by their families to be married off soon--was made all the sweeter by the attendance of its two lead actresses, Zoe Lister-Jones and Francis Benhamou.

The charming and talented women stuck around for a generous Q & A session, and fielded a variety of questions from the enthusiastic audience and their many new fans. Everything from their educational and religious backgrounds to their acting experience (this was their first lead roles) to the reaction to the film from different ethnic groups came up, and all-in-all it was a real treat to have both of both of them here in Orlando with us. Nice job, ladies--hopefully this terrific little NY indie will lead to bigger and better things. I'm sure a lot of us will be watching.

--Matthew

This Sunday and Monday, November 18 & 19, Enzian Theater and the JCC of Greater Orlando will be presenting the 9th annual Central Florida Jewish Film Festival--a program of five outstanding films and certainly one of our strongest lineups yet. Kicking off the celebration as opening film on Sunday at 10:45 AM is LIVE AND BECOME, the latest epic from French director Radu Mihaileanu (TRAIN OF LIFE, still one of most popular films to ever play the festival). Following this profound work about culture, identity, and the immigrant experience at 2:00 PM is Adam Hootnick's outstanding documentary on the pullout from the Gaza Strip, UNSETTLED. All this film has done in the past year was win the Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance and the Audience Award at the Florida Film Festival--it's that good!

Monday afternoon at 4:30 PM brings a double feature: Best Student Foreign Film Oscar-nominee DARK NIGHT, about two Israeli soldiers in a precarious situation behind enemy lines, precedes an exceptional documentary about the amazing Polish city of Vilna, THE WORLD WAS OURS. And closing the festival at 7:00 PM will be the Florida Premiere of ARRANGED, a beautifully acted and culturally provocative NY indie about an unconventional friendship between two young women co-workers--one an Orthodox Jew, the other a devout Muslim. Lead actresses Zoe Lister-Jones and Francis Benhamou will be in attendance for what promises to be a spirited Q&A.

Check out your 3-D BEOWULF flick and by all means don't miss the new Coen brothers film, but be sure to make time and join us Sunday and Monday for this terrific community event.

--Matthew

On the first night of a back-to-back Texas road trip through San Antonio and Houston on Tuesday, Los Angeles Laker Head Coach Phil Jackson had this to say at the post-game press conference after experiencing yet another beatdown at the hands of the league's best team (and I paraphrase): "That's what we call a BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN game, with lots of penetration and kick outs..." (followed by nervous laughter from the reporters and a smile from Phil knowing he made a funny) Are you kidding me!? Did that really come out of this most liberal and enlightened coach's mouth?

When he was called on it the next day, he said it was clearly a joke that was blown out of proportion by ESPN and the media. He then apologized to the state of Texas, cowboys, and their horses (?) Way to go, Phil. A class act all the way. We're still waiting for you to prove you can win something without having at least the two greatest players on the planet on your team at the same time (see Jordan/Pippen Bulls, Shaq/Kobe Lakers).

--Matthew

OK short film fans, the end is most definitely near. This Friday, November 16, is the honest-to-goodness final entry postmark deadline for shorts (all films 40 mins and under) for the 2008 Florida Film Festival (March 28 - April 6). There's plenty of opportunities for a fine short film to get programmed at the FFF, as there's generally at least 10 different shorts programs (and over 100 titles) that are featured and celebrated: four (Oscar-qualifying) narrative programs and one animated along with 10 doc shorts that precede features in the American Independent Competition; separate International Shorts and International Animated Shorts programs that are eligible for an Audience Award; our infamous Midnight Shorts program; the Best of Brouhaha Florida Shorts program, and perhaps even a Family Shorts program.

So do not dawdle around any longer. We love the short film format and want to be sure to have the opportunity to program the best stuff out there--period. We look forward to previewing your work.

--Matthew

Jones Sodas, the "gourmet" beverage company out of Seattle, is at it again. After turning our stomachs a couple of years ago with a Thankgiving Holiday soda collection consisting of (I shit you not!) Turkey and Gravy, Mashed Potatoes and Butter, Green Bean Casserole, Fruitcake and (mercifully) Cranberry, they also piqued our interest recently with a Halloween special black Licorice carbonated concoction. Now they've introduced their Holiday Collections for the 2007 season, and depending on your sense of daring when it comes to soda pop, these new flavors may turn out to be the perfect gift or thirst quencher (shudder).

