Lights, Camera, Community
Rallying all of our community to support local filmmakers and local stories on May 27th
I would like to invite you all to join me for a roundtable discussion with Miami’s leading film non profits to talk about what we are all working on, what support we can offer filmmakers and what support we need from the community to continue to support local stories getting on screen.
Date: May 27th
Time: 9:30 am - 12:30pm
Location: Coral Gables Art Cinema - 260 Aragon Ave, Coral Gables, FL 33134
Meet Our Speakers
Brenda Moe is the Executive Director and Programming Director of Coral Gables Art Cinema, Miami's premier arthouse. She curates year-round programming, develops special series, and champions independent filmmakers, with a focus on connecting films to diverse audiences. Brenda also consults for independent filmmakers on festival and theatrical exhibition strategy.
HANSEL PORRAS GARCIA is a queer Cuban-born artist and filmmaker based in Miami whose work explores diaspora, identity, and belonging through narrative and hybrid storytelling across media. Rooted in the experience of the Cuban diaspora, their projects examine themes of family, migration, and transformation with emotional intimacy. Their feature film Febrero received the Knight Made in MIA Award at the 2023 Miami Film Festival, and their work has screened at festivals including Slamdance, True/False Film Festival, and New Orleans Film Festival. Alongside their artistic practice, Hansel serves as Cinematic Manager at Oolite Arts.
JAMES WOOLLEY With a career spanning nearly two decades, Woolley has been at the forefront of organizing and running major film festivals across the globe. After earning a bachelor’s degree in creative arts from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, he embarked on a journey that saw him start from the ground up in the festival circuit. Over the years, Woolley has worked on more than 20 large-scale film festivals, including those in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, showcasing his ability
JENNIFER ORTA CASTELLANOS is a Miami native who has been a filmmaker for over 20 years. Her work includes Directing and Producing digital shows Better with Age and Carnivorous for Discovery Networks, Location Coordinating for studio projects including Pain and Gain, Iron Man 3, and Bad Monkey. In 2021, she founded Miami Film Lab to support local filmmakers as they work to make a living telling Miami stories. Jen graduated Cum Laude from New York University with a degree in Cinema Studies with minors in Film Producing and Broadcast Journalism.
JOSE JACHO is the co-founder of Filmgate Miami and the Downtown Media Center. He is an out-of-the box thinker and creator, who seeks to establish and maintain South Florida as legitimate location for advancing the arts with the aid of technology
KEVIN ONDARZA in’s work reflects South Florida's rich cultural diversity through the art of cinematic storytelling. In efforts to work towards his goal of fostering a sustainable and synergistic film community in South Florida, Kevin co-founded the White Elephant Group (WEG) Film Collective in 2013. He is also the artistic director of the nonprofit After School Film Institute, His films have played at Slamdance, Miami Film Festival and HBO’s Latino Film Festival.
SANDY LIGHTERMAN currently is in her 3rd term as the President of Film Florida, the non–profit entertainment production trade association and for 10+ years has worked on their legislative leadership team. As the Greater Fort Lauderdale Film Commissioner, Ms. Lighterman represents the region’s commercial production industry and works diligently to attract production business to all corners of the County. Prior to her role in Broward County, she spent nearly 14 years as the Miami-Dade County Film & Entertainment Commissioner. Prior to her government service, she enjoyed a successful 25+ year career as a film and
VIVIAN MARTHELL is an artist, activist, exhibitor and producer with over 30 years of experience in the arts and nonprofit realms focused on strengthening the cultural landscape in South Florida and beyond. She is currently the Co-Founder and CEO/CCO at O Cinema, the hub for the next generation of storytelling in South Florida which includes experimental and independent films, virtual reality, mixed reality, and immersive experiences, along with events and collaborations with renowned artists from around the world. In 2015, she received the Kight Arts Champion award presented by the Knight Foundation in recognition of O Cinema’s contribution to the cultural vibrancy of Greater Miami.
Short Film Survey
Following the incredible success of our feature film survey last year we are doing it again for short films. If you have made a short film between 2020 and 2025 we want to hear from you! It should only take a few minutes but the insights will be incredibly valuable to all!
So far early findings show that most shorts are under 15 minutes, more than half have a budget over $10,000, most are spending over $500 submitting to film festivals and are typically screening in 5-10 festivals.
How does your short film’s journey compare? Let us know
Submit your short film to our Made in Miami YouTube Series
For the last few years we have been sharing locally made short films on our YouTube Channel. Around 50 films are currently available and in the last year alone they have gotten over 50,000 views!
If you have a locally made short film that has finished its festival run we invite you to share it on our channel and reach new audience members. We are about half way to the views and subscribers we need to start earning revenue on the channel, your film could be the one that helps all our featured filmmakers earn revenue on our channel as we share profits with everyone we feature!
If you are interested shoot us an email info@miamifilmlab.org