Nearly 100 people froze in place at precisely 3 p.m. on Miami's Lincoln Road on Saturday as part of a stunt promoting the Miami International Film Festival. The location between two of the venues showing movies during the festival, the Colony and Lincoln Theaters, was chosen for the consistent presence of local artists and performers on the pedestrian street. "Performance art is a staple there," said senior outreach coordinator Aileen Ochoa. "So I think it's an appropriate place for creative expression to take place."
Recruited through flyers, word of mouth, and web marketing efforts, participants froze in place for five minutes with an open MIFF guide in their hands. "The fact that we stood with our guides to the festival spread open provided the opportunity for people to look at the branding on the cover," said Ochoa. "It was like a mini billboard for each person, and we had a very enthusiastic response from participants and passersby."
Flash mobs have become a growing trend across the country and garnered attention from media outlets and on YouTube. A forerunner of the trend, New York-based Improv Everywhere executed a frozen Grand Central Station in January 2008 and served as inspiration for Ray-Ban's guerilla stunt in Herald Square last July.
