Here's how Miami International Film Festival director Jaie Laplante described the most recent iteration: "This year's lineup is like a prism that invites Miami to see the world with an illumination that only the cinema and the artists that create the work can provide." You can say that again. From four locally directed gems (about everything from strippers to skunk apes) to the 40 other nations represented among the 129 films, the festival shone a blindingly bright spotlight on South Florida. And unlike many festivals, MIFF offers a chance for nearly every part of Dade to take part, with showings from downtown's Olympia Theater and Miami Dade College's Tower Theater to Miami Beach Cinematheque and Regal Cinemas on Lincoln Road, O Cinema's North Beach location, Coral Gables Art Cinema, and Cinépolis in Coconut Grove. In its 32 years, the festival has evolved into one of the city's most scintillating events. So mark your calendar now. The 2017 version has been scheduled for March 3 through 12.