The Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival returns to the beautiful Premiere Theaters Oaks Stadium 10 in Melbourne, Florida, Oct. 19-21 (with a special festival kick-off added Thursday night). Our theme is “New York, New York.” Special guests include Brian O’Halloran, star of the groundbreaking indie hit “Clerks,” with the new “biography comedy” “Shooting Clerks”; and comedian Frankie Paul, host and emcee for our Friday night comedy program.
Here’s the detailed schedule with show times and ticket links. Choose “MIFFALL” under any of the ticket links to get the all-access pass for $65 (the smaller fee displayed is for each individual event). This MIFF VIP pass gets you into all the movies, events and parties for the entire weekend.
MIFF 2017 schedule
All films are R-Rated equivalent except “Real Food Real Kitchens”
All proceeds to benefit the No Limits Academy
Buy tickets: $65 for all-access pass (choose MIFFALL)
Thursday, Oct. 19
6:30 p.m. Special festival kick-off
Unstoppable – new music video by recording artist Prita Chhabra 3:51
Mystery Jones – Paul Ramsdell. Get ready to join your favorite playground detective on an all-new epic adventure. 8:36
Women Who Kill – Ingrid Jungermann. Commitment phobic Morgan and her ex-girlfriend Jean, locally famous true crime podcasters, suspect Morgan’s new love interest is a murderer. 93 minutes
Friday, Oct. 20
3:30-5:30 p.m. Matinee Magic
Una Partita ai confini del mondo – Gustavo Espinosa. Luigi’s wife passed away and he falls into depression. His son decides to contact Luigi’s best friend, who lives in Argentina, to start a chess match via letters to get his father out of depression. 13:22
#Will – Per Sundström. A teenage video blogger is allowed to use the school auditorium alone to record a video but after strange events and threats he has to gain control of both his mind and own destiny. 21:58
A Fitful Mind – Javier Amaya. When Jonathan Pace gets word of his wife having an affair, she disappears, leaving him and everything behind. Determined for answers, Jonathan travels down a twisted and ominous road in search of his missing wife. An unsettling and mysterious entity follows Jonathan, guiding him where to go and what to do next. 20:01
The Wheels on the Bus – Joshua Long. A bus breaks down in the North Korean countryside. The two drivers must put their differences aside and overcome a series of setbacks to get their bus back up and running and cargo delivered on time. 9:45
Propose – Mina Ono. On her 30th birthday, Namiko is expecting to meet Tatsuya and confess her feelings to him, but fate leads her in an unexpected way. 17:32
Cold Black Heart – Steven Shea. Music video for Kitty In A Casket, for their single “Cold Black Heart.” Shot entirely in Vienna, Austria. 3:39
Change – Johannes Furrer. Something is off with Tim. He feels out of place, as if the life he’s leading isn’t his own. In the worst moment possible, he suddenly realizes why. 7:17
Fractured – Arnold Chun. The Park Family suffers the consequences of untreated mental illness. They are thrown into chaos with the events that occurred with their son. Inspired by a true event. 13:51
From Beyond the Grave, my Grandfather Told Me Why I’m Alive Today – Otso Alanko. 20 years after the death of his grandfather, the filmmakerfinds an audio cassette in the attic of his grandparents house, on which the grandfather tells him how one small decision at the end of World War II could have changed everything. 3:35
My Home is Bleeding – Hamad Abdulla. After his family vanished, a young man struggles to find his mother and sister in a destroyed country. 4:23
30 minute break
6-8 p.m. Real Food Real Kitchens Culinary Arts & Reception
Sponsored by Crush XI
8 p.m. Comedy hosted by Frankie Paul
America Sock – Jason K Allen. A girl finds her soul mate on a social media site, but he turns out to be a sock puppet. 7:09
Bride of Frankie – Devi Snively. In this darkly comedic feminist nod to Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN, a not-so-mad scientist builds a mate for her mentor’s lonely creation with electrifying, and deadly, results. 18:48
