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The 2019 Miami Film Festival Kicks Off 10 Days Of Movie Magic

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The Miami Dade College 36th Annual Miami Film Festival kicks off Friday for 10 days of movie magic all over South Florida in more theatre houses than ever.

"We have 175 films this year," said Miami Film Festival Executive Director Jaie Laplante. "Truth is there was so much great work this year we are honored to find a place for all of the filmmakers we did. It has a lot to do with our new partners, the Miami Design District, Downtown and Silverspot Cinema really embraced us and has given us new venues."

Friday night's opening film is called "This Changes Everything." Miami's own Ilan Arboleda is one of the producers of this documentary with an all-star cast.

"It's about gender equality in Hollywood. We explore discrimination of those on screen and discrimination of those behind the camera. My partner in the film is Geena Davis, there's Kate Blanchette, Meryl Streep, Jackie Cruz, Natalie Portman, Reese Witherspoon, Rosario Dawson and more," said Arboleda, a co-producer of CreativeChaos.

For Arboleda, bringing this important film to his hometown film festival means a lot.

"It offers a wonderful showcase because it truly is a beautiful international film festival and you have films from all over the world.  It's the door to Latin America, so it's a wonderful opportunity to showcase lots of different cultures and how they are represented and that's what we're bringing in this film," he said.

If you are a cinemafile, then South Florida truly is your place to be right now.

"This is my favorite time of year. I'm sad when it's over. I just love sharing cinema and we have over 400 filmmakers coming to share their work and that communication process is something I love," said Laplante.

The Miami Film Festival runs through March 10

Click here for more info.

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