White Elephant Group Announces WEG WEEKEND, a 3-Day Film Celebration Showcasing South Florida’s Unique Cinematic Voices

Enjoy reimagined panels, intimate roundtables, themed parties, food trucks, live DJs and more at WEG WEEKEND from April 28-30

MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES, April 19, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — White Elephant Group (WEG), a South Florida-based collective of emerging artists and filmmakers, is thrilled to announce its first-ever WEG WEEKEND from April 28-30 at Mad Arts, 485 S. Federal Highway in Dania Beach. This three-day cinematic extravaganza will showcase the unique voices of South Florida filmmakers, with screenings of award-winning shorts and features from the region, as well as select works from The WEG Short Film Lab, made in partnership with White Elephant Group’s nonprofit, After School Film Institute (ASFI).

At WEG Weekend, guests can expect to be entertained by reimagined panel discussions where audiences drive the conversation, intimate roundtables and face-to-face conversations with film industry leaders, themed parties including an El Reggaetonero Party, food trucks, live DJs, and much more. Attendees get to choose which events interest them the most, with activities happening across multiple spaces at Mad Arts.

“Filmmakers in our communities are telling incredible stories that we want to amplify, support, and celebrate,” said Eddy Moon, who co-founded White Elephant Group in 2013 with two other local filmmakers, Ronald Baez and Kevin Ondarza. “We invite guests to enjoy WEG WEEKEND, leave their preconceived notions of film screenings at the metaphorical door and experience films from a whole new perspective.”

Among the highlights of WEG WEEKEND include:

● Telling Women’s Stories, a screening and digital dialogue panel featuring female, male and queer voices discussing female stories told from unique perspectives. Audiences can engage with panelists via a digital screen, displaying audience questions, polls and discussion topics for voting.

● The Pictures of: Pioneer Winter Collective, a celebration of nationally-recognized works created by the Pioneer Winter Collective, will be discussed, demystifying the art of creating dance films.

● In The Mirror Room, where a limited number of guests will be invited into an enclosed room to experience a variety of South Florida short films and engage with fellow audience members about the film.

● VR Room Exhibit, presenting two award-winning VR Projects that participants can watch via VR headsets. The VR exhibits are “Project SHELL,” created by Yellow Wood Immersive, a media wing of the White Elephant Group, and Liberty City VR’s “The Wall,” directed by Academy Award nominee Katja Esson.

● The Pictures of: Third Horizon, with a focus on short films that are all previous Third Horizon Film Festival selections followed by a conversation with the organization’s Executive Director Romola Lucas and Programmer Robert Colom. Miami-based Third Horizon celebrates cinema from the Caribbean, its Diaspora, and other spaces of the Global South.

WEG WEEKEND supports White Elephant Group’s core beliefs, that South Florida independent filmmaking is a cultural necessity. The event also aims to promote diversity and inclusion by boasting discussions with composers from two Caribbean-centric films on shaping music for their films, conversations about how to best support women and non-binary storytellers and more. Attendees can also participate in a screening of the feature film, “Sylvie of the Sunshine State,” which received the Spirit of Slamdance Award at the Slamdance Film Festival, as well as roundtable discussions on topics such as gearheads, cinematographers and agents and managers in the film industry.

Moon adds, “We really want WEG WEEKEND to feel like an arcade or theme park in that there’s always something to do, learn and explore. We welcome the public to check it out, meet and network with filmmakers and see what we’re all about.”

This exciting event and The WEG Short Film Lab are made possible thanks to grants from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Event sponsors include Craize, E11even Vodka, Fireman Derek’s, LensRentals.com, Mariquitas, PALMA^® Cerveza, Pinecrest Bakery, The Pale Wine and Topo Chico.

Tickets are priced from $15-$25 for day passes, $45 for weekend passes, with discounted student rates available for $40 with a valid student ID. Purchase tickets and review the program lineup and schedule at www.wegweekend.com.

ABOUT WHITE ELEPHANT GROUP

White Elephant Group (WEG) is a Miami-based film and media-tech collective producing provocative, challenging works by emerging artists. The organization also mentors young filmmakers in underserved communities through its nonprofit, the After School Film Institute (ASFI). Established in 2013, the collective is composed of artists from unique backgrounds all coming together to create works in South Florida. WEG creates narrative and documentary films, commercials, music videos, and groundbreaking VR, AR and XR projects.

Their works have been screened at premier film festivals domestically and internationally. Festivals include Florida Film Festival, Miami Film Festival, Third Horizon Film Festival, HBO’s New York Latino Film Festival, Inside Out Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival, and Short Shorts Film Festival, amongst many more. Additionally, their work has also been distributed nationally, both through streaming services and cable television.

The collective’s most recent work “Birds of Paradise” was commissioned by and premiered at the Adrienne Arsht Center. The work was created by the Pioneer Winter Collective and produced by the White Elephant group.

Rachel Pinzur
Pinzur Communications
[email protected]