Online World Premiere Now Scheduled for April 25 & 26
Miami, FL —Miami Dade College’s acclaimed Miami Film Festival will present the World Online Premiere of the Canadian documentary They Call Me Dr. Miami, directed by Jean-Simon Chartier, after the Festival’s intended world premiere at its 37th edition in March was cancelled due to a mid-festival termination of public screenings, out of concern for health and safety during the worldwide coronavirus pandemic outbreak.
The new premiere dates are April 25 and 26, as the Festival will now premiere the film on its own VimeoVOD channel for a 48-hour period, available worldwide. A Live Q & A session will take place on the Festival’s Instagram channel @miamifilm on Sunday, April 26, from 6 – 6:30 p.m. hosted by Festival programmer Lauren Cohen with Dr. Michael Salzhauer – a.k.a. Dr. Miami.
“Life during Safer-At-Home orders presents us with a challenge to find creative new ways to achieve our mission of connecting art with audiences,” said Miami Film Festival director Jaie Laplante. “Our excitement to premiere Jean-Simon Chartier’s portrait of one of Miami’s most colorful and unique personalities has remained undiminished, and we are thrilled to be able to present the film and a live, interaction discussion with Dr. Miami via online platforms.”
They Call Me Dr. Miami is a profile of the phenomenon that is Dr. Miami – the most famous surgeon in America. Millions of loyal followers from around the world tune in daily as he live streams graphic plastic surgery procedures on social media – all with the enthusiastic consent of his self-proclaimed “beauty warrior” patients. Celebrated for his outrageous personality in hip hop culture and criticized by the professional surgery establishment, in his private life, Salzhauer is a devoted family man and Orthodox Jew who observes the Sabbath.
“We’re thrilled with the presentation of They Call Me Dr. Miami at the Miami Film Festival World Premiere Virtual Cinema Screening. There is no doubt Dr. Miami is a polarizing figure – he not only acts as an entry point into the once taboo subject of plastic surgery but his relentless pursuit of social media fame and pop culture fandom will shock many. The story deepens however when you explore the doctor’s personal life and the questions it raises about the work and how he does it. It is an entertaining, eye-opening look at a unique individual in the ‘golden age of sharing,’”, said Cailin McFadden of New York-based documentary specialist Cargo Film & Releasing, the international sales agent of the film.
Tickets to the online premiere are at regular Miami Film Festival ticket prices –
USD $13 for general public and USD $10 for Miami Film Festival members, and now available now for worldwide pre-purchase at miamifilmfestival.com.
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About Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival
Miami Film Festival is the only major film festival event housed within a college or university. Celebrating cinema in two events, Miami GEMS Festival in October and its annual edition every March, 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 attracts 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 ten years, the Festival has screened films from more than 60 countries, including 550 World, International, North American, U.S. and East Coast Premieres. Miami Film Festival’s special focus on Ibero-American cinema has made the Festival a natural gateway for the discovery of new talent from this diverse territory. The Festival also offers unparalleled educational opportunities to film students and the community at large. Major sponsors of the 2019-20 Festival season include Knight Foundation, Miami Downtown Development Authority, Telemundo, American Airlines and Miami-Dade County. For more information, visit miamifilmfestival.com or call 305-237-FILM (3456).
MDC’s Miami Film Festival Media Relations Contacts:
NEW YORK / LOS ANGELES / TRADE:
Steven Wilson, Scenario PR | (310) 497-4951| steven.wilson@scenariopr.com
MIAMI:
Emmanuel Genao, Miami Film Festival | (305) 237-3456 | emmanuel@miamifilmfestival.com