Black Ships Japanese Film Festival
2008 Marks the 25th Anniversary Screening
In 1984, a dedicated group of
civic and community leaders were drawn together to help
create an event that celebrated the arts, culture and
Rhode Island’s historical friendship with Japan.
One of the founding members of this group was Flickers—The
Newport Film Society, which participated by creating,
curating and presenting the Japanese Film Festival.
Now, 25 years later and as many years of screening this
festival, Flickers has evolved into the Flickers Arts
Collaborative and produces the Annual Rhode
Island International Film Festival (RIIFF)
which is now celebrating its12th year.
 As
a prelude to its August event (August 5-10, 2008), the Rhode Island International Film Festival,
through Flickers, is proud to again continue to salute
the Black
Ships Festival in Newport. From Friday, July 18th- Sunday, July 20th, RIIFF will present its annual three-day celebration of the best of Japanese filmmaking. In addition to presenting an amazing collection of new work from Japan, RIIFF will be bringing back an old favorite: an expanded version of its multi-media program, "East Meets West: The Music of Ikuma Dan." Along with a number of US Premieres, this mini-festival will
feature award-winning shorts, cutting-edge anime, and
several feature-length films. More details will be announced shortly.
“We feel that this is a great way for the general
public to discover how Japanese cinema has influenced
so many of the world’s leading filmmakers and
artists,” said RIIFF Executive Director, George
T. Marshall, founder of both Flickers and RIIFF.
“We began screening Japanese films for the Black
Ships Festival in 1984,” added Marshall. “Thanks
to the worldwide reputation of the Rhode Island International
Film Festival, we have access to major new work that
is submitted. This year alone, we expect over 3,000 entries, with many coming from filmmakers in Japan. RIIFF
is the only New England Film Festival that is a qualifying
festival for the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences,
(aka, the Oscars), and that has had a major influence in the quality and volume of the work we receive."
WHAT IS THE BLACK SHIPS FESTIVAL?
 The
Black Ships Festival commemorates the historic achievements
of Commodore Matthew C. Perry, USN, of Newport, Rhode
Island. The "Black Ships," or "Kurofune,"
refers to the Japanese term for foreign ships which,
with one exception, were excluded from Japan for two
hundred years until 1854. Commodore Perry negotiated
the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854, the first treaty between
the United States and Japan, thus ending two centuries
of Japanese isolationism. The Black Ships Festival celebrates
the signing of the treaty, which brought the two countries
together as trading partners.
The Black Ships Festival is presented by The Japan-America
Society Black Ships Festival of Rhode Island, Inc.,
a non-profit, non-partisan organization. For further
information, contact The Japan-America Society of Rhode
Island, 28 Pelham Street, Newport, RI 02840, call (401)
846-2720 or their website at www.BlackShipsFestival.com.
The special film program being presented this year by
RIIFF will take place at locations in Newport and Jamestown. The
dates are July 18 –20th.
AT A GLANCE:
Who: RIIFF, Flickers and the Black
Ships Festival
What: The 25th Annual Black Ships Japanese
Film Festival
Where: Newport & Jamestown, RI
When: Friday, July 18- Sunday, July 20th
How: TBA
Contact: 401-861-4445
For more information about this program, please contact:
George T. Marshall, Executive Director
Rhode Island International
Film Festival™
P.O. Box 162
Newport, Rhode Island 02840 (United States)
Street Address: 96 Second Street, Newport, RI 02840
Office: 268 Broadway, Providence, RI 02903
Tel/Fax: (401) 861-4445 / 490-6735
georget@film-festival.org
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