The Show Goes On: Dunedin International Film Festival This Week

DUNEDIN, FL — The show must go on. The third annual Dunedin International Film Festival is proceeding this week while making some concessions to keep film lovers safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

There will be a limited in-person audience at films but film lovers can also screen films online throughout the festival, which runs all week, ending Jan. 17.

This year's festival features 85 original films, both full-length and shorts, from 30 countries.

Films will be judged by a panel of experts with prizes awarded at the end of the festival for:

• Best Film
• Best Short Film
• Best Female Performance
• Best Male Performance
• Best Documentary
• Best Cinematography
• Best Score
• Best Editing
• Best Screenplay
• Best Animation
• Audience Award

The nonprofit Dunedin International Film Festival is a platform for filmmakers to share their original content with Florida filmmaking and to bring awareness to the growing arts and cultural community of Dunedin.

All-access in-person passes are $100 and single-screening in-person tickets are $10. An all-access virtual pass is $80 and single-screening virtual tickets are $8. Click here for tickets and passes.

For those viewing films in person, masks are required at the festival's venues including outdoor theaters at Highlander Park, Soggy Bottom Brewing Co. and Pisces Sushi & Global Bistro. Guests are also encouraged to bring their own chairs. Car and golf cart passes to the family-friendly drive-in movies at Highlander Park are limited to 50. Each car/golf cart pass is $10 and includes as many people as you can seat in your vehicle.

The Fenway Hotel Theater is the interior host for the festival. Chairs will be preset and sanitized between screenings.

Among the films being shown is the debut feature film by Mo Fini and Edesio Alejendro, “Mambo Man,” starring Héctor Noas and Isael Yudexi de la Torre Mesa. “Mambo Man” is the story of a Cuban farmer and music promoter who gambles everything on a deal that appears too good to be true.

“This Was America," directed by Jamie Bailey and written by Tom Goldsmith, is the tale of one family that fights to stay together as borders are closed as part of a racially intolerant agenda.

“Frenemies"by Mirella Martinelli is a feature-length documentary that tells the story of the close-yet-conflicted relationship between the United States and Cuba from 1950-2020.

"Jesus Talks" by Tampa News Force founder John Jacobs explores the question, "What if Jesus returned and decided to share his message of love, tolerance and understanding via the medium of stand-up comedy?"

See related story: Tampa News Force To Debut Latest Film At Dunedin Film Festival

For a complete festival film guide as well as trailers, click here.