Though The Bahamas International Film Festival is far off, film buffs can look forward to a second film festival also taking place in The Bahamas.

The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF), south Florida's festival to support and promote independent filmmakers through sharing their compelling films, will be going on location in it's 26th year for a three-day festival in Grand-Bahama.

FLIFF On-Location takes place October 27-30 at Canal House, Pelican Bay Hotel, and is an exciting opportunity for a creative cultural exchange between The Bahamas and the USA, says President and CEO of the 26th annual FLIFF, Gregory Van Hausch.

"I'm looking forward to watching our filmmakers get the opportunity to have an international audience," he says. "It will be neat to see the reaction of a different audience. That will be fun."

"On the Bahamian side, I'm hoping that it will spawn new films that we can show not only on Grand Bahama next year but stateside as well," he continues. "We're working with film offices in Broward County and on Grand Bahama Island and to have them participate and exchange, so we're hoping we can illustrate to the filmmakers that there are options for shooting films on the island."

The relationship between FLIFF and Grand Bahama began when FLIFF screened the movie filmed on the island, "Beneath the Blue." It occurred to them to screen the film on location, which they did last October. It was so successful that they began talks with the Ministry of Tourism and coordination began with the Bahamas Film and Television Commission to make it into an event with several movie screenings, workshops, and an educational component.

FLIFF On-Location often goes to other areas in Florida and even in other states, but this is the first time FLIFF On-Location has been outside of the United States.

"We have no illusions this first year that we're going to displace Cannes," Von Hausch says. "It's our first year and we've kept it small with about 20 films over the few days. But what we want to do is give a sense of what it can be--a unique space for filmmakers to have discussion and talks."

Indeed, Director of Business Development/Communications of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism on Grand Bahama Terrance Roberts points out, the festival will be a laid-back but quality experience for festival-goers--which will also include Grand Bahama residents.

"The interest is now beginning to build," he says. "We spent a lot of time organizing and so now we're about to pull the veil off what we've organized. We're getting calls for tickets so the interest is very good, and the arts community is fascinated by the project and will support it."

Besides the approximately 20 films being screened during the three-day festival, there is a filmmaking workshop being offered by internationally acclaimed filmmaker and director, Kareem Mortimer ("Children of God", "I Am Not a Dummy", "Wind Jammers"), as well as an unusual but fascinating workshop offered by Paul Mockler for underwater cinematography.

"Paul Mockler is a resident of Grand Bahama," points out Roberts. "He's been living here for many years but people don't know how acclaimed he is internationally and that he's a leader in his field. So to have that workshop is really fantastic."

Indeed, the point, he says, is to have FLIFF On-Location involve the community in Grand Bahama which is already entrenched in the film industry, having been the host for

international film crews of various commercials and feature movies, including the "Pirates of the Caribbean". That way, Grand Bahama can benefit both creatively and economically.

"We wanted to partner with someone who knew our needs as well and to create arrival opportunities to the destination and fill hotel rooms," says Roberts.

"There are people in Grand Bahama who are interested in film development, and what we want to is complement the overall film developments in the country, so FLIFF certainly brings more attention to the islands of The Bahamas as a film location and you have great business opportunities."

In fact, both he and Von Hausch hope that the three-year agreement to host FLIFF On-Location in Grand Bahama will lead to Grand Bahamian residents making their own film festival that will complement the Bahamas International Film Festival that takes place in Nassau every December.

"We thought if we worked with FLIFF for two or three years to get a sense of how it works, if we had an appetite for it then we could certainly open it up to something we could do on a regular basis," says Roberts.

Having a film festival on Grand Bahama can indeed inspire a generation of young Bahamians to begin exploring the craft as they gain more exposure to it through the festival's screenings and events, creating a pool of compelling films and a thriving film industry on that island in particular.

That is the idea behind an important aspect of the festival that brings in developmental programming-- The Grand Bahama Youth Film Competition. This competition invites students to make and submit a short film to give one lucky winner the opportunity to screen their film both at FLIFF On-Location and at FLIFF in Florida as well.

Out of 18 submissions, the winner, Katrina Dorsett, was picked from five finalists. Yet all the submissions were fantastic and are reflective of a generation excited about filmmaking, says Co-chairman of the Grand Bahama Youth Film Competition Committee, Laurie Tuchel.

"It blew us away because really, Grand Bahama doesn't have anything to offer kids by the way of film education, so we really didn't know what we would get--but wait until you see the winning film; this girl is so talented. It's really good and of course the topic is so relevant," she says.

Katrina Dorsett's film, "Cyberbullying", stood out because of its message to take a stand against bullying. It may be used as a tool in her school to begin discussion on the topic.

Besides the screening of her film in Grand Bahama and a trip for her and her mother to see the film in Florida, the prizes--funded by Grand Bahama Heritage Foundation, Coldwell Banker James Sarles Realty, and a generous anonymous doner--include $500 and a GoPro Hero camera to Katrina, as well as Kodak VI8 flip cameras to the four runner-ups.

Tuchel hopes that after this first successful year, they can generate excitement for the second and open it up to the other islands for the third and beyond--as well as offer technical workshops to students to sharpen their submissions. Eventually, perhaps this annual film festival on Grand Bahama will in fact become a student film festival, she hopes--if not, then to have a large student-run component.

"If we can get them excited about the prospect of filmmaking and what that could do for them and the kind of people they would meet through that and the kind of voice it would give them, then I'd like to start a committee that's run by the kids as well so they can come up with ideas as well and lead us with our support," she says.

Indeed, including an emphasis on film education and development will ensure that what is beginning this year as FLIFF On-Location can become another exciting film festival for The Bahamas that will develop the potential for Grand Bahama to be a filmmaking hub for the world.

For more information about FLIFF On-Location, visit the Facebook groups for FLIFF On-Location: Grand Bahama Island and the Bahamas Film Commission: Grand Bahama.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian