Miami Dade College’s 40th Annual Miami Film Festival will kick off on March 3. Featuring 140 different types of films from more than 30 countries, the Miami Film Festival offers local filmmakers the opportunity to share their work.
Photo Courtesy: MDC's Miami Film Festival
“We are so excited to celebrate the incredible longevity of the Miami Film Festival in its 40th year,” said Lauren Cohen, the director of programming.
One of the most exciting categories in the MFF is the Knight Made in MIA Awards, with prizes for feature-length and short films created in Miami by local filmmakers.
Local filmmakers Tom Musca and Tony Mendez’s film Dying to Direct, which premiers on March 9 at the festival, is one of the contenders for the award. Spending his early career as a filmmaker in Los Angeles, Musca achieved international recognition as the writer and producer of the Oscar-nominated, award-winning classic, Stand and Deliver, which screened at the Miami Film Festival when it first came out 35 years ago. After producing and writing many other notable films in Hollywood, Musca relocated to Miami 13 years ago to teach at the University of Miami. He chats with Miami Magazine about this upcoming festival and his career.
Photo Courtesy: Dying to Direct
Dying to Direct tackles some heavy topics. Where did you get the inspiration for the film?
I’m at a stage where I have personally accompanied many friends and family through their cancer odysseys. Everyone – as well as the circle that surrounds them – approaches death differently, but it’s not all gloom and doom. There is no right way to die or grieve. It’s difficult to predict how a person would react to end-of-life issues, no matter how well you know them.
I married this to an underlying idea about a film director, accustomed to controlling people, giving contradictory directions to his best friend regarding romancing his fiancé after his passing. Co-director Tony Mendez and I wanted to make a bold film that faced that struggle straight on but with a complicated, unorthodox protagonist making seemingly impossible demands on his romantic partner and his closest friend. With this film, we hope to trigger a timely discussion on cancer and the end-of-life experience, which most people spend their lives avoiding.
How did you come up with the name for the film? Did you consider any other titles?
I’ve done ten features; seven have undergone name changes from the script to the screen, so I never lock the title. This film is based on my short story Dyin’ to Direct, but we went through various names.
How does making a film in Miami differ from making one in Hollywood?
Miami offers unique opportunities for filmmakers that I didn’t fully appreciate until I moved here: talent, fantastic natural scenery, hospitable weather and more colorful locations than L.A.
Filmmaking is a collaborative process, but co-directing might be difficult. How did you two work that out?
I was Tony’s MFA thesis advisor at UM, so we had an established teacher-student relationship. Tony and I hadn’t co-directed before, so there was a learning curve to that process, but we had very few disagreements. A good teacher can always learn from his students, and post-production was limited to weekends since we are both teachers.
You’ve worked with very well-known actors. Is it harder or easier to work with unknown actors as you did for this film?
I didn’t discover Phillip Seymour Hoffman, but I hired him for one of his first paying gigs after his audition, casting him in the room. There was no discussion; he was that good. While there is often a bit more shorthand with an experienced thespian, there is always a process.
This is your fourth film screening at the Miami Film Festival. Why is MFF so important – particularly to you?
The Miami Film Festival feels like home. I’ve had films that millions of people worldwide have seen, but ultimately, what’s important to me is what the people I know think about my work.
What future projects can we expect to see?
This summer, I’m directing a low-budget feature in Miami that I’m super excited about, and a famous writer told me it was the best script I’ve written. It features some intimate scenes that will excavate new emotional territory.
Photography by: Photo Courtesy MDC's Miami Film Festival
