empire hits the Big Screen
EMPIRE documentary Premieres at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
On a warm South Florida afternoon, guests arrived at the red carpet reception at Savor Cinema during the opening weekend of FLIFF40. Ticket holders were welcomed with complimentary cocktails and photo opportunities as they walked past the official EMPIRE poster displayed in the theater marquee.
EMPIRE, a documentary chronicling the rise of Empire Social Lounge in Las Olas and Brickell and the people who shaped its culture, made its theatrical debut as an Official Selection of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival.
Watching the film projected onto a full theater screen in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale was an entirely different experience than any private showing before it.
Owners Jason Reznik and Ryan Leeds personally welcomed attendees, hugging familiar faces and shaking hands with newcomers. Members, staff, families, and local business owners from around Las Olas all gathered together to celebrate the story and the community behind it.
about the film
The film follows the early days of Empire Social Lounge and traces how two friends, co-founders Jason Reznik and Ryan Leeds, opened the doors not really knowing what it would become. What they did know was that they wanted a space where conversations could last longer than a drink and a cigar.
What unfolds on screen is less about a business and more about what grew around it. Cigars become the starting point for connection. People from completely different careers, backgrounds, and stages of life end up sitting beside each other and talking.
Over time, the lounge becomes a family, a place of belonging, and one of the easiest ways in the city to meet new people.
That is why the film resonates. It is not really about cigars.
It is about how they create an opportunity to slow down and form deeper connections with others, something that has become rare in a busy and increasingly digital world.
Why This Story Resonates beyond fort lauderdale
South Florida has no shortage of nightlife. There is always somewhere to go, another opening, another crowded room, another place to be seen. What it often lacks is familiarity.
Many social spaces here are transient. People move through them quickly. You meet someone once and may never cross paths again. The city can feel busy and social at the same time, yet still strangely anonymous.
Empire Social Lounge has quietly become the opposite of that.
It is a place where conversations continue. Someone asks about your job one night and remembers the answer the next time you walk in. People notice when you travel, and they notice when you have been gone too long. Introductions for newcomers happen naturally and over time, familiar faces turn into names, and names turn into friendships and even business relationships.
In the film, Ryan Leeds reflects, “We understand that we don’t make cigars, and we understand that we don’t make whiskey. What we make are memories and experiences.”
At another moment in the documentary, Pete Berntsen reflects, “It has been always a journey and experience when you open a new business, and in this case, this is what we do, our version of sophisticated relaxation and what we do inside the four walls of an Empire Social Lounge Cigar & Whiskey Bar.”
For Those Who Missed It
The film wrapped production in early September 2025. A couple of private premieres were held at the Brickell and Las Olas member’s lounges, giving them a first look before the final cut was submitted to the festival circuit.
Now that the festival has concluded, the wait is finally over for those who have been anticipating the digital release.
On March 12 at 8:00 PM EST, EMPIRE will officially be released for public streaming online. Anyone, whether local or across the country, will be able to watch the film for the first time.
If you have never visited, the film serves as an introduction. If you have, it serves as a reflection and an invitation to come back.
The real experience is participation.
You do not need to know cigars. You do not need to be a regular. You just have to walk in.
Watch the film when it premieres online, then come see what exists beyond the screen for yourself.
Watch the recap highlight film from the premiere at the festival on our Instagram or Facebook page
