Apr 03, 2019

Florida crime doc comes to Fort Myers Film Festival

The disappearance of a beloved priest leads to shocking revelations in the true crime documentary WHERE THERE IS DARKNESS, which debuts in Southwest Florida on April 11 at the Fort Myers Film Festival.

The Fort Myers Film Festival, now in its 9th year, will screen 89 independent films. The event takes places over five days and in eight locations in the Fort Myers area from April 10-14, 2019.

Among the films selected to screen at the festival is Where There is Darkness, a feature-length documentary which has been selected by over 40 other film festivals since being completed last year. The film has won more than 30 awards.

Told with a combination of actual footage, eyewitness videos, and re-enactments, the story follows the nationwide search for Fr. Rene Robert, a beloved priest who went missing from St. Augustine, Florida in 2016.

The film culminates in a series of shocking revelations and the discovery of a 20-year-old letter in which Fr. Rene seemed to foretell his own fate.

Stella Mar Films, the independent production company responsible for Where There Is Darkness, is based near Orlando, and filmmaker Sean Bloomfield will present the film at the Fort Myers Film Festival.

"I'm a third-generation native Floridian," said Bloomfield, "and Where There Is Darkness is a Florida story at its core, so I'm thrilled to bring our documentary to the Fort Myers Film Festival. It's arguably one of the top festivals in the Sunshine State."

Audiences describe the film as both "riveting" and "challenging." One recent viewer commented that seeing the Where There Is Darkness "was the most emotionally powerful experience I've ever had in a movie theater."

Bloomfield believes that the film will captivate viewers in Fort Myers as well.

"My co-filmmakers and I were drawn to this story because we saw that it could be told in a way that challenges audiences in positive ways," he said, "just as it challenged us as filmmakers. On the surface, Where There Is Darkness is a true crime documentary, but, beneath all the suspense and mystery, there are so many deeper layers. I'm excited to see how the audience reacts at the festival, and I'm looking forward to sharing some behind-the-scenes stories as well."

Thursday's screening of Where There Is Darkness is open to the public (with advance ticket purchase) and festival-goers.