Film festival hosts UF Documentary Institute Day

October 13, 2008

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival will host DI Day, a tribute to the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications’ Documentary Institute, as part of its kickoff Thursday.

“We’ve never had a day where we’ve dedicated an entire event to a university,” said festival Chief Executive Officer and President Gregory von Hausch, a 1972 graduate of UF’s Fine Arts College. The institute has earned unprecedented success for such a young program, producing dozens of award-winning films in 10 years.

The Independent magazine recently recognized the institute (http://www.jou.ufl.edu/documentary) as one of the country’s top 10 documentary programs.

The exposure will attract potential students to the program and help job-seeking graduates, said the institute’s co-associate director, Cara Pilson.

“Any time you can raise awareness about your institution,” Pilson said, “it helps students.”

DI Day starts at 5 p.m. at Cinema Paradiso, 503 S.E. 6th St., in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The evening begins with cocktail reception, a talk by the institute’s four faculty members and a trailer of past films. Following the introduction, the festival will show two of the institute’s award-winning documentaries — “Gimme Green,” which takes a humorous look at America’s obsession with lawns, and “Key West Cock Tales,” which documents the war between stray chicken supporters and critics in Key West.

Tickets are available at FLIFF.com, over the phone at 954-525-3456 and at the Cinema Paradiso box office. The cost is $15 for FLIFF members and $25 for the public, with proceeds benefiting the institute.

The longest-running festival in the state, FLIFF will screen more than 200 films during the 37-day event, which runs Oct. 15-Nov. 11.

The institute is part of the college, a national leader in the professional education of future journalists and other communication practitioners.