Last night Enzian held a panel discussion on Fahrenheit 9/11. Events like this are always proud moments for the staff because we get to open a dialogue in the community and engage our audience beyond just sitting in a dark room to watch a film.
In an evening full of highlights, I was most moved by the words of Jared Cruze, a local bartender and former National Guardsman, who was interviewed twice in the film. (See story in the Orlando Sentinel) Jared told us he wanted to set the record straight on some things, so we weren’t quite sure what he was going to say. In the end, after watching the film with the audience again, he very simply and eloquently said that he was honored to be among us representing thousands of soldiers who fought, are fighting, have been injured and killed for this war. His short speech brought tears to my eyes and a touching round of applause from the audience. Well done, Jared.
F9/11 sure has turned up the heat here in the sunshine state. Listing the “Florida Film Festival” as one of my Google News Alert categories, I have gotten a minimum of ten Alerts a day over the past two months that have nothing to do with the festival and everything to do with F9/11. The most recent from the Asia Times out of Hong Kong. Interesting at first, but enough already. We know, we’re the devil.
In my more than three years with Enzian and the Festival, I have never seen a more diverse crowd. Some folks so old we had to let them into the air conditioning just to keep the ambulances at bay. The middle aged woman who screamed because her hair got wet during a sudden thunderstorm while waiting in line (she couldn’t actually be from FL, could she?). The surprising turn out of the good ‘ol boys (they hate that flushed decolletage term) and their stripper girlfriends at the late show each night. The spontaneous cypher circle of local free thinkers that broke out in front of the theater after a Saturday afternoon screening.
There has also been a healthy back and forth on KoolKids (the Yahoo newsgroup for Florida production) over the holiday weekend and continuing through the week. This is a somewhat tricky situation. While the idea behind the group is to network, promote production in Florida and discuss issues related to the industry in our state, there is the danger of digressing into a partisan shouting match and losing the interest of the people on the list. The moderators have tried to step in and remind everyone that this is not a political newsgroup, but then the argument follows…what about when we discuss Florida’s incentive legislation and try to present a united voice to the folks in Tallahassee, including our friend JEB? Good point, however, those issues are specifically related to the industry. Fahrenheit 9/11 has caused an uproar about politics in general which leads to a myriad of issues unrelated to film production in Florida. There are tons of newsgroups available to those wanting to dive into political debates. Unless there is a direct tie to film production in Florida, I for one, would prefer to leave it out of KoolKids.
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