Christopher Masterson (Malcom in the Middle) will attend the 9:45 PM screening of Intellectual Property on Wednesday, March 29 at Enzian.

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A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN WATERS: CINEMATIC IMMUNITY

Presented by Sundance Channel and Westin Grand Bohemian

Saturday, April 1, 1:00 PM at Enzian

John Waters takes the stage for 90 thrilling minutes at Enzian to share his unique perspectives about a life in cinema, his work, and "bad taste." The Florida Film Festival is proud to welcome a true master of the craft.

Dubbed the "Pope of Trash" by William Burroughs, John Waters has gained phenomenal international renown as writer and director of a range of wildly original, irreverent, and offbeat portraits of the American dream-gone-wrong. Notable among his works are Mondo Trasho, Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Desperate Living, Polyester, Hairspray, Cry-Baby, Serial Mom, Pecker, Cecil B. Demented, and A Dirty Shame. Set primarily in his hometown of Baltimore, Waters's films are peopled with the familiar faces drawn from his "Dreamland Repertory Company" as well as a host of mainstream film actors who line up to work with him. His most famous lifelong collaboration was with Harris Glenn Milstead, a neighbor kid from Baltimore who grew up to become "Divine."

In recent years, Waters's films have been featured at the Cannes Film Festival, The Berlin Film Festival, and in retrospectives, internationally and abroad, including the Cinematheque Francaise, the LA County Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and many others. In addition to his prodigious work in film, Mr. Waters has published several books of essays, screenplays, and photographs as well as exhibited his photography in galleries and museums. Waters's classic Hairspray was successfully adapted to the stage to become the hottest ticket on Broadway. Also Waters lectures as Professor of Film and Subculture at The European Graduate School.

"I make fun of things I really like. I think that's very important in comedy. Nothing's funny if you make comedy about something you hate. It can be funny for about ten minutes but it doesn't really work unless you love what you're making fun of. I look up to bad taste because it's a freedom I don't have. I do care what people think. I don't sit on my front steps in my underpants and give people the finger when they go by. I'm jealous of people that do that, because they don't care. Bad taste is a great freedom if you have it, and the people who have it I respect as long as they aren't doing it to make fun of people." --John Waters, "Filth 101: An Open Discussion with John Waters," lecture at European Graduate School, August 2001.

Josh Green currently serves as the VP, Distribution for Emerging Pictures. During his tenure at Emerging, he has worked on more than 40 films with recent projects including Michele Ohayon's Cowboy del Amor (Netflix), Roger Paradiso's Tony N' Tina's Wedding (ThinkFilm), Georgia Lee's festival favorite Red Doors (Polychrome Pictures/Warner Home Video), and Kief Davidson's award-winning documentary The Devil's Miner (First Run Features). Mr. Green began his entertainment industry career in financial planning and analysis at In Demand, the nation's largest pay-per-view network. He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and an undergraduate degree from Cornell University.


Dennis Lim is the film editor and a critic at the Village Voice. He is also a contributing editor to the film quarterly Cinema Scope, a member of the New York Film Critics Circle, and the editor of the Village Voice Film Guide, to be published in fall 2006. He has written on movies, music, and books for various publications, including The New York Times, The New York Daily News, The Believer, Blender, The Independent, and The Guardian. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.


Jessica Sharzer made her directorial feature debut with Speak, based on the acclaimed best-selling novel by Laurie Halse Anderson. Speak premiered at Sundance in 2004, was later simulcast on Lifetime and Showtime in an unprecedented network event, and was recently nominated for both a Writers Guild Award and a Directors Guild Award. Ms. Sharzer has also written screenplays for Universal, Showtime, HBO Films and Endgame Entertainment - as well as a one-hour drama pilot for Fox with producer Ashton Kutcher. Ms. Sharzer is currently attached to direct Cruddy based on the acclaimed novel by Lynda Barry to star Thomas Haden Church (Sideways). She is also writing the Dusty Springfield story for Tony-award winner Kristin Chenoweth at Universal Studios, to direct in late 2006. Ms. Sharzer holds an MA in Russian Literature from Berkeley and an MFA in Film from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Charles Coleman is the Film Program Director of the Facets Cinematheque, which specializes in the presentation of new and classic foreign films, as well as independent cinema. He has taught film courses at the University of Chicago, and his experience also includes more than ten years in film programming and related fields. He is responsible for bringing to Chicago rare, one-of-a-kind screenings that range from retrospectives of acclaimed filmmakers to the most recent films by up-and-coming directors. In addition, he organizes and programs the six-week, noncredit film courses at Facets, which are aimed at those who want to learn about movies in a viewer-friendly setting.


