Just got this email from Anna Christopher, rockstar director of Queen of Cactus Cove.

Great news! Queen of Cactus Cove just got into the Florida Film Festival! This is the fifth festival we’ve been invited since we finished in November but this fest is by far the most important ! The Florida Film Festival is a top ten festival in the US and a qualifying festival for the Oscars. What does that mean? I’ll tell ya! The winner of the Grand Jury Prize Award for Best Narrative Short will automatically qualify to enter the Live Action Short Film category of the Academy Awards. Yeah!
I spoke with the festival director today and he told me how much the selection committee loved our film. They got around 600 shorts. They ranked ’em, put the top 60 up on a wall and debated them for 12 hours. Queen never got questioned. He said everyone just loved it for its heart, simplicity, universal appeal, unique setting/characters, strong themes and high quality of filmmaking. Wow! He also said that no one had to champion the film because it was an all-around favorite. Aw, shucks!
Our film will screen twice–once for an audience with ‘audience ballots’ and once for the Grand Jury and Special Jury. The festival is March 24-April 2. We’ll keep you all posted on how Queen does!

Roadtrip, anyone? Effin’ awesome news! *beaming happy casting director*