The Reel Deal Film Festival is an independent film festival based in Volusia County, Florida's scenic and hip seaside town, New Smyrna Beach. It's a magical place, where waves dance with the rays of the sun, and dolphins, manatees, pelicans, and cranes are regular sights. NSB is home to founding residents, historic neighborhoods, artists who are drawn here and nature lovers who visited and stayed, all mixed into a kettle of community builders.  

 

As we have watched movie houses take a punch to the gut from the pandemic, we realized more than ever before, the time to protect the tradition of how we view film, is now.

 

Before smartphones, before streaming, before COVID - there was the audience - the projector - and the dark.​  Let's protect and embrace that tradition together,  by submitting to and attending The Reel Deal Film Festival. Four days on the coast isn't so hard to take, especially with nature, charm, and foodieness thrown in for good measure.​

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You can also feel good about your support. The Festival is the main fundraiser for the work of The Reel Film Foundation, Inc., an all-volunteer, non-profit corporation which promotes:

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  FILM - with an Annual  4 Day International  Film Festival

  VOLUSIA FILMMAKERS - with an annual finishing funds grant

  CULTURE - through collaborative events with organizations who share our passion for idea-based                  programming that unites diverse groups

  FUTURE FILMMAKERS -  with outreach - full, free college counseling & scholarship to both at-risk youth, and all young people aspiring to moving image/communication careers who don't know how to begin.

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                                                                  BENEFITS

 

Mentoring organic interest in content creation careers, to connect youth to the exploding need for creators here in Central Florida, retains talent for Central and all of Florida.  

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Screening Films from all over the US and 20+ nations, shares ideas, cultures and stories that make us different and connected all at once, while adding a much-needed multi-genre film presence to the slate of art festivals for which our community is already known. This promotes off season patronization of our small businesses who rely on foot traffic and tourism in every season.

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Finishing funds to local filmmakers elevates local talent, and provides a local excitement that gives back to our artist community.

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Collaboration, with our Bridge Builder Series, where we seek common ground through diverse histories, is good for citizens of a fractured nation. Perhaps revolutions of the heart are also local.

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​​So annually, in late September/early October, why not sign out of your streaming and plan a trip to watch movies on the coast; sample casual foodie fare and craft beer, gourmet food and a wine pair; share stories where elders lament the repetition of history, and young voices solve societal problems with the absolute certainty of youth; where far cultures explain it in their own - and not the ivy tower's words; and visual poetry glistens like the moonbeams off the granules of our silver sands.

 

What better place than NSB, where Florida Tradition negotiates space with Progress, for a mix of traditional viewing and modern cinema. Check out the cultural phenom you have been told to fear called TikTok; see what those alleged apathetic middle schoolers make PSAs about; learn how Skateboarders, Surfers, and NCAA hopefuls alike use Sports Edits to further their dreams, and see if you can guess which films used fancy equipment or were shot on a handheld smart device for a couple hundred bucks.

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All this alongside traditional shorts and features - those Dramas, Comedies, Faith-Based and Documentary Selections you expect. Festival goers will be offered time to enjoy the setting, experiences and restaurants in between. Hire a Captain and a rig, kayak the Indian River,  guided foodie's delight (weds only), or commune with the marine wildlife on a dolphin tour. Try a surf lesson,  while laughing with a friend, or watch someone surf, while philosophizing with a stranger.

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The Reel Deal Film Festival lauds a great American art form, struggling to survive the economic and public health issues of a country in crisis. And its very existence is a statement. Help us throw a stake in the ground toward our right to share art in one space - as collectively as moving pictures are created, they are intended to be received. Let's gather intelligently, scientifically and respectfully. 

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Some of the new moving image formats and uses may be a new deal - but the shared experience will be The Reel Deal.   

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                                              -- The Directors of The Reel Deal Film Festival

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 Screening venues generously donated by

 

The City of New Smyrna Beach, and the Marriott Springhill Suites, NSB

                   

                          March 2-5, 2023

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