New President & CEO Steve Savor talks about parties at FLIFF this year, including kick-off at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
By Rachel Galvin
The Ft. Lauderdale Intl. Film Festival is just around the corner. Running November 8-17, the festival, in its 39th year, will show more than 100 feature films from around the world and have plenty of parties bringing in countless celebrities and filmmakers. The films will primarily be shown at their headquarters, Savor Cinema in Ft. Lauderdale, as well as their other location in Hollywood, FL, and Gateway Cinemas in Ft. Lauderdale.
But it also will have screenings elsewhere, including at the kickoff party, which will be held again at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Nov. 8. The red carpet will be at 5:30 with the film, “Queen of the Ring,” with the party presented by Variety sponsored by Truist Wealth. Special guests will include Ray Romano, Mena Suvari, Cathy Moriarty, Gavin Casalegno, Francesca Eastwood, Emily Bett Richards, Kevin Pollak, John Savage and the legendary Bob Mackie. The Jersey Girls will also return to give another showstopping performance.
This year, there are a few changes, the biggest of which is that president & CEO Gregory von Hausch will no longer be with FLIFF. He has found himself a new job in Hawaii. They showed a video of Von Hausch talking about starting out the festival back in the beginning. They also had him on a Zoom live to say a few words and announced that he will be the Emeritus President & Chief for a lifetime. People were in shock at the change and there were some tears, and a standing ovation. Another change is that they are moving all the short films to a separate event in February.
Steve Savor, who is now listed as president & CEO, talked about his specialty– the parties! Besides the kickoff at the Hard Rock, he will be having his usual soiree at his Villa de Palma on Nov. 9. This one is Barbie themed. He talked about the Centerpiece movie, “No Address,” and having a block party again this year at Savor Cinema on Nov. 13, and the wrap party with the film “Grander” shown at Super Yacht Village and a grander party at Pier Sixty-Six South complete with live music and superyacht after parties on Nov. 16.
Check out the video on the magazine’s TikTok and wait for more articles and promotions to come soon, including feature stories in Independent Streak Magazine complete with more photos. For additional information and tickets, visit www.fliff.com.