Magic Mouse – Luke Zammit. A comedy about two guys who have been repeatedly put down by their evil boss. One day they receive a Magic Mouse, which turns out to be the ingredient they need to be able to stand up to him once and for all. The computer mouse they receive allows the cursor the leave the confines of the computer screen and manipulate the world around them. 9:56
Dasha the Fool – Max Volovik. Dasha is happily married and fool enough not to see the ugly truth around her. 14:30
For Luck – TL Westgate. The wrong guy goes into the wrong place at the wrong time. What could possibly go right? 7:07
9:30 p.m. Fright Night Friday Horror/Sci-Fi
Thicket – Aidan Weaver. While cleaning out her parents’ secluded rental home, a young woman finds herself in an unsettling situation. 18:21
Ghost App – Gerald Godbout. It’s just like any other night for Sher as she sits down to watch the newest movie, except on this night she will receive a text from a stranger offering her a chance to download a new app. 12:28
No Milk – Melanie Abramov. Breast milk is the known cause of a deadly epidemic, and a rebellious teenage girl is about to go under the knife. 16:01
Burn The Horizon – Steven Shea. When a new viral video hits the scene, it starts releasing the inner punk in all of us. Music video for The Hellfreaks, for their single “Burn The Horizon.” 3:53
Nightmarish – Ronnie Khalil. A young boy wrestles with his worst fears on a sleepless night. 3:26
Swipe – Kevin O’Neill. Ten-year-old Cooper Newman has been warned by his mother to stay off the internet. He decides to ignore her wishes and ends up in a situation he never imagined. 12:45
Illusion – Jason Zhao. Adam’s wife, Helen, has been in a coma for months since the accident. Through virtual reality, Adam is able to visit Helen’s “mind” within a virtual house created digitally. He can’t stay in this virtual world for long, however, because the process is slowly killing him. Helen is unaware that she is within a virtual space and senses that something is very wrong. 5:53
Bitch, Popcorn, and Blood – Fabio Soares. At Salt ’n Sugar, a popcorn bar in the middle of nowhere, Lily, a bored waitress, is going to turn her life around when two fishy strangers show up in the bar. 16:00
11 p.m. Special Sci-Fi Feature
Teleios – Ian Truittner. A deep space mining vessel has been adrift for two years. It is suspected the crew brutally killed each other, but the reason for the bloodbath is unknown. A rescue crew is sent to find if there are any survivors, what happened and why. 89:36
Saturday, Oct. 21
9 a.m. Florida Filmmakers Matinee
Ask for Directions – Jo Ann Johnson. Clark and Ellen go on vacation. Well, sort of. At least Ellen gets to enjoy her vacation! 5:00
Star Hammer – Archie Delapaz. An archaeologist responds to a distress call and finds herself in deep trouble. 3:14
Goodbye Again – Ray & Migdalia Etheridge. The government develops a secret serum which will bring a dead body back to life for up to three minutes. They want to interrogate murder victims, but if you had the serum, what would YOU want to know? 14:18
Incompliances – Luis Lorenzo. A sick young man is disrupted in his sleep by the constant sounds of construction going on at his apartment complex. 5:07
No Princess in the Castle – Lear Bunda. An epic 8-bit opening animation for the upcoming female indie gamer documentary No Princess in the Castle by the Space Coast’s own animator extraordinaire Lear Bunda, with character art by Cayce Joan. 2:30
Bizarre Encounters – Paulette King. Sometimes the negative becomes the positive. 19:45
Shadow of Doubt – Russell Sanders. A man is summoned by his ex-wife to determine if her sister murdered her husband. 13:45
Talk – Fred Zara. Eight lives intersect at a typical coffee shop one afternoon. Some of them are enjoying a fresh new start, some at a crossroads and for some, they may be in the midst of a painful ending. As they navigate through their conversations with one other, we’ll discover to whom this will be an afternoon they won’t soon forget. 16:00
