The 2012 Florida Film Festival International Showcase lineup announced today includes an outrageous adventure, a moving tale of childhood wishes, a sexually-charged coming-of-age comedy, and a darkly witty take on the afterlife.
2012 FLORIDA FILM FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL SHOWCASE

CLOWN, Denmark (Director: Mikkel Nørgaard) SOUTHEAST PREMIERE
In Danish with English subtitles
Frank and Casper planned an elaborate adventure to an exclusive brothel under the guise of a canoe trip. The problem is Frank just discovered his girlfriend is pregnant, and she’s none too certain he’s fatherhood material. But a fortuitous occurrence has left Frank in charge of his 12-year-old nephew. Eager to prove he doesn’t hate children while not disrupting Casper’s weekend escapades, Frank brings the kid along. Featuring a cast of Danish film luminaries, it’s a rare production that leaves you laughing till it hurts while at the same time shouting, “Oh no, they did not!”

I WISH (KISEKI), Japan (Director: Hirokazu Kore-Eda) FLORIDA PREMIERE
In Japanese with English subtitles
Twelve-year-old Koichi regrets that his parents have split. He lives with his mother and maternal grandparents in small-town Kagoshima; his younger brother lives with their slacker rock-musician father in big city Hakata.  A new bullet train line will soon run between the two cities. Koichi comes to believe that where the two trains pass on their maiden voyage, wishes can come true. Enlisting friends and adults, all with their own wishes, he journeys to reunite his family.  Japanese master filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-Eda (Afterlife, FFF1999) shows the inventiveness and resilience of children and the power of the imagination.

TURN ME ON, DAMMIT!, Norway (Director: Jannicke Systad Jacobsen) SOUTHEAST PREMIERE
In Norwegian with English Subtitles
Alma is a teenage girl living in the confines of a small town, utilizing every inch of her imagination to escape the mundane lifestyle in which she is trapped. Fortunately (and unfortunately) for her, she is now at that age where her more-than-active libido is taking her places most wouldn’t have dared to travel before. TURN ME ON, DAMMIT! is an entertaining, sweet-natured, comedic look at that awkward stage of our adolescence most of us spent years trying to erase from our memories.

UP THERE, United Kingdom (Director: Zam Salim) EAST COAST PREMIERE
At many points of our lives, there are moments where we think it simply couldn’t get any worse.  Then comes death.  For Martin, coping with the afterlife is a challenge. 
Writer/director Zam Salim constructs a beautiful, touching, and darkly witty comedy about the value of life and death. UP THERE is the type of film that reminds us how good we have it while we are here, and how the grass might not always be greener on the other side.    

This year’s Festival features a record-breaking 167 films representing 31 countries and runs April 13-22, 2012.