Yahoo Lifestyle Miami Film Festival Announces 2025 Lineup Of Nearly 200 Films, Plus Awards To Julie Delpy, Paul Feig, Mark Duplass And More
The Miami Film Festival today revealed the lineup for its upcoming 42nd edition, a slate of almost 200 narratives, documentaries, and short films, including 35 world premieres.
The cinematic showcase, set to unfold April 3-13, will open with Meet the Barbarians, directed by and starring two-time Oscar nominee Julie Delpy. The French-born star and filmmaker will receive the festival’s Impact Award on April 3. The festival, a presentation of Miami Dade College, will close with On Swift Horses, the drama directed by Daniel Minahan that stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, Diego Calva, and Sasha Calle.
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MFF will host the world premiere of Chirino directed by Jorge A. Soliño, “the story of Willy Chirino, one of the greatest musicians in the history of Cuban music.” Among the festival’s other world premieres are Ethan Bloom, directed by Herschel Faber; A Line of Fire, directed by Matt Shapira; Interstate, directed by Oscar Corral and Haleem Muhsin; Silent Partners, directed by Jorge “Jokes” Yanes, and Two Islands, directed by Humberto Ochoa.
Actor-filmmaker Julia Stiles will be on hand for the screening of her feature directorial debut Wish You Were Here starring Isabelle Fuhrman, Mena Massoud, Jennifer Grey, and Kelsey Grammer. [Scroll for more details on the lineup for the 42nd Annual Miami Film Festival].
Program highlights include screenings of Amazon MGM Studios’ Another Simple Favor, directed by Paul Feig; The Salt Path, starring Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson; Edson Jean’s Miami-set Know Me – The Untold Miami Bath Salts Phenomenon, and The Wedding Banquet, starring Bowen Yang and Lily Gladstone.
“This year’s lineup features a captivating mix of compelling narratives, must-see documentaries, and innovative short films, delivering an exceptional selection to our local community,” said James Woolley, MFF’s executive director. “The Miami Film Festival is thrilled to invite audiences back for another year filled with unforgettable screenings and thought-provoking discussions.”
Lauren Cohen, the festival’s director of programming commented, “We’re absolutely delighted to bring this exceptional collection of diverse and captivating films to Miami. As one of our largest festivals to date featuring films from 45 countries and 35 world premieres, this festival is truly a testament to the incredible talent globally. We can’t wait to share these groundbreaking films with our audiences and celebrate the voices and stories that will shape the future of film.”
In addition to Julie Delpy, the festival will present awards to several notable figures:
● Paul Feig will be honored with the Precious Gem Award at a special Marquee screening of his latest film, Another Simple Favor, followed by a live recording of the Happy Sad Confused podcast hosted by Josh Horowitz. Feig’s credits include Freaks and Geeks, Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy, and A Simple Favor.
● Mark Duplass will be honored with the Impact Award following a screening of his show, Good American Family. Duplass is known for Bombshell, The Morning Show, Tully, and Creep.
● Oscar-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams will receive the Impact Award following a screening of his acclaimed 2023 documentary Stamped from the Beginning.
● Billy Zane will receive the Art of Light Award following a screening of his latest film, Waltzing with Brando. Zane’s credits include Titanic, Back to the Future, and Dead Calm.
● (As previously announced) Melanie Lynskey will receive the Precious Gem Award and participate in an in-depth conversation about her career, including her acclaimed two-time Emmy nominated performance in Yellowjackets, along with Heavenly Creatures, Don’t Look Up, The Last of Us, and The Tattooist of Auschwitz.
Included in this year’s Documentary program is a spotlight on celebrated documentarian Ondi Timoner. The festival will showcase the Florida premieres of two of her latest films – All God’s Children and The Inn Between, as well as retrospective screenings of acclaimed documentaries DIG! XX and Last Flight Home.
ANNIVERSARY SCREENINGS
The festival will host four Anniversary screenings for audiences to celebrate the lasting legacy of these films. These include:
● Before Sunrise – 30th Anniversary Screening, will be hosted on Friday, April 4 with an in person extended introduction from star Julie Delpy
● Center Stage – 25th Anniversary Screening of the cult classic dance film will be hosted on Sunday, April 6 and will be followed by a post-screening extended Q&A with lead actress Amanda Schull
● Picnic at Hanging Rock – 50th Anniversary Screening on Sunday, April 13 in 4K restoration
● Pride & Prejudice – 20th Anniversary Outdoor Screening on Tuesday, April 8 at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens as part of the celebration of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday. In partnership with the Miami Book Fair
MARQUEE & SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Three MARQUEE screening presentations will be presented with talent in attendance for post-screening Q&As.
● Another Simple Favor (United States, directed by Paul Feig), Amazon MGM Studios’s much-anticipated sequel to 2018’s A Simple Favor follows Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Blake Lively) as they reunite on the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman. Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square.
