“Night of Hope” Premieres at Miami International Film Festival Tomorrow

Local writer, director and producer Moe Charif will present of his latest cinematic endeavor at the “Night of Hope” film screening during the 2010 Miami International Film Festival tomorrow at the historic Gusman Center in downtown Miami to benefit the Honey Shine Mentoring Program. A project of Alonzo Mourning Charities and Miami Children’s Hospital, it encourages the balance of mind, body, and soul in girls and women by providing nurturing experiences that enlighten their paths and empower their future.

The night will start with the short drama Never Winter, based on a true story, which follows 11-year-old Chloe Hammond as she deals with the struggles of life with a drug addict and abusive mother. After her plan of escape backfires, Hammond’s only hope is to turn to her school counselor for a chance at a better life. Never Winter is Charif’s follow up piece to the 2005 award-winning action thriller Hunted, according to press materials. The second showing of the evening will be preceded by a live auction with donated art by Romero Britto.

The evening will conclude with an inspirational documentary called A Step From Heaven by Mexican director Vidal Canto which includes notable cast members Gloria and Emilio Estefan. Post-event festivities will include an afterparty at Cafeina, a lounge hidden between Wynwood warehouses, with complimentary Pisco cocktails and international tapas by executive chef Guily Booth, whose crab cakes were recently heralded by Martha Stewart as “the best she has ever had.”

Cafeina is located at 297 NW 23rd St., Wynwood; (305) 438-0792