Performing Arts
Michael Rossi: Founding Artistic Director, MMF
MICHAEL ROSSI is the founding artistic director of the Miami Beach Music Festival (nee Miami Music Festival, 2013). He is a musician, educator, and has conducted some of the world’s leading orchestras.
read moreRachel Faro: Producer, Singer, Songwriter
RACHEL FARO (b.1948) is a singer, songwriter, record producer, consultant and record label executive. She is also a well-known producer of Cuban, Latin, African, jazz, blues, folk and world music recordings, and the founder and president of Ashe Records, a well-respected world music record label.
read moreCelebrating Juneteenth 2025
In celebration of JUNETEENTH 2025, we have curated a group of video interviews from the ArtSpeak archives with prominent people in the arts.
read moreAndrew Meyer: M Is for Mentor
ANDREW H. MEYER (b.1948) has served as an entertainment industry executive, film producer, and educator. He has been the President of Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss’ A&M Films, Robert Redford’s Wildwood Productions, and Norman Lear’s Act All Productions. His films include “The Breakfast Club,” Fried Green Tomatoes,” and “Birdy.” Meyer’s memoir, “Walking in the Fast Lane,” was published in 2024.
read moreFilmmakers Emanuela Galliussi & Dean Ronalds
EMANUELA GALLIUSSI is a self-described filmmaker — an actress, director, screenwriter, producer. DEAN RONALDS is also a multi-talented director, producer, and writer. Their most recent (2025) collaboration is the film “ZOE.”
read moreAnita Castiglione + Paul Posnak: A Lifetime Making Music
PAUL POSNAK’S international career as a concert pianist and recording artist began as a child prodigy with a full scholarship to the Juilliard Preparatory School of Music at the age of eight. He performs frequently as duo-pianist with his wife, ANITA CASTIGLIONE whose career as a soloist, collaborative pianist, and music educator began with piano studies in Massachusetts at the age of six. She has performed extensively throughout the United States.
read moreWaltzing with Billy Zane
BILLY ZANE is an actor, filmmaker, and visual artist. His breakthrough role was in the Australian film “Dead Calm” (1989). He has since appeared in numerous films and television series and starred as the main antagonist Caledon Hockley in the epic film “Titanic” (1997), the Phantom in “The Phantom,” (1996) and Marlon Brando in “Waltzing with Brando” (2024).
read moreMiami New Drama’s “Birthright” Is Full of Character Amid Plenty Of Complexity
Miami New Drama’s “Birthright” is like “Friends” but with a deeper meaning and Jewish identity at its core. The play tackles plenty of issues from the perspective of six friends who form alliances during a rite-of-passage trip to Israel.
read moreJuliet Romeo: Filmmaker, Journalist, Activist
JULIET ROMEO is an award-winning writer and director known for her dedication to bold, authentic storytelling. A Brooklyn-born Trinidadian filmmaker based in South Florida, she brings her lived experiences as a disabled Caribbean woman into her work, creating narratives that explore identity, resilience, and social justice.
read more2025 Miami Film Festival Showcases Films Made in South Florida
One of the highlights of the Miami Film Festival is the chance to see movies made right here in the 305. For the 42nd year of the festival, opening Thursday, April 3 and running through Sunday, April 13, there is an impressive array of narratives and documentaries that are produced in the MIA.
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