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FLICKS: The Walk, FLiFF starts soon

Posted on 15 October 2015 by LeslieM

The Walk is a simple cinematic experience that deserves its box office success and critical acclaim. Told with exuberant energy, this film celebrates the core feeling of what it is to be a New Yorker.

The film opens with Frenchman Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) narrating his story from the torch of the Statue of Liberty. As Petit explains his early adventures as a wire walker, the camera pans back and reveals the old New York skyline, with the Empire State Building in the background and the Twin Towers in the foreground.

After years as a street performer, Petit assembles a team of like-minded individuals to manage high profile challenges. Petit gains notoriety in Paris when he crosses the bell towers of the Notre Dame cathedral. After being arrested and being put in jail for public disturbance, Petit sees himself on the cover of a Paris newspaper. After flipping the newspaper open, he reads that the World Trade Center Twin Towers would soon be nearing completion. Seeing this coincidence as a divine sign, Petit assembles an international team to walk a wire between the Twin Towers.

Released seven years ago, Man on Wire was an Oscar award-winning documentary about the same subject. The Walk is a complimentary film experience that provides cinematic detail as to the nuances of wire walking that stock documentary footage is unable to present. It is a full cinematic experience that needs to be seen on the big screen for full effect.

The 30th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLiFF 30) begins in three weeks. FLiFF 30 will feature visits from Christopher Lloyd, Ed Harris and his wife Amy Madigan, and Gil Bellows, known for Ally McBeal and Shawshank Redemption, among others. Loretta Swit, from the television version of M*A*S*H, will be involved in a special Veteran’s Day screening and event.

Having been recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as “the World’s Longest Film Festival”, FLiFF 30 will kick off with special pre-fest screenings. Brooklyn features Saoirse Ronan as an Irish Immigrant involved in a forbidden romance with an Italian man during the 1950s. Produced by Ty Flowers, Time Simply Passes is a 53-minute documentary about a man wrongly imprisoned for killing his own children. 3:13 is a documentary about a man who lost his fortune in the Great Recession and how he became a street person in Miami. With sunnier cinematography, Single in South Beach deals with the relationship issues of a material girl.

For late breaking FLiFF30 news, updates and schedule, visit www.fliff.com.

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