The Florida Film Festival runs from April 11th - 20th, 2025!
By: Billy Joynt | April 9th, 2025
Now in its 34th year, The Florida Film Festival is an Oscar Qualifying Festival, Premiering the best in current, independent, and international cinema.
Through 10 days of 160+ films and first-class events, film lovers mingle with filmmakers and celebrities over hand-crafted cocktails and a delicious menu at Eden Bar and inside Enzian Theater.
The Florida Film Festival runs from April 11th - 20th, 2025!
See below on the Top films that I am looking forward to viewing. Click Here for Information on Attending the Festival.
THE SURFER
Nicolas Cage stars as “The Surfer,” a man who returns to the idyllic Australian beach of his childhood, intent on conquering the crystalline waters with his son, while looking to purchase back his grandfather’s seaside home. But his desire to hit the waves is thwarted by a group of locals, led by Scally (Julian McMahon, Nip/Tuck), whose mantra is “don’t live here, don’t surf here.” In this intense psychological thriller, Cage affects every frame with a kind of frantic nervous energy that threatens to explode at any second. Fueled by humiliation and anger, he is drawn into a conflict that rises in concert with the punishing summer heat. Drawing on a rich history of unhinged “Ozploitation” classics like Wake in Fright and Fair Game, director Finnegan and screenwriter Thomas Martin send Cage on a merciless journey of both inner and outer turmoil, pushing him closer and closer to a breaking point that would make the Gold Coast’s legendary waves look tiny in comparison.
IT ENDS
Alexander Ullom's (“Saving Blockbuster,” FFF 2019) gripping comic-horror thriller It Ends plunges us into a nightmarish late-night drive for grub with four post-college friends, hoping to enjoy one final outing before their paths diverge. However, life derails as a wrong turn traps them on a never-ending loop to nowhere. Cramped inside a Jeep Cherokee in the Florida panhandle, with the road stretching infinitely before them, they face a chilling dilemma: resign themselves to this eternal nightmare or fight to break free. In a post-pandemic, late-stage capitalistic world, they must confront ceaseless terror and find a way to coexist with it—because that’s the only way they’ll survive. From producers Keith and Jess Calder (You’re Next, The Guest, Anomalisa) and FFF alumna Carrie Carusone (“Joining the Birds”), It Ends delivers Twilight Zone-esque tension as it sends a message to those who can’t explain their constant fear: even if our friends don’t have answers, there is still a connection because we’re all going through the same thing. We may struggle to maintain peace and sanity in our lives forever, but at least we can hang out.
THE LEGEND OF OCHI
Teenaged Yuri (Helena Zengel) is a shy farm girl from the remote island of Carpathia. Raised by a loving, comically militant father (Willem Dafoe), she is taught to fear and hunt the mythical animal species known as the Ochi. But when Yuri encounters a baby Ochi, wounded and alone, she feels an inexplicable sense of kinship. Rebelling against the rules of her father and her world, she runs away from home and embarks on a quest to reunite the creature with its family. Where adventure, wonder, and magic converge, the Ochi reside. Writer-director Isaiah Saxon crafts a visually stunning world that’s rife with imagination—a paradise for fantastical creatures and humans alike, though not without a little danger (and humor). Co-starring Emily Watson and Finn Wolfhard, this delightful, old-school children’s adventure is reminiscent of our favorite family classics such as E.T. and My Neighbor Totoro, and a dazzling new heartfelt fantasy for the ages.
LA GLORIA
With standout performances from its leads, David Morse (The Green Mile, Contact) and Jaklyn Bejarano, La Gloria delivers a potent and timely morality play at the edge of the Mexico-U.S. border. When a border rancher (Morse) has a chance encounter with a Salvadoran woman escaping violence back home (Bejarano), he’s forced to make a difficult decision that may put him in direct conflict with his son, a U.S. Border Patrol agent (Bill Heck, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs). La Gloria deftly explores the worlds of its characters, with a well-crafted script and a career-defining performance by Morse, whose embodiment of the reluctant-hero/American-cowboy archetype transcends procedural genre expectations, creating a complex, emotionally resonant character that draws the viewer in and doesn’t let go. Writer/director J.T. Walker brings his personal perspective to bear in La Gloria, completing production on the ranch where he grew up, drawing from the experiences of his youth to craft this fundamentally American story.
Are there any films you're interested in? Comment them below! Click Here to view the full list of films.
Billy Joynt(Editor) - Billy has seen many movies over the years. He enjoys comedies and anything action, including the summer blockbuster movies. You can follow Billy on Twitter here. Click Here to check out Billy's Articles.
Billy Joynt (Editor) - Billy has seen many movies over the years. He enjoys comedies and anything action, including the summer blockbuster movies. You can follow Billy on Twitter here.