Shaken and Keeper of the Earth get enthusiastic response at FMff

315 Films' Shaken was the highlight of the first day of the inaugural Fort Myers Film Festival, leading off a primetime short showcase at the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center that brought in the day's largest and most raucous crowd. Writer/star Stuart Alexander, director Pat Mitchell, producer/star Tim Ritter, sound man Ryan Sharp and co-stars Marty Wisher and Gabriella Lennep were all on hand for the film, as well as a packed Q&A session that featured the Shaken principals as well as Fort Myers' Donald McQuade, director of second short The Eagle and the Pit, and writer/star Clint Childs and co-star Jessica Laine of closer Emergency Contact, all of whom had flown in from Los Angeles for the festival.

315's Keeper of the Earth followed as part of an early Saturday afternoon showcase of top local films, joined by Rusty Farst's Sandbars to Sanibel and Gail Kowatch's The Right Friend. Filmmakers, including writer/director Tim Ritter, cinematographer/composer Pat Mitchell and sound man Ryan Sharp, mingled with fans for a thoughtful discussion afterward.