Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival, Museum of Art + Design, and Wolfson Archives Announce Open Call for Films About The Freedom Tower

Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Miami Film Festival, Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) and The Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archive (Wolfson Archives) present an open call for short films celebrating the centennial anniversary of the historic Freedom Tower in 2025. Proposals will be accepted from March 4 - April 14.

Three finalists will be selected to each create a two-minute sample film. Each finalist will receive $5,000 to support the creation of this initiative. The winner will receive $30,000 and produce a 10-minute film incorporating new and historical footage available at the Wolfson Archives located at MDC Wolfson Campus. 

Utilizing visual treatments, illustration, animation, original video, historical footage and interviews, filmmakers are invited to create a 10-minute film about the Freedom Tower and its long and storied history as a beacon of hope, opportunity and freedom in Miami.

WHAT: Open Call for Films About The Freedom Tower

WHEN: Monday, March 4, through Sunday, April 14 

WHERE: miamifilmfestival.com/the-freedom-tower

For more information, email info@miamifilmfestival.com.

About The Freedom Tower:

Miami Dade College’s National Historic Landmark Freedom Tower has stood as an icon on the Downtown Miami skyline since 1925 and as a storied location with deep connections to Miami’s Cuban American community.

Built in 1925 as a new home for the city’s oldest newspaper and a grand architectural assertion of Miami’s urban ambition, the Freedom Tower became an emblem of the ideal of America as a democratic haven for those seeking freedom and opportunity. From 1962 to 1974, it served as the Cuban Assistance Center, a crucial help center for hundreds of thousands of Cuban refugees fleeing communism and political persecution. These immigrants would transform Miami. Following several decades of neglect, the Tower was rescued by Cuban American community leaders seeking to honor the Cuban legacy in Miami, who donated it to Miami Dade College in 2005.

Currently, Miami Dade College is focused on renovating the Freedom Tower by completing necessary repairs and working with engineers and architects to restore the building’s infrastructure.