Glenn Close, Jon Voight in Maitland

In the amazing region of Florida in which many of us live, once a year for the past 18 consecutive years, we've been royally treated to the Florida Film Festival. Based in Maitland but with screenings of movies held at the Regal theater in Winter Park Village, the show comes and goes in 10 days and moviegoers have the opportunity to see literally hundreds of movies or as few as one. There are numerous other offerings in each year's festival besides the many movies. This year we were extraordinarily treated to "An Evening with Glenn Close" and "An Evening with Jon Voight."

It was nice that the festival's organizers were able to arrange for the two "evenings" to be held on Friday and Saturday nights. Both were sold out at $30 a pop. I was glad to see so many people — 230 — springing for such a moment.

I actually didn't attend the Close evening but it included a screening of one of her more popular films, "Fatal Attraction," which co-starred Michael Douglas. Attendees of the event — held at Enzian Theatre in Maitland, a café art movie house — got to quiz Close on a variety of subjects during the Q-and-A portion of the evening. I heard from a good source that the audience thoroughly enjoyed this evening.

I did attend the evening with Jon Voight and it did not disappoint. I sat in the front row so as to catch all the gesturing, facial language, etc. From my settee, I got to see one of my favorite actors. "Midnight Cowboy" was screened and then Voight and a festival official took stage in a relaxed table-and-two-chairs setup. Then there was Q-and-A. It went on and on for at least an hour or so. Folks got to inquire about a huge variety of subjects. I asked him about his Oscar for "Coming Home" and he said, as you might expect, that it was a major moment in his career and that his "asking price" for movie work after the Oscar went up considerably. Unfortunately, because of my own personal constraints, I had to leave before the end of the Q-and-A (to prepare for the next movie to be screened). My assessment of audience satisfaction was that it was well-received and was very delightful.

The tri-county area — Orange, Seminole, and Osceola — is experiencing a major uptick in things movie. Valencia Community College offers a variety of courses in filmmaking. UCF has a major film program. Full Sail University on University Boulevard in Winter Park offers a Bachelor of Science in film, and of course we have Universal Studios, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and who knows what else. I've been a film lover since I was a small boy in little ole Pensacola and this is just hog heaven for me. I never dreamed I'd have access to such a wide variety of experiences that do delight for the most part. I'm already working on my own personal contribution to the 2010 FFF and encourage all of my readers to come and check it out.

Joseph Charles Rubel can be reached at [email protected].

The jury award-winners of the 2009 Florida Film Festival are:

Feature films

Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature

"Prince of Broadway" directed by Sean Baker

Special Jury Award for Original Screenplay

"Poundcake" written by Troy Hall and Kevin Logie

Documentaries

Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature

"The Garden," directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy

Special Jury Award for Fearless Filmmaking

"Prodigal Sons," directed by Kimberly Reed

Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Short

"Pickin' & Trimmin'" directed by Matt Morris

Short films

Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short

"Glory At Sea," directed by Benh Zeitlin

Grand Jury Award for Best Animated Short

"I Am So Proud Of You," directed by Don Hertzfeldt

Special Jury Award for Outstanding Performance

Jasmine Jessica Anthony in "Water Pills," directed by Blake Sennett