MAITLAND, Fla. – The 31st Florida Film Festival is underway in Maitland.

Hundreds of filmmakers are screening their projects throughout a 10-day-period that’s back in person this year.

“We have an incredible amount of world premieres this year,” explained Deanna Tiedtke, the director of public relations for Enzian Theater.

This year is special for Tiedtke - it’s her first time running the show with a new title for Enzian, but it's a venue she fell in love with a decade ago.

“And it became my little oasis. It was like my home away from home.”

When Tiedtke was in college, she would visit the historic theater and watch the classic films they played.

Fast forward a few years later and things have come full circle.

Now, she gets to work with filmmakers and coordinate their premiers in a venue near and dear to her.

“No one has held in-person film festivals for a while.”

Tiedtke says it’s been great to have in-person networking back again.

COVID protocols altered normal routines. This year things are back to normal and over 160 films are being screened while the festival is in town.

For some of the filmmakers, this is the first time a live audience will see their projects.

Bradley Berman is a director who got to screen his film Jack Has a Plan.

“It's kind of hard to fathom in a certain way,” explained Berman. “After all this time working on something so meaningful for me, to be able to share it with an audience, but the double side is that I grew up about three miles from here,” he continued.

In addition to the dozens of filmmakers, 190 volunteers help make this film festival possible.

Tiedtke says it takes a full year of teamwork to get ready for these moments. 

“Just having the filmmakers come here and watching those relationships blossom, it’s priceless,” she expressed.

The Florida Film Festival runs until April 17th.