Miami Film Festival

Our History

Since the Miami Film Festival’s first edition on February 3, 1984, films have been screened in a variety of theaters throughout the greater Miami area. By the sixth Festival in 1989, the Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center had become the official residence. As the 1990s drew to a close, administration of the Festival was transferred to Florida International University for a brief period, and then in October 2003 to Miami Dade College (MDC), where it has remained since.

MDC has led the Festival through a period of tremendous growth and expansion. The Festival’s programming voice, unique among U.S. film festivals, has gained recognition for its numerous discoveries, and has given out more than $1 million in cash awards to both established and emerging filmmakers. Official Festival venues expanded to Silverspot Cinema, MDC’s Tower Theater Miami, Colony Theatre, Coral Gables Art Cinema, O Cinema and other venues. Annual attendance and media impressions have grown steadily throughout the 2010s.

In 2015, the Festival introduced the Gems Film Festival, a second permanent festival to its annual activities, a four-day event to present the “jewels” of the fall season. Gems is held annually in October, exclusively at Tower Theater Miami.