Film South Florida.com: Describe Lick-it Man in 20 words or less.

Camille Carida: Lick-It Man is a comedy about a superhero who liberates the female population from their overburdened, under-appreciated existence.
 
Film South Florida.com: What was the film's source of inspiration?
 
Carida: The main source of inspiration was probably my relatively twisted sense of humor combined with my fascination for the dynamics between men and women and my love for comic book superheroes. The idea for the film came to me one night and I knew I had to make it into a film.
 
Film South Florida.com: What was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome while making Lick-it Man?
 
Carida: The biggest obstacle I had to overcome while making my film was keeping a straight face while pitching my film and its storyline. Other than that, there were a few monkey wrenches, like there are in the making of any film, but overall the project ran smoothly with a lot of generous people eager to help out and dedicate their time and resources. I was really excited about this film and I think that excitement rubbed off on other people. Passion is contagious. I had an amazingly talented cast and crew who were all from South Florida except for one actor who we flew in from New York City. I also found that being limited by a smaller budget often led to creative solutions and original ideas. Also as a producer, you have to stick with a project from inception to completion so you really have to love the project and believe in it to get through post production and then start the next stage which is marketing and festival submissions and seeking a distribution deal. But I loved the idea and the film so much that there was no stopping me.I knew this film had an audience and I knew it would make people laugh and think!
 
Film South Florida.com: What was the most memorable moment of making Lick-it Man?
 
Carida: I really probably did take on too much being the producer, co-writer, and actor in the film as well as caterer, casting director, props person, etc., but I also learned the nuts and bolts of filmmaking that I wouldn't have had I not taken on that immense challenge. I was going on about four hours of sleep for weeks, running around like crazy, making sure I had a backup plan to every element that could go wrong during shooting, so I rarely had a moment to sit back and laugh and joke around with the cast and crew which I am used to doing as an actor on sets.  One day while I was running around like crazy, I stopped and watched my dear friend and fellow actor Matthew Faber, best known for his role in the hit indie film Welcome to the Dollhouse, making the entire cast and crew laugh so hard they were in tears and the room was filled with so much joy. It hit me watching all those people laughing together that I wasn't just talking about making a film, I was doing it and that I love bringing people together to do what they love and make people laugh. I also had a sneaking suspicion that the audience would be laughing just as hard as my cast and crew were.
 
Film South Florida.com: How important is it to you and your film that it is screening during the FLIFF?
 
Carida: I am thrilled to have my film screen at FLIFF for several reasons. First, I have attended festivals all across the country including Sundance and I have seen phenomenal films screen here at FLIFF over the last few years. FLIFF is a very highly regarded festival worldwide so I feel honored that my work and that of my cast and crew is being recognized. Secondly, I grew up in Fort Lauderdale and later attended college at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and then lived in New York City and L.A. and various other parts of the country, but the basic shaping of who I am as a person and an artist were formed to a great extent in Fort Lauderdale so it's like a coming home. I also came back here to make the film and used all South Florida talent.
 
Film South Florida.com: How has living in Florida shaped your vision as a filmmaker?
 
Carida: My education, my family, and the climate and oddity of Florida all shaped my vision as a filmmaker. I think I've always had a lot of vision, since I was a young kid and I think I got a lot of that from my dad who is an extremely dedicated cardiologist here in South Florida who has a lot of vision in terms of caring for patients and the future of preventive medicine. My mom is an extremely funny, intelligent lady with a quirky sense of humor and I think I get a lot of my comic perspective from her. It was installed in me from a young age that I could make a difference and I owe a lot of that to my family as well as to my education. I went to the same school from kindergarten to Grade 12 here in Fort Lauderdale and I got an incredible education at Pine Crest. The faculty and administration at Pine Crest was very special people who really impacted their students. My leadership abilities, sense of humor, dedication, and performing abilities were all highly encouraged and developed at Pine Crest. Plus, there were a group of us that went from K to 12 together and that closeness and watching fellow students grow up and go through all kinds of changes influenced me as a storyteller and a filmmaker.

Lick-it Man will screen 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20 at the Cinema Paradiso. Visit http://fliff.com/2004/listings/lickitman.htm for more information.

The FLIFF's Sunshine Celluloid sidebar is dedicated to movies by Florida-based filmmakers.

FLIFF Sunshine Celluloid Q&A: Jon Braeley
FLIFF Sunshine Celluloid Q&A: Duncan Brinkhurst
FLIFF Sunshine Celluloid Q&A: Andrew Delaplaine
FLIFF Sunshine Celluloid Q&A: Dominic Traverzo
FLIFF Sunshine Celluloid Q&A: Debby Wolfe

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