Wikipedia

River Phoenix, elder brother of Joaquin and tinseltown legend, died on a Hollywood sidewalk 20 years ago. But in March, he'll rise again when his last on-screen appearance makes its North American debut at the Miami International Film Festival (MIFF).

Dark Blood, also starring Jonathan Pryce and Judy Davis, is hitting screens a full two decades after its creation. For anyone raised in the '80s or '90s, Phoenix's mesmerizing on-screen charisma and brooding good looks are hard to forget, as is his tragic death at age 23. So we can assume his last moments on film are bound to be just as memorable.

See also:
Best Film Festival - Miami International Film Festival
Miami International Film Festival Announces This Year's Winners

More »

Nothing says Merry Christmas like flurries gently falling on Tony Stark. As a token gift to fans of the superhero series, Marvel released a holiday teaser image ahead of Iron Man 3's 2013 release.

The photo shows Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, standing in a snowstorm, sans suit. Obviously this wasn't one of the scenes shot in South Florida ...

Read also:
- Iron Man 3 : Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, and Guy Pearce On Location in Miami
- First Iron Man 3 Trailer: Kick-Ass Villains, Awesome Explosions, and Tony Stark as Zombie Jesus

More »

Actor Lou Martini, Jr. hosts tonight's Miami edition of Film Festival Flix at O-Cinema.

Mouse Trap Films president Benjamin Oberman and his staff want to change the film industry.

"Every year I saw more and more films qualify for film festivals, prove their worth, but yet fall through the cracks, mostly because they lacked A-list stars or weren't based on best-selling novels," Oberman said. "I knew there was an audience for these films if the two can be connected."

Oberman's solution was to create Film Festival Flix, a monthly traveling tour that hits Miami tonight. Each month, film enthusiasts are treated to critically acclaimed films from festivals around the world and an opportunity to interact with filmmakers and actors live or via simulcast. Revolutionary in its approach to marketing and exposing independent films, FFF attempts to bring the film festival experience to your neighborhood theatre. Tonight, actor Lou Martini Jr. of Sopranos fame hosts showings of The Holy Land of Tyrol and A Secret Promise at O Cinema.

More »

The Artist

​Who knew the film of the New Year would be one that's (gasp) both silent and black-and-white? Even while everyone is running out to slap on their 3-D glasses and peep Hugo, they're keeping their eyes on the past with the surprise hit The Artist.

The drama captures a potential romance and then career shift between a handsome, successful actor and a rising star, showcasing Hollywood in 1929, just as silent films transition to sound. Coral Gables Art Cinema has found such success with this newest wordless feature that it has decided to screen three weeks of the finest silent films.

More »

​As 2011 comes to an end, we're getting all nostalgic about the great moments in Miami culture that took place over the past year. And we know we're not alone. So we've asked some of Miami's top artists, writers, film producers and other cultural geniuses about their favorite 2011 memories.

Jonathan David Kane and Andrew Hevia are talented filmmakers and producers, both organizers of the Borscht Film Festival, arguably the city's most progressive and hippest event of the year. Seven years into its inception, Borscht has evolved in leaps and bounds. Once barely being able to find a projector to show the flicks, Borscht's films are now deservedly invited to Sundance and Cannes. In April 2011, Borscht filled to capacity the Adrienne Arsht Center, hosting the Academy Awards of local films for Miami hipsters and intelligentsia. Jon Kane and Andrew Hevia are two key players in the success of Borscht. We caught up with the crafty, witty, and funny filmmakers to rehash the past year, with a particular focus on film and Miami.

More »

​Film Fiend features dispatches from Miami International Film Festival Director, Jaie Laplante, as he scopes flicks on the indie film festival circuit.

The San Sebastian Film Festival -- at 59 years old, Spain's #1 film festival event -- has a seashell for a logo, and seems pretty much to be obsessed with three main things:  American movie stars, Spanish/Latino films, and food. If there's ever a festival that is obviously "in the family" for MIFF, this is the one.

The layout of the festival reminds me of Cannes -- big temple of cinema built right on the beach, etc. -- but the weather kinda bites. Not great for visitors but excellent for the citizens. What better thing to brighten up a dreary month than a glamorous film festival? The theaters are packed, because nobody wants to be outside. More »

​Film Fiend features dispatches from Miami International Film Festival Director, Jaie Laplante, as he scopes flicks on the indie film festival circuit.

Among the more amazing aspects of the 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival is the attention to spectacle. But while the world is waking up this morning to shots of Madonna walking the red carpet Tuesday night for the North American premiere of her self-financed $15 million opus as a director, W.E., Film Fiend tripped upon an entirely more intriguing extravaganza.

Specifically: the world premiere of the world's first Sikh-Canadian hockey drama, Breakaway. Sikhs and hockey are not known for commonly mixing but this is the glory of Canada and its multicultural agenda, access is made available to any heart's desire, and old traditions have a habit of being dismissed in favor of new hybrids for the new generations. More »

​Film Fiend features dispatches from Miami International Film Festival Director, Jaie Laplante, as he scopes flicks on the indie film festival circuit.

The 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival continued all weekend long with three more popcorn-packed days. After weeks of steadily building anticipation, director Cameron Crowe world premiered Pearl Jam Twenty on Saturday afternoon at the Princess of Wales Theater, followed by a full-blown concert by Pearl Jam on Sunday night at the Air Canada Center.

Even non-fans of the great rock band came away moved by the film, especially a profound scene of never-before-seen footage of Eddie Vedder slow-dancing with Kurt Cobain backstage at the 1992 VMAs, while Eric Clapton was on stage performing "Tears of Heaven."More »

​Film Fiend features dispatches from Miami International Film Festival Director, Jaie Laplante, as he scopes flicks on the indie film festival circuit.

The 36th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the Queen Bee film festival of the Americas, kicked off yesterday with 300+ films vying for attention from press, industry and public alike. The power and breadth of TIFF has become, of course, legendary. Four out of the past five years, Best Picture Oscar winners have been launched here.More »

​Film Fiend features dispatches from Miami International Film Festival Director Jaie Laplante as he scopes flicks on the indie film festival circuit.

As another Cannes Film Festival winds down, all the chic cineastes here on the Croisette are pretending not to care about the Grand Jury prizes, awarded in a glitzy ceremony before the festival's closing-night film, Christophe Honore's The Beloved. But apathy, says the Film Fiend, is the refuge of the powerless -- and certainly one understands the frustration of trying to predict the jury's selection process, which is often fraught with politics and compromises.

It's very often the case that the Palme d'Or winner, at least, will reflect the personality of the jury's president, which this year is Robert De Niro. Given his artistic personality and icon-of-American-cinema status, does that give the edge to Terrence Malick's symphony of Americana, The Tree of Life?  More »