{"id":240943,"date":"2026-04-21T21:40:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T21:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/240943\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T21:40:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T21:40:27","slug":"fort-myers-film-festival-announces-opening-night-films-wgcu-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/240943\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Myers Film Festival announces opening night films | WGCU News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 16th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival will screen Ted Dintersmith\u2019s documentary \u201cMultiple Choice\u201d and Jordan Axelrod\u2019s \u201cSzypliski\u201d on opening night.<\/p>\n

\u201cMultiple Choice\u201d challenges America\u2019s long-standing \u201ccollege-for-all\u201d mindset. By immersing students in real-world pathways while maintaining academic rigor, \u201cMultiple Choice\u201d offers a bold, hopeful vision for the future of education\u2014one centered on purpose, skills, and opportunity in a rapidly changing world.<\/p>\n

\u201cSzypliszki\u201d follows a middle-age romantic on his way to meet his dream partner abroad. His overnight stay with family in Queens reveals deeper truths about love, identity, and illusion.<\/p>\n

Opening night at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center is Wednesday, May 20 at 7 p.m. The festival runs through May 24.<\/p>\n

\"Opening<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

Opening night at the Fort Myers Film Festival includes walking the red carpet and photo ops alongside the Caloosahatchee Manuscripts light sculpture.<\/p>\n

MORE INFORMATION:<\/p>\n

More about \u201cMultiple Choice\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Poster<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Fort Myers Film Festival<\/p>\n

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Fort Myes Film Festival press release<\/p>\n

‘Multiple Choice’ filmmaker, Ted Dintersmith, is a nationally recognized voice in education reform.<\/p>\n

\u201cMultiple Choice\u201d filmmaker, Ted Dintersmith, is a nationally recognized voice in education reform. He previously brought his acclaimed documentary \u201cMost Likely to Succeed\u201d to FMFF in 2015. Fresh from its success at Sundance, \u201cMost Likely to Succeed\u201d was also that year\u2019s opening night film. A former U.S. Ambassador appointee and leading advocate for innovation in education, Dintersmith continues to influence global conversations on how we prepare students for the future.<\/p>\n

\"Poster<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Fort Myers Film Festival<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

Fort Myers Film Festival press release<\/p>\n

‘Szypliszki’ won the Special Jury Prize for Best U.S. Short Film at the Palm Springs International ShortFest.<\/p>\n

More about filmmaker Jordan Axelrod<\/p>\n

\u201cSzypliszki\u201d won the Special Jury Prize for Best U.S. Short Film at the Palm Springs International ShortFest, People’s Choice Award at the Oxford Film Festival in Mississippi and was an official selection of the Tacoma Film Festival in Washington. <\/p>\n

An NYU Tisch graduate, Axelrod returns to his roots to share the film after an impressive run across major festivals nationwide.<\/p>\n

Axelrod possesses numerous ties to the Fort Myers Film Festival. <\/p>\n

He cut his filmmaking teeth at FMFF as a volunteer while he was still in junior high. <\/p>\n

After earning a degree in film from NYU\u2019s Tisch School of the Arts, the Fort Myers native\u2019s 20-minute short film, \u201cSeven Ten Split\u201d was juried into the Sixth Annual Fort Myers Film Festival (2017). The film went on to receive honors as best in the Student Film category.<\/p>\n

\"Axelrod<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

Axelrod with Fort Myers Film Festival Executive Director Eric Raddatz in 2018 following the screening of ‘Carol’s Last Chance.’ <\/p>\n

In 2018, Axelrod\u2019s film, \u201cCarol\u2019s Last Chance,\u201d was juried into the Fort Myers Film Festival and received Best Short Film honors. <\/p>\n

His documentary, \u201cCoach,\u201d was screened by FMFF in 2019 at multiple venues, including outdoors at the Edison Ford Winter Estates.<\/p>\n

He was last at the Fort Myers Film Festival in 2021 with his short film, “Frances.”<\/p>\n

During his time at NYU\u2019s Tisch School of the Arts, Jordan wrote and directed numerous short films while contemporaneously developing a screenplay for a feature film. He also worked in 2017 as an assistant director on \u201cGood People\u201d and \u201cThirst Street\u201d and assistant editor on the documentary, \u201cExtra Innings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Filmmaker<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Fort Myers Film Festival<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

Fort Myers Film Festival <\/p>\n

Axelrod credits Alexander Payne, Richard Linklater and Mike Nichols as filmmaking influences.<\/p>\n

His other credits include working in the camera department of Jason Bateman\u2019s 2016 film, \u201cThe Family Fang\u201d (starring Bateman, Nicole Kidman, Christopher Walken and Maryann Plunkett) and shooting and editing behind-the-scenes material for the Broadway musical adaptation of the 2003 film \u201cSchool of Rock\u201c with music by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.<\/p>\n

Inspired by the work of Alexander Payne, Richard Linklater, and Mike Nichols among many others, he focuses on continuing the legacy of filmmakers who create work that both entertains and moves audiences.<\/p>\n

\"Q&As<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

Q&As are a regular feature of the Fort Myers Film Festival, such as this one following screening of ‘Pooling to Paradise’ in 2021.<\/p>\n

More on the 16th Annual FMFF<\/p>\n

Opening night is a red carpet experience featuring filmmaker appearances, conversation, celebration and selfies and photo opps on the steps of the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center and alongside the Jim Sanborn light sculpture known as “Caloosahatchee Manuscripts.”<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

Selfies and photos in the lights of Jim Sanborn’s ‘Caloosahatchee Manuscripts’ light sculpture is a regular occurrence on opening night of the film festival. <\/p>\n

Now in its 16th year, FMFF has grown into one of Southwest Florida\u2019s premier cultural events, showcasing dozens of independent films from around the world at multiple venues, including the Alliance for the Arts, IMAG History & Science Center, Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium and The Laboratory Theater of Florida.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

The Calendar Girls pose for picture on the steps of the Davis Art Center before the screening of their documentary in 2022. <\/p>\n

The festival is known for its \u201cedgy, intelligent\u201d programming and for introducing audiences to films that often go on to national recognition and distribution.<\/p>\n

Additional films, screening times, and the full festival schedule will be announced later this month.<\/p>\n

VIP all-access passes are available now, offering entry to all screenings, events, and exclusive after-parties throughout the festival.<\/p>\n

\"Fort<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n

Fort Myers film actor and model Becky Brown under the lights of ‘Caloosahatchee Manuscripts’ in 2021. <\/p>\n

About the Fort Myers Film Festival<\/p>\n

The Fort Myers Film Festival is an intelligent independent filmmaker’s preferred event known for world-class swagger and support of local filmmakers. It is a must-attend event for cineasts who love indie film and film festivals. FMFF was awarded the prestigious 2015 Chrysalis Award for Cultural Achievement by the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau and the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce Inc. at their annual Celebration of Business & Tourism Awards Luncheon and Trade Show at the Harborside Event Center in downtown Fort Myers.<\/p>\n

For more information go to www.fortmyersfilmfestival.com or join www.facebook.com\/fortmyersfilmfestival for updates and events.<\/p>\n

Support for WGCU\u2019s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 16th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival will screen Ted Dintersmith\u2019s documentary \u201cMultiple Choice\u201d and Jordan Axelrod\u2019s \u201cSzypliski\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-240943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}