Shoppers and drinkers interested in the Christmas Pack can discover the following novel soda flavors: Christmas Ham, Egg Nog, Christmas Tree (what?!), and Sugar Plum (potentially a keeper). Those who like their beverages to celebrate another religious persuasion can look forward to the following in the Happy Chanukah Pack: Latke (nothing screams refreshment like a fried potato pancake with onions), Apple Sauce, Jelly Doughnut (I don't get it), and my probable favorite, Chocolate Coins. The holidays are clearly upon us. For more info, check them out here

--Matthew

This Sunday, November 11, at 1:00 PM marks the occasion of the final FilmSlam of 2007 at Enzian. Last month's was easily the biggest one yet, so you won't want to miss this opportunity to come out and support local filmmakers, watch a diverse bunch of shorts, and choose the final Audience Award Winner of the year to move on to the Brouhah Film & Video Showcase on December 8 & 9--all that for a measly $5. The whole program (even with Q&A) usually comes in under 90 minutes, so even if the weather's gorgeous out there, take a break and join in on the festivities--I'm sure all the filmmakers and FilmSlam director John Thiesen will appreciate it.

--Matthew

The first week of the NBA season has gone by and the majority of Central Florida has not been able to watch the Orlando Magic, our only pro sports franchise, play their first three games of the year. In a situation that truly defies logic and defines absurdity, the Magic (in their infinite wisdom) sold the rights to almost half their games (including 14 of the first 18) to Fox Sports Network (FSN) Florida--a channel not carried by Bright House, the area's largest cable provider servicing 850,000 customers. Seeems the ball club misjudged the situation just a bit, and thought that Bright House would get right on it and add FSN to their basic cable service, where the sports channel is carried by everyone else in Florida and virtually nationwide. But this is Orlando, and the cable company doesn't want to absorb the extra cost (like they don't charge enough already?), and only want to add FSN in a premium digital sports tier with an extra charge to subscribers. Can you say stalemate?

Since this has been going on since the summer when the Magic pulled their games from UPN-65, why the hell should we expect any progress? The whole thing is ridiculous and frustrating as hell, though it does leave me more time to preview festival submissions (a small silver lining to the stinkin' mess). I can only hope that all of these idiots end up feeling it in their pocketbooks--FSN gets no money since they're still not in Orlando and sponsors know there's only a fraction of the viewership for games that there should be; Bright House loses thousands of customers (myself included any day now) to Dish or Direct TV since they actually do carry FSN; and the Magic piss off their fan base and sponsors cause nobody can see their damn team play ball. Only in Orlando...

--Matthew

Huge congratulations go out to local journalist and Heritage Florida Jewish News Assistant Editor and Movie Critic Lyn Payne for her incredible performance Thursday morning on ABC's "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" A nicer, more pleasant film lover you won't find, and this mother of two--who covers films of Jewish interest in the Florida Film Festival and the upcoming Central Florida Jewish Film Festival as well--simply blew Merideth Viera and the studio audience away with her knowledge and upbeat personality.

Lyn played a shrewd game, and proved quite adept at handling the increasingly tough questions that luckily for her were mostly related to literature, philosophy, and history. When the $500K question asked about the actual cost of producing US paper currency (6 cents by the way) and she had no idea, Lyn still had her question-switching lifeline. And she was able to keep her audience-help lifeline for the $1,000,000 question, a situation that Viera said she had never seen before in her 6 years of hosting the show. And the million dollar question? In 1960, what country was Kruschev pissed at when the infamous "shoe-banging incident" took place at the UN? Lyn didn't know it, and 48% of the audience believed it to be Turkey, but that wasn't convincing enough for her to gamble with $475, 000 (her winnings would drop to $25,000 if she was wrong). So she passed on answering the question and guessing for the million (it was The Philippines), and walked away with her $500,000. Way to go, Lyn--your experience made for an exciting and suspenseful breakfast table.

--Matthew