Rhode Island International Film Festival

Last updated
Rhode Island International Film Festival
Location Providence, USA
Founded1981
Website http://www.film-festival.org/
David Cicilline and John Ratzenberger at the 2008 Rhode Island Film Festival DavidCicillineJohnRatzenberger08RIIFF.jpg
David Cicilline and John Ratzenberger at the 2008 Rhode Island Film Festival

Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) takes place every year in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island as well as satellite locations throughout the state.

Contents

Started in 1997, the Festival is produced by Flickers, the Newport Film/Video Society & Arts Collaborative, a 501(c)(3) non-profit created in 1981. RIIFF has been a qualifying festival for the Academy Awards [1] since 2002.

History

The Festival was created by George T. Marshall, the founder of the Flickers Arts Collaborative. He has been the Executive Director/CEO of the Festival since its creation. Shawn Quirk is the Programming Director. J.Scott Oberacker, Ph.D. is the Educational Outreach Director. Timothy Haggerty is the Technical Director. Katie Reaves, Mary McSally and Reshad Kulenovic are the Educational Program Directors. Lawrence J. Andrade serves as the Executive Advisor and Human Resource Director. Michael Drywa, Esq. is the Board President.

In 1998, it hosted the world premiere of the Farrelly brothers film, There's Something About Mary . [2] [3] The Festival draws over 45,000 people annually along with a strong filmmaker presence attending its main event each August and its Horror Film sidebar in October. In 2018, the Festival screened 295 films; with 84 being world and US premieres. [4]

In 2010, the Festival has been designated as the host for Oscar Night America in Rhode Island, which it continues to host each year. In 2014, that event was renamed the "Red Carpet Experience: Providence," and continues annually.

The festival often attracts major industry talent and celebrities who attend to participate in conversations about varied aspects of filmmaking.

Attending filmmakers in the past have included actor Andrew McCarthy, who premiered his directorial debut, News for the Church; Michael Showalter discussing his feature film The Baxter , and actors Seymour Cassel, Kim Chan, and Ernest Borgnine (2009) who received Festival Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Director Blake Edwards received a Festival Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001, which was accepted by his wife, actress/singer, Julie Andrews.

Actress Blythe Danner received the Festival's Creative Vision Award in 2008 for "significant contributions to the arts." That same year, actor Richard Jenkins received the George M. Cohan Ambassador Award which honors "unique Americans who have made a timeless contribution to the arts and have inspired future generations of Rhode Islanders."

In 2009, film composer Klaus Badelt was awarded the Festival's Crystal Image Award for his contribution to the art of filmmaking. In 2010, the award went to children's author/filmmaker, Sandra Boynton. In 2011, the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to actors Paul Sorvino and Ken Howard. In 2014, the Award was presented to actor/artist, Theo Bikel.

In 2017, the Award was renamed the Gilbert Stuart Artistic Vision Lifetime Achievement Award and presented to special effects creator, Douglas Trumbull. In 2018, the Award was presented to production designer, Joseph M. Alves.

Sidebar events for the Festival include the KidsEye International Film Festival, the RI International Horror Film Festival, the Vortex Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival, Cine ¡Ole! (Spanish Film Series), the Golden Jasmine Chinese Film Festival, the Roving Eye International Film Festival, the Annual Flickers' Japanese Film Festival, the Providence Underground Film Festival and the First Look Series. Educational programs include the KidsEye Summer Filmmaking Workshop (started in 1998), the Youth Film Jury, ScriptBiz, the Providence LGBTQ Film Festival, and the Rhode Island Film Forum.

In 2010, the Flickers North Country Film Festival was introduced as a companion event to the annual RIIFF. The location for the Festival is in Coos County, New Hampshire. The principal location for exhibition is at the Balsams Grand Hotel Resort in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. Programming took place in late September through early October. In 2011, the event moved to Brattleboro, Vermont and was held in collaboration with the Brattleboro Retreat.

In 2010, the Festival introduced three new outreach programs that were designed to reach beyond the Rhode Island border: the 7DayPSA Competition and the New England Film Festival Alliance. In 2017, the Flickers introduced a new program geared to youngsters confined to hospitals called the Children's Hospital International Film Festival.

