Key Biscayne’s third annual Film Festival was a rousing success despite howling 40 mph gusty, chilly winds that could have turned the outdoor screen at Paradise Park into a parasail.

That event, including the trophy presentations, was moved indoors, but the rest of the Film Festival still attracted a big draw and the number of social media followers tripled after receiving front-page coverage in Islander News and in the Weekend section of the Miami Herald.

“It’s grown organically,” said Isabel Custer, co-founder of the event. “It just made more people aware, plus we had two new sites (the Paradise Cinema inside Village Chambers and the event at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School). Filmmakers want more people to come.”

What she and her committee quickly realized was that the Paradise Cinema would easily max out with its limit of 60 chairs (as it happened with the showing of the student films) and that those in the back few rows could not see the bottom of the screen with its level seating and a low ceiling.

“That really pains me,” said Custer, who otherwise thought the audio system was fabulous.

“I think everyone told me they had a wonderful time, but we still need a better viewing environment. What we really need is a Performing Arts Center, where at least 250 people could sit. Until then, we might have to have additional screenings or move it somewhere else.”

Trophies were awarded to the top films in their categories:

Best Feature Film: “News without a Newsroom,” by Romanian Oana Martisca, who lives in Miami.

It’s a story about the ever-changing face of the journalism business with several scenes at the Miami Herald.

Best Short Film: “Red Connection” by Jorge Goyco Diaz, a Miami native now living in Los Angeles. “Its a wonderful comedic story, and it’s very hard to pull off comedy,” Custer said.

In this case, a guy wakes up and finds a red laser emitting from the middle of his stomach and follows it to see where it ends.

Best Student Film: “Outside the Box,” is a story by Andrew Jesus Gonzalez, who dedicated the film to his father, who recently passed away.

In the film, a kid falls asleep on the beach, and finds a box, where he follows his dreams.

It was one of seven films in the Spotlight on Youth Showcase.