By Brandon Judell

You can’t help but look down on Mama Streep, Moms DeVito or Mrs. DiCaprio when you compare these no-doubt fine ladies to Tom Cruise’s Mater. This sprightly lady has helped start a film festival on Marco Island, a lovely bit of land off Naples, Florida, where millionaires reside alongside ever friendly retirees and dolphins. This joyous event has just celebrated its sophomore turn and no one was happier than director Charlie Minn who showed up for his second visit, this year with his short 5:55: "There’s no festival in the country that treats filmmakers with more class. Their hospitality is tremendous. Also there are people down here worth a lot of money. I think your chance of getting an investor for completion funds or to fund your next feature may be the strongest part of the Marco Island Film Festival."

Danielle Faraldo, director of the hilarious half-hour short, The Floys of Neighborly Lane, agreed: "I’d like to make The Floys into a feature so I’m hoping to raise money. But if I don’t, Marco Island is good exposure and it’s always nice to see the audience respond in different places."

Now unlike the New York Film Festival or Cannes, the opening night festivities here are what a besotted Martha Stewart might call splendidly creative. There was a bearded woman, a fat man, first-rate balloon blowing, plus a young clown with what looked like a big hickey on his neck. (Closer inspection proved it was indeed a hickey.) There was also – on a screen that had seen better days possibly as a Ping-Pong table – a beach screening under the stars of a B-family film starring Charles Nelson Reilly and Julie Harris called The First of May. Sadly, it made you not want to hang around for the rest of the month.

Filmmakers, by the way, were put up gratis in huge, lovely rooms and given a box of gourmet jellybeans. They also, on one occasion, got to be serenaded by Marco Island’s local version of the Rockettes, a group of young teens, several dressed up as apes, who sang and danced on a very crowded stage. Sadly, the performers outnumbered the audience possibly by 6 to 1.

Live entertainment aside, the slate of films screened included more than a few winners, like The Sixth Happiness, Dreaming of Joseph Lees, Christopher Nolan's audacious Following, and A.J. Polin’s tribute to pooch-ownership, A.J.'s Documentary. Jody Podolsky’s All of It starring Leslie Ann Warren as a frigid mom, Nadia Tass’s Amy, Harry Bromley-Davenport’s Erasable You, and John Polson’s Siam Sunset also drew considerable praise. As for the shorts, they too were very strong, especially Chris Wedge’s Bunny, Elisabeth Löchen’s shocking Red Ribbon, Lynn-Maree Danzey’s perfect Fetch, and Roy Unger’s stately Requiem.

There was also a truly lovely evening held at a yacht club to give Broadway star Gwen Verdon a lifetime achievement award. This is sort of like ESPN giving George Stephanopoulos an award for his physical fitness. But no one complained because the gracious Gwen is a classic and was accompanied by a new film she starred in, Arthur Allen Seidelman’s well-received Walking Across Egypt.

Between screenings, there were daily yacht rides where filmmakers got to chat with Ma Cruise, eat lox and collect seashells. There were also panels where such subjects as sex, violence and cinema were discussed with students, and Morgan Brittany of the TV show "Dallas" shared unhappy moments from her life. More fascinating were the revelations at a teen panel on cinema that not one youthful participant had ever seen a negative portrayal of homosexuality on film. But then none had seen a movie older than In and Out.

Best of all, though, was the closing night party where someone won a Top Gun video autographed by Tom Cruise; spongy chicken wings were served; "Happy Days"’s Donny Most, who’s now directing, received an award for the joy he’s brought us all over the years; plus Vera, a slightly chunky, costumed, septuagenarian dancer strutted her stuff to twangy music in front of a Confederate flag.

Marco Island had once again proved it was the place to be. Its hearty curator, staff, and volunteers again opened their hearts to independent moviemakers, supplying a luxurious respite to artistes who spend most of their days on their knees praying for distribution. Suzanna Castillo, associate producer of the feature Verses, got off her knees to note, "Marco is extremely well-organized. Everybody is so friendly and helpful. There’s a lot of community spirit. They’ve made everyone very welcome and our every need has been met." And while it’s true this wasn’t exactly Sundance with Tammy Faye Bakker, it was much warmer.