In 2022, the Festival's founder George T. Marshall passed away three months after the 40th annual edition of the Festival. [5]

The Festival is berthed at The Vets (formerly the VMA Arts & Cultural Center), a 1,900-seat facility located at One Avenue of the Arts in Providence and presents screenings throughout the state of Rhode Island during the year.

Related Research Articles

Kim Chan was a Chinese–American actor and producer. He was most notable for his roles as Lo Si, a.k.a. The Ancient, in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues and Mr. Kim in The Fifth Element.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawaii International Film Festival</span> Annual film festival in Hawaii, U.S.

The Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traverse City Film Festival</span> Annual film festival in Traverse City, Michigan, US

The Traverse City Film Festival was an annual film festival held at the end of July in Traverse City, Michigan. The festival was created as an annual event in 2005 to help “save one of America's few indigenous art forms—the cinema". The event was co-founded by Michael Moore, the Oscar-winning film director, well known for his anti-establishment films and documentaries such as Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine, and Roger & Me, along with author Doug Stanton and photographer John Robert Williams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Repertory Company</span> Theater company and theater in Providence, Rhode Island

Trinity Repertory Company is a non-profit regional theater located at 201 Washington Street in Providence, Rhode Island. The theater is a member of the League of Resident Theatres. Founded in 1963, the theater is "one of the most respected regional theatres in the country". Featuring the last longstanding Resident Acting Company in the U.S., Trinity Rep presents a balance of world premiere, contemporary, and classic works, including an annual production of A Christmas Carol, for an estimated annual audience of 110,000. In its 52-year history, the theater has produced nearly 67 world premieres, mounted national and international tours and, through its MFA program, trained hundreds of new actors and directors. Project Discovery, Trinity Rep's pioneering educational outreach program launched in 1966, annually introduces over 15,000 Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut high school students to live theater through matinees as well as in-school residencies and workshops. As of 2016, Trinity Rep's educational programs serve students in around 60% of Rhode Island schools, and it has a 9 million USD annual budget.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanley Nelson Jr.</span> American documentary filmmaker

Stanley Earl Nelson Jr. is an American documentary filmmaker and a MacArthur Fellow known as a director, writer and producer of documentaries examining African-American history and experiences. He is a recipient of the 2013 National Humanities Medal from President Obama. He has won three Primetime Emmy Awards.

International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmmaker Services, Education, and Public Programs and Events.

Mammoth Film Festival is an international, five-day event founded in 2018 by Tanner Beard (CEO) and Tomik Mansoori. The festival showcases the work of independent filmmakers, actors, directors, writers, and producers. It is held every February at various venues throughout Mammoth Mountain and the town of Mammoth Lakes, California, United States.

The Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF), sponsored by the Colorado Film Society, is held annually on Presidents Day Weekend in Boulder, Colorado USA, and has developed a reputation as one of the most compelling young film festivals in the U.S., exhibiting a number of new-but-unknown feature films, documentaries, animations, and shorts that have gone on to significant box-office success and multiple Oscar nominations, including Monsieur Lazhar, Burma VJ, Revanche, Wasp, Miracle Fish, The Conscience of Nhem Eh, Waste Land, Incident in New Baghdad, Instead of Abracadabra, Raju, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, West Bank Story, The Secret of Kells, 5 Broken Cameras, Chasing Ice, Curfew, Asad,The Missing Picture, and The Wind Rises. More than 23,600 filmmakers, national media, special guests and film enthusiasts attended the four-day BIFF 2014.

The St. Louis International Film Festival is an annual film festival in St. Louis, Missouri, which has been running since 1992. The coordinating organization changed its name to "Cinema St. Louis" in 2003. The festival screens approximately 300 films over a period of 10 days during November.

The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world's largest Indigenous film and media arts festival, held annually in Toronto in the month of October. The festival focuses on the film, video, radio, and new media work of Indigenous, Aboriginal and First Peoples from around the world. The festival includes screenings, parties, panel discussions, and cultural events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Palmer (film producer)</span>

Chris Palmer is a Hong Kong-born English environmental and wildlife film producer and director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at American University. He was executive producer for the Oscar nominated film Dolphins. He is author of Shooting in the Wild: An Insider's Account of Making Movies in the Animal Kingdom (ISBN 1578051487), Confessions of a Wildlife Filmmaker: The Challenges of Staying Honest in an Industry Where Ratings Are King (ISBN 193895405X), and Now What Grad: Your Path to Success After College (ISBN 1475823665).

