South Florida snuck its way into the glamorous Hollywood spotlight of Thursday’s Academy Award nominations, but not in a way you might expect.
“Kings Point,” a poignant look at life, love and loneliness among six residents of the titular retirement community in Delray Beach, was among the titles nominated in the Short Documentary category.
The film, which clocks in at about 30 minutes, was seen locally at last fall’s Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, which CEO Greg Von Hausch attributed to a bit of luck. “Kings Point” arrived in an unassuming envelope, one of many cold submissions that often get ignored by harried FLIFF curators. But seeing the Florida tie-in, Von Hausch took a shot.
“Kings Point” is the result of two decades of visits by filmmaker Sari Gilman (pictured) to see her grandmother, who moved to South Florida from New York. In the beginning, life was warm and sunny, but as Gilman writes on the film’s website, day-to-day existence for her grandmother and friends took an inevitable turn.
Gilman woke up early Thursday morning in anticipation of the Oscar nominations.
The film is dedicated to her grandmother, who died two years ago.
“I only wish that she were here to enjoy this moment with me,” Gilman said.
The FLIFF screening drew many Kings Point residents, who were very excited “until they found out I was going to charge them full price,” Von Hausch said, laughing.
They may get another chance: Gilman has plans to return to South Florida to screen the film for Kings Point residents. And the documentary is set to air March 11 on HBO. For more information, go to KingsPointMovie.com.