Move over Oscars, here’s Fort Yachtie Da Film Fest

In the Fort Yachtie Da Film Festival, crewmembers submit five-minute videos that they’ve written, directed and starred in themselves. This year’s awards ceremony and festival takes place Saturday, Nov. 16 at Fort Lauderdale’s Cinema Paradiso, 503 SE Sixth St.

Kelly Esser has no plans to chuck his career in the yacht industry, move to Hollywood and become a movie director. Still, the captain of the 130-foot Mary Alice II enjoys getting behind the camera.

And as he has each year since 2008, Esser will submit a short film this month to the Fort Yachtie Da Film Festival, a yearly event created and sponsored by Crew Unlimited and C U Yacht Charters, and the only cinematography competition dedicated exclusively to the luxury yacht industry.

“It’s a whole lot of fun,” Esser, 32, said, “And it’s a healthy competition among peers in the industry, with a wide variety of subject matter. You never know what you’re going to be up against.”
Ami G. Ira, president and owner of Crew Unlimited, came up with the idea to do a film festival for yachties in 2007. Touring Cinema Paradiso as a venue for the company’s yearly Client Appreciation Party, the presence of the big screen sparked inspiration.

“We were discussing what we could project on the screen and my receptionist suggested a photography contest. But because it’s a movie screen, I suggested a video contest instead.” So, in 2008, Ira began promoting it to her company’s yacht crewmembers. The first year saw only nine videos, Ira said.

“It started out rather humble, but it’s grown into quite a big thing, and everybody has a good time coming up with their films. The awards ceremony is always a hit.”

Last year, there were 36 films entered. The overall winner, “Interior Girl,” produced and directed by Maruschka “Mish” Marchio, is a full-on music video parodying Madonna’s “Material Girl” video. Members of the crew are shown cleaning the interior of their charter yacht, singing and dancing while extolling the virtues of a clean interior, friendly guests and the yachtie life in general.

A sample of the lyrics: “Some guests come play, some are insane, that’s alright with me. I just do the best I can, and then I let them be. Because we are living in an interior world, and I am an interior girl.”

The films can be up to five minutes long and compete in seven categories: Best Original Screenplay, Production Quality, Yachtie Lifestyle, Best Female Actor, Best Male Actor, Comedy and Action. Yacht crewmembers write, direct, star in and film the videos, then upload them to the event’s website by Oct. 15. Viewers can watch online, read about the producers and actors, and rate the videos.

Producers can win $500 in cash plus the signature hand-beaten stainless steel “Oscar Fish” trophy in each category. The producer with the highest number of total votes wins the Best Overall large “Oscar Fish” trophy, plus $1,000 cash and a $500 travel voucher.

Esser said he and his crew are always filming during charters, anyway, which made it easier for him to put together his award-winning film, “The Good Life.”

“We’ve got cameras going a lot of the time,” he said. “We film a lot of video for our guests, and what you end up getting is a lot of good footage that shows the lifestyle. That’s what we used to create ‘The Good Life.’”

The awards ceremony emulates the Academy Awards’ Oscar celebration, where guests attend — many dressed in formal attire — to watch the nominees on the big screen. Winners take home cash and prizes, as well as a stainless steel fish trophy.

“It’s a thoroughly enjoyable, light-hearted occasion,” said Herb Magney, who served as emcee for the ceremony in 2010 and will also host this year’s event. “And it’s a huge social event.”

Magney, who captains the 145-foot yacht, At Last, likens his role to a circus ringmaster.

“It’s a little wild, but it’s a wonderful forum for creativity, and a great example of how a business such as Crew Unlimited can work to build a community,” Magney said. “I’m always thrilled to be a part of it, and Ami’s just been completely inspirational in this whole thing.”

As emcee, Magney isn’t eligible for an award, but he’s bringing a film of his own anyway. His film is called “Boys and Their Toys,” and includes footage of his 3-and-a-half-year-old son playing with his friends and their remote-control vehicles, he said. “Of course, I intersperse that with footage of grown men with their boats and electronics, so you get the idea. We never really grow out of our toys.”

Entries can be “silly or serious,” as long as they tell a story or just show what yacht crew life is all about.

The deadline for video submissions is Oct. 15, with online voting starting 9 a.m. on Oct. 16, and ending at 11 p.m. Nov. 1, to allow for editing and final film production for the awards ceremony presentation.

Each registered voter may select only one winner for each category, and may vote only once. Winners will be determined by a panel of judges, sponsors and by online voters, weighted equally three ways. The highest average points will determine the winner. Videos are judged on creativity, content, production quality and entertainment value.

Magney said a big payoff is the showings at Cinema Paradiso.

“It’s great that you can watch the videos online, either on the film festival site or on YouTube, but nothing compares to seeing them on that huge screen,” Magney said. “It’s really kind of awe-inspiring.”

This year’s event starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16 at Fort Lauderdale’s Cinema Paradiso, 503 SE Sixth St. The venue is also home to the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. Tickets are $35. For more information, visit www.fortyachtieda.com .