Downtown Miami Hosts Film and Video Festival

The Rewind/Fast Forward Film and Video Festival, which kicks off its sixth edition today and runs through Sunday at the Miami-Dade Public Library Main Branch in downtown Miami, has never been like other film festivals. For one thing, all of the screenings are free. That's right: Gratis.

And although ''free'' often translates into ''We couldn't get anyone to pay for this, so we're giving it away,'' the Rewind/Fast Forward Film and Video Festival is actually one of Miami's best and most enjoyable celebrations of the cinematic arts, cramming an amazing amount of diversity, breadth and quality into three days.

Curated by Barron Sherer (who also programs Cinema Vortex, the excellent periodic festival of cult and rare movies), Rewind/ Fast Forward aims to celebrate Florida's cinematic heritage both in front of and behind the screen. Saturday afternoon's Miami Movie Makers Club is a celebration of the 40-year history of the rotating members of the organization, amateur filmmakers who turned their home and vacation movies into ambitious works of art.

For more information on the festival, including a complete schedule, visit http://www.fmia.org/.