● Oh, Hi! (United States, directed by Sophie Brooks) starring Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan, and John Reynolds, the film centers on Iris and Isaac (Gordon and Lerman) whose first romantic weekend getaway goes awry in a most unexpected way.
● Two Women (Canada, directed by Chloé Robichaud) following two neighbors – Violette and Florence – are bored and can’t seem to find satisfaction in their work or marriage anymore. To shake things up, they decide to have secret sexual encounters with strangers. – East Coast Premiere
The festival is curated by Director of Programming Lauren Cohen; Thom Powers (Senior Documentary Programmer), Ivonne Cotorruelo (Ibero-American Films Programmer), Alejandro Rios (Spotlight on Cuba Programmer), and Chris Molina (Short Films Programmer). Talks are programmed with Miami Media and Film Market.
The festival features several awards competitions:
>The $15,000 MARIMBAS Award is an international competition “for new narrative feature films that best exemplify richness and resonance for cinema’s future.”
>Made in MIA feature film award is chosen from among “jury-selected films of any genre that features a qualitatively and quantitatively substantial portion of its content (story, setting and actual filming location) in South Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and/or Monroe counties) and that best utilizes its story and theme for universal resonance. Panavision will provide $60k in equipment rental to this year’s winner.
>The Made in MIA Short Film Award comes with a $5,000 prize.
>The $10,000 Jordan Ressler First Feature Award is sponsored by the South Florida family of the late Jordan Ressler, an aspiring screenwriter and Cornell University Film Studies graduate who, during his brief entertainment career, held production positions on the original production of Broadway hit Jersey Boys before passing away in a tragic accident at the age of 23.
>18 films will vie for the jury-awarded $2,000 Documentary Achievement Award.
>The $4,000 Miami International Short Film Award competition features 33 films.
35 Special Presentation screenings will add to the depth of creative filmmaking from around the world to Miami. These include:
A House on Fire (Spain, directed by Dani de la Orden) – East Coast Premiere
A Line of Fire (United States, directed by Matt Shapira) – World Premiere
Borderland | The Line Within (United States, directed by Pamela Yates)
Boys Go to Jupiter (United States, directed by Julian Glander)
Centered: Joe Lieberman (United States, directed by Jonathan Gruber)
Diamanti (Italy, directed by Ferzan Özpetek) – North American Premiere
Duino (United States, directed by Juan Pablo Di Pace & Andres Pepe Estrada) – Florida Premiere
Hambre (Venezuela, directed by Joanna Nelson) – East Coast Premiere
Happyend (Japan, directed by Neo Sora – Florida Premiere
I Am Nevenka (Spain, directed by Iciar Bollain – East Coast Premiere
Interstate (United States, directed by Oscar Corral & Haleem Muhsin) – World Premiere
Mistura (Peru, directed by Ricardo de Montreuil) – Florida Premiere
Motel Destino (Brazil, directed by Karim Aïnouz) – Florida Premiere
Pavements (United States, directed by Alex Ross Perry) – Florida Premiere
Pink Narcissus (United States, directed by James Bidgood) – Florida Premiere
Queens of Drama (France, directed by Alexis Langlois) – Florida Premiere
Reinas (Switzerland, directed by Klaudia Reynicke) – Florida Premiere
Rent Free (United States, directed by Fernando Andrés) – Florida Premiere
River of Grass (United States, directed by Sasha Wortzel) – Florida Premiere
Samaná Sunrise (Spain, directed by Rafa Cortés) – North American Premiere
Silent Partners (United States, directed by Jorge “Jokes” Yanes) – World Premiere
Spermageddon (Norway, directed by Tommy Wirkola & Rasmus A. Sivertsen) – Florida Premiere
Tatami (Georgia, directed by Guy Nattiv & Zar Amir)
The Goldsmith’s Secret (Spain, directed by Olga Osorio) – International Premiere
The Inn Between (United States, directed by Ondi Timoner) – Florida Premiere
The Luckiest Man In America (United States, directed by Samir Oliveros) – East Coast Premiere
The Other Way Around (Spain, directed by Jonás Trueba) – Florida Premiere
The Surfer (Australia, directed by Lorcan Finnegan) – Florida Premiere
The Things You Kill (Turkey, directed by Alireza Khatami) – Florida Premiere
The Threesome (United States, directed by Chad Hartigan) – Florida Premiere
The United States of Elie Tahari (United States, directed by David Serero) – Florida Premiere
The Wedding Banquet (United States, directed by Andrew Ahn) – Florida Premiere
Two Islands (United States, directed by Humberto Ochoa) – World Premiere
Waltzing with Brando (United States, directed by Bill Fishman) – Florida Premiere
Wish You Were Here (United States, directed by Julia Stiles) – Special event with director Julia Stiles in attendance
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