On the Ledge – Alex Avrokotos. A ballerina figurine, trapped within the confines of a snow globe, must learn to take the fall despite her fears. 1:15
Proof of Life – Christopher Ahrendt. The Castaways Against Cancer have been paddling to find a cure for cancer for the past 17 years. 19:38
Ruckzuck – Jacqueline Xerri. The word “Ruckzuck” translates to moving fast and forward. Inspired by the past but with a mind set on the future, Ruckzuck brings the “psychedelic freak out!” to a new generation. Discover the story behind the band as they follow the cosmic quest of love, happiness and strange sounds. 7:44
Deathworld: 2120 – Andrew H. Miller. The sole survivor of a crash on an unpopulated planet continues her mission. 9:56
Dreamweaver – Cheryl Briggs. The Chippewa tribe believes that Asibikaashi, the spider woman, protects children from bad dreams at night by weaving dream catchers to hang above their heads while they sleep. She teaches Namid, a scared eight year old Chippewa girl who suffers from nightmares, to overcome her fears. 6:15
Snake Boy – Sue Dontell. A boy finds the magical healing power of a snake. 13:46
Reconnaissance – Phil Lister. Earth is being watched and evaluated by an alien planet. The alien’s top scientist is trying desperately to save Earth! 21:39
Save the Mosquitoes – Greg St Pierre. A well-meaning organization tries to raise awareness of the lowly mosquito’s plight with predictably disastrous results. 8:34
Nightwatch – Paul Hardway. A young boy ponders a scary image in his story book on a stormy night. When the power goes out, the image becomes a reality in his darkened bedroom. 5:30
Dumb Luck – Eric Emerick. After Johnny and Sammy botch a drugs for money exchange, they must face boss Vito and explain their failure. 8:34
Shadows in the Dark – TL Westgate. What happens when a small town theater troupe decides to make their own film? This “Airplane”-esque comedy of errors is the hilarious answer to that question. Even the title is a joke! 6:17
10 minute break
12:30-1 p.m. Meet the Filmmakers Roundtable Q&A
1-2 p.m. Lunch break
“Shooting Clerks”
2 p.m. Special engagement: Shooting Clerks
Shooting Clerks (Christopher Downie) is the true story of how convenience store clerk Kevin Smith made his grainy $27,000 film Clerks (1994) with maxed-out credit cards and the people who aided him in his indie crusade. Q&A with celebrity guest Brian O’Halloran (Star of Clerks, Clerks 2, and many more films)
6 p.m. Red Carpet reception
7 p.m. VIP Program and Awards
Tie Up Loose Ends competition – Bill Williams/Eric Emerick
O Holy Knight preview – Robby Sparks. After rescuing Santa Claus, a young man finds himself thrown back to medieval times.
Feeling for Two – Stacey Torkelson. This short follows a story of how friendship and loss intertwine to shape who people become. 5:05
Full Circle – Raymond Knutsen. An accomplished NFL wide receiver looks beyond the football field in hopes to change the lives of the people from his poor hometown of Pahokee, Florida. 7:31
Composing Dreams – Melissa Slizewski. Life’s hard, especially when not spent following your passion. Pursuing one’s dreams is critical to 24-year-old choral music composer Zachary Moore’s idea of success. 7:41
Thump – Benjamin Roth. After crashing his motorcycle into a tree on a moon, Ash the mercenary must drown out an alien boy’s paddle-ball’s systematic thumping as he awaits Space Triple A to come save him, or else Ash will go crazy from the monotonous thump, thump, thump… 2:26
What the Hell! – Sophie Galibert. A man and a woman, in the middle of the desert, disagree about what cinema is. Then they start to imagine and to tell a story… 4:00
Lemon – Timothy Cooper. Seconds after the wedding, a bride is stunned to learn that her new husband fudged nearly everything about his past, his family, and his accomplishments — but his revelations force her to come clean about a few shocking secrets of her own. 12:00
8:45 p.m. VIP After-Party and Awards
Party at The Oaks upstairs, catered by Courtyard at the Oaks and featuring entertainment by recording artists Robin & Eddy and the Secrets (VIP and all-access ticket holders and filmmakers only)