Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Florence Alexander.
Dr. Florence, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
After I migrated to Orlando, primarily to avoid the snow up north, I became aware of the many at-risk youth in the inner city that I could help with educational support. I purchased the Tift College in Forsyth, Georgia and started a boarding school for children K – 12, the Ebon International Preparatory Academy. The school offered an innovative curriculum that included the arts, business studies, and the regular courses for the school-age children. CNN provided equipment for TV studies that our school offered to all grades. This was my first real venture into. the visual and performing arts and making movies.
At the time that I operated the boarding school, I was the owner of my sole proprietor, Ebon Research Systems, Federal government consulting firm that employed 1,500 full-time staff and amassed $450,000,000 gross sales in its first 25 years. One of my contracts was an engineering contract at the Kennedy Space Center where I built a 30,000 square foot building. in Titusville to house my employees. At the end of the 1 5 years NASA contracts, I converted the building to a television studio to expand my four television shows that I produced for Bright House. The Titusville Film Commissioner visited my studio and suggested that I considered making a movie about Harry T. Moore since the museum was near my TV studio. Following my tour of the Harry T. Moore Museum in Mims, I decided to assemble a team and produced. the feature film, “The Untold Story of Harry T, Moore” that won an award at the Orlando Urban Film Festival. Being curious about how film worked, I traveled to Park City, Utah and experienced the snow and difficulty in finding films that were being screened in many theaters since no one venue could accommodate the entire festival. Upon returning to Orlando, I decided to start a film festival and host it at the Orange County Convention Center. COVID interrupted my plans and I selected the Enzian Theater for my first film festival. The Orlando International Film Festival (OIFF) is now in its seventh year. Our next film festival is being held at the University of Central Florida June 18-22, 2025. For the first time, the festival will be screening an Emmy award film, “Beneath the Same Sky.”
The festival receives approximately 250 film from 40 or more foreign countries and the United States. As the industry changes, OIFF is expanding its screenings with films using the advanced technological methodologies. The. 2026 OIFF Film Festival will feature AI, Animation, and Emergent Digital Technology films.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road was rocky when COVID hit, but things have smoothed since then.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The OIFF has a Youth Component where we mentor, train, and education at-risk youth in the visual arts and film production along with helping. them with life skills. We are most proud of the many young children who have benefitted from our services.
How do you think about happiness?
Seeing the faces of the young children who love the support OIFF gives them
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.OIFF.us
Image Credits
Orlando International Film Festival
