Runner-ups include The Quiet Girl and She Said

Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Miami Film Festival (MFF) announced that The Whale is the winner of the MIAMI GEMS 2022 Audience Award. The film, directed by Darren Aronofsky, tells the story of a reclusive English teacher (Brendan Fraser), who is living with severe obesity, seeks to reconnect with his teenage daughter (Sadie Sink) for one last chance at redemption. MFF’s annual fall event took place from November 3-10 at MDC’s Tower Theater Miami.

Festival audiences chose The Quiet Girl, written and directed by Colm Bairéad, as first runner-up. The second runner-up was She Said, from director Maria Schrader and starring Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan. All three films are major award contenders. Winners of the MIAMI GEMS Audience Award have received award recognition including last year’s winners King Richard, Julia and Belfast and past winners Sound of Metal, The Two Popes and Parasite. 

Miami GEMS opened with Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and closed with The Fabelmans. This year’s honorees include: the cast of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Ensemble Award), Paul Dano (Precious Gem Award), Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi (Precious Gem Award) and Raúl Castillo (Art of Light Award). The 40^th edition of Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival will be held March 3-12, 2023. 

About Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival

Celebrating cinema in two annual events, Miami Film Festival GEMS (November 3-10, 2022) and Miami Film Festival (40th annual edition March 3-12, 2023), Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival is considered the preeminent film festival for showcasing Ibero-American cinema in the U.S., and a major launch pad for all international and documentary cinema. The annual Festival welcomes more than 45,000 audience members and more than 400 filmmakers, producers, talent and industry professionals. It is the only major festival housed within a college or university. In the last five years, the Festival has screened films from more than 60 countries, including 300 World, International, North American, U.S. and East Coast Premieres. Major sponsors of Miami Film Festival GEMS include Knight Foundation, American Airlines, Telemundo, NBC, Estrella Damm, and Miami-Dade County. The Festival also offers unparalleled educational opportunities to film students and the community at large. For more information, visit miamifilmfestival.com or call 305-237-FILM (3456).