The New England Festival of Ibero American Cinema is a film festival that takes place annually in the cities of Providence, Rhode Island, and New Haven, Connecticut, in the United States. It is the largest Latin American cinema festival in the region of New England. Held in early fall in Providence and New Haven, the festival aims to become the premier showcase for new works from Latin American and Ibero American filmmakers. The festival comprises competitive sections for feature films, documentaries and short films. A group of non-competitive showcase sections, including Desde Cuba: New Cinema and Panorama are also an important part of the festival. Panels, Art Exhibits and Discussions are the focus of the festival which every year invites and hosts Spanish and Latin American filmmakers to interact with Providence and New England audiences.

<i>Out in the Silence</i> 2009 American film

Out in the Silence is a 2009 documentary film directed by Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer. It chronicles the chain of events that occur when the severe bullying of a gay teenager draws Wilson and his partner back to the conservative rural community of Oil City, Pennsylvania, where their own same-sex wedding announcement had previously ignited a controversy. The film focuses on the widely varying, emotional reactions of the town's residents including the teenager and his mother, the head of the local chapter of the American Family Association, and an evangelical pastor and his wife.

The Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Providence, Rhode Island, which features a wide variety of horror, sci-fi, and thriller films, as well as documentaries, from the United States and around the world. Founded in 2000, as one of several "festival sidebars" of the Rhode Island International Film Festival, it is the largest and longest-running horror film festival in New England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael McDerman</span> American actor, comedian, and writer (born 1977)

Michael McDerman is an American actor, comedian, and writer.

<i>Its Me, Matthew!</i> 2008 film by Neil Stephens

It's Me, Matthew! is a 2008 American short film based on actual events. The semi-autobiographical short film was written, produced, and starring Michael McDerman, who used the stage name Michael Ferreira in this film. It was directed by Neil Stephens. The film running 15 minutes centered on the title character of Matthew, who is confronted with the inner struggle of looking at the past to understand why he's drawn into the personal relationships he's had. His psychoanalyst helps him link the pieces of the puzzle from the present time to the past. The film was screened at North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival, Long Island Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Anthology Film Archives, The Fortress of the Arts Festival of Shorts, Think Short Film Festival, West Hollywood International Film Festival, where it won a Juror Award, and it opened before the gay cinema's gay movie night at Clearview Cinemas, in New York City hosted by Hedda Lettuce.

Jamestown Art Center (JAC) is a non-profit arts organization with a gallery, art studios, education facilities, and event space in a renovated boat repair shop, located at 18 Valley Street in Jamestown, Rhode Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Aharoni</span> American film director and producer

Scott Aharoni is an American film producer and director. He is a co-Founder of Cinegryphon Entertainment, an American independent entertainment company specializing in film and television development, production and financing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adva Reichman</span> Israeli writer and director

Adva Reichman is an Israeli writer and director based in Los Angeles, California. She is best known for her work on the short films Silhouette and Something To Live For.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sohil Vaidya</span> Indian filmmaker

Sohil Vaidya is an Indian writer and film director. His films have screened at top tier festivals including Rotterdam, Chicago, Raindance, Melbourne, International Film Festival India, Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival, LA Asian Pacific and have won him awards like Directors Guild of America's Best Asian American Student Filmmaker Award, Grand Prix for Best Short at Melbourne International Film Festival, Platinum Remi at Worldfest Houston, Leo Award at DaVinci International Film Festival.

References

  1. "95th ACADEMY AWARDS QUALIFYING FESTIVAL LIST (Combined List for all Documentary and Short Film categories)" (PDF). Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences., retrieved 2023-09-25
  2. 2nd Annual Rhode Island International Film Festival Archived 2006-11-29 at the Wayback Machine , NewEnglandFilm.com; retrieved 2008-01-17
  3. Event guide: Rhode Island International Film Festival Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine , Frommer's; retrieved 2008-01-17
  4. Rhode Island International Film Festival - an FFW festival profile Archived 2008-01-08 at the Wayback Machine , Film Festival World, retrieved 2008-01-17
  5. "Founder of Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival dies". ABC6. 2022-11-01. Retrieved 2023-09-26.