Marisa Keselica is Vice-President of Theatrical Sales & Distribution at Wellspring Films, where she has overseen releases including Jonathan Caouette's Tarnation, Jacques Audiard's The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Todd Solondz's Palindromes, Arnaud Desplechin's Kings and Queen, and currently Rupert Murray's Unknown White Male. Previously she worked in the distribution offices of MGM (Bowling for Columbine, Legally Blonde 2) and Cowboy Pictures (The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, Fat Girl), and began her career in the film industry on the exhibition side of things at Clearview Cinemas. Ms. Keselica is a very proud native of New Jersey, and equally proud alumna of Smith College. She resides in Manhattan.


Heidi Reinberg, Producer, Progeny Pictures, LLC, is currently in post-production on Gender Rebel for LOGO and is also serving as co-producer on the ITVS-funded Absolutely Safe, about the controversy over breast implants. She is also producing How Sweet the Sound: The Blind Boys Of Alabama, the recipient of a development grant from the prestigious Anthony Radziwell Documentary Fund. In addition, she and her producing partner, Craig Harwood, are developing a number of series for television, including a hybrid show with renowned comic Kate Clinton. Previously, Ms. Reinberg served as producer on Shelter Dogs, directed by Cynthia Wade, part of HBO's acclaimed America Undercover series. She also teamed with Wade for the documentary Grist for the Mill, which aired on Cinemax. Other recent notable projects include Baby I'm Yours (Consulting Producer) for Oxygen and Imagining Peace (Field Producer).

Richard Abramowitz is President of Abramorama, a consulting firm that serves the film industry in the production, marketing, distribution, and representation, of independent films. His recent distribution projects include Stoned, The Sisters, The Deal, and the re-release of The Concert for Bangladesh. Among his recent Producer Representation projects are Eve & the Fire Horse, The Weather Underground, and Patrick Swayze's One Last Dance. His production credits include The GoodTimesKid, Zero Day, Smiling Fish and Goat on Fire, Race, Ripe, Dead Funny, Wigstock: The Movie, and Handgun. Mr. Abramowitz was a co-founder of Stratosphere Entertainment, with releases including The Thief, Hideous Kinky, and Xiu Xiu. Prior to starting Stratosphere, Mr. Abramowitz was President of Green Valley Films. With a special focus on the marketing and distribution of documentaries, he has been responsible for acquiring and releasing some of the most provocative and substantial films of the past 25 years and has been involved with the release of four Academy Award Nominees in the Best Feature Documentary category as well as numerous other non-fiction films. As a marketing and distribution executive, Mr. Abramowitz has served as President of RKO Pictures Distribution and as a senior executive at Cinecom Entertainment. Mr. Abramowitz is a graduate of the New York University School of the Arts.


Sylvia Caminer has been working full time as a producer and/or director since 1993. Her production company, DolGer Films, Inc. just wrapped principal photography on the thriller, Aftermath starring Anthony Michael Hall, Chris Penn, Frank Whaley & Tony Danza. She frequently crosses between film and television and was just nominated for her third Emmy for direction, for Discovery's episodic television show Passport to Europe (Travel Channel). She previously won in 2004 for the hit show Great Hotels. Ms. Caminer began her film career working as a production assistant on features including Age of Innocence, A Bronx Tale, and Carlito's Way. She produced her first feature, Men Lie, which won the audience award at the 1994 Florida Film Festival. Over the next 12 years she has produced 8 features resulting in more than 10 top awards at international film festivals. Sylvia has also become very active in the documentary world. Currently DolGer Films is in production on the feature doc Angels Among Us and is developing In the Cannes, a high energy behind the scenes look at the Cannes Film Festival.


Paul Gutrecht served for four years as an Associate Programmer at the Los Angeles Film Festival. He received a Kodak Grant for his short film, The Vest and a Panavision New Filmmaker Grant for his first short, What We Have. The Vest had its world premiere at the Florida Film Festival, where it received the Jury Award for Best Short as well as the Audience Award. The film went on to play at over 30 festivals including Tribeca and Sundance, and can now be seen on the IFC Channel. Mr. Gutrecht is now preparing two short projects to be shot in Argentina this summer. He currently lives in New York City with his wife, writer, and director Jessica Sharzer.