Festival awards help local filmmakers tell "pivotal" South Florida stories

• The fund was created in 2024 through a partnership between the Miami Film Festival and the Lynn & Louis Wolfson II Family Foundation.
• The awarded artists can also premiere their work at future Miami Film Festival events.

State of play: Kareem Tabsch, whose feature-length documentary, "Save Our Children," earned $50,000, received the largest award.

• The film explores how singer and beauty queen Anita Bryant's 1977 crusade against gay rights overturned Miami's anti-discrimination ordinance — and informs today's anti-LGBTQ+ politics.

Zoom in: Matt Deblinger, Jessica Huppert Berman and Monica Sorelle were awarded $10,000 in the short documentary category.

• Forrest Canaday and Carlos Gutierrez earned $10,000 each for their films.

What they're saying: "These filmmakers are preserving the histories, cultures and voices that embody South Florida," said James Woolley, executive director of the Miami Film Festival.

• "We're committed to giving them the support and visibility their work deserves."