RIIFF 2011 Team

AWARDS ADJUDICATION COMMITTEE:.

Sara Archambault •

Sara Archambault is the Program Director at the LEF Foundation in Cambridge, MA, funding the work of independent, documentary film and video artists and broadening recognition and support for their work locally and nationally. She is a co-founder and programmer at The DocYard, Boston's premier nonfiction film series, bringing filmmakers from around the world to screen what's innovative and inspiring in documentary cinema. She is currently producing the documentary film STREET FIGHTING MAN about a neighborhood in transition in Detroit, MI, and is creating an online audio archive called Rhode Island Lost Landscapes which aims to preserve the memories of where things used to be. Sara frequently serves as a juror, panelist and moderator at a variety of film festivals; and volunteers for the Women¹s Fund of RI and Girls Rock! RI.

Scott Duhamel •

Film Critic

Graduated from Rhode Island College with a BA, as a major in Film Studies in 1981. Film Columnist for Providence Monthly 1999-present, Film Reviewer/Pop Culture Writer for the Providence Phoenix, 1982-89, Editor/Blogger for Culture Vulture Time Blog 2006-present, Contributing Blogger-present for PopKrazy Blog, Shaking Like a Mountain Blog, PoP Blog. Business Representative for IUPAT, District Council 11, Local 195 from 2005-present and Secretary-Treasurer for Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council 2009-present.

Richard Dulgarian •

Avon Cinema Theatre Owner

Richard Dulgarian is a native Rhode Islander whose life has been surrounded by film and theatre. He graduated from the Theatre / Communications Department at Rhode Island College and is now the owner of one of Providence's best-loved and most well-known independent film theaters. He spent his early years working at his family's College Hill Book Store, a popular fixture on Providence's East Side for four decades, and a hub of local and independent culture, known for it's well-curated collection, friendly staff, and extraordinary late-night hours. Dulgarian's current passion is the Avon Cinema, his art deco style single-screen theater on Thayer Street. The Avon Cinema opened its doors in 1938 and has remained on screen for more than seven decades as a family-run business, spanning three generations of leadership. He takes pride in preserving the theatre's authentic 1938 style, fully restoring the classic detailing, vintage decoration, and the original marquee and letters that are hand-changed every week in the classic style of traditional theaters. Dulgarian even uses the original 1930s Carbon Arc projectors, said to be preferred by Woody Allen in his private screening rooms. These projectors are expensive and difficult to maintain, and some of the last of their kind, but are also widely regarded as creating some of the finest quality of light. Through the Avon, he strives to provide the latest in high-quality programming and continue his theater's tradition of specializing in the exhibition of the finest in foreign and independent films. As it approaches the 75th Anniversary of its opening, Dulgarian has high hopes for the Avon Cinema as it continues as a bastion of independent film into the 21st century.

SueEllen Kroll •

Rhode Island Council for the Humanities Grants Administrator

SueEllen has worked at the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (RICH) since 2003, when she was first hired as an independent consultant to produce the topical radio series Action Speaks: Underappreciated Days that Changed America. That experience changed the path of her life and inspired her to make a career out of fostering the public humanities in Rhode Island. In 2004, she was hired as Program Officer, and has served as Grants Director since 2008. Since joining RICH, SueEllen has traversed from Little Compton to Woonsocket to hear the enlightening stories of Rhode Island’s most recognizable citizens as well as its Unsung Heroes, an experience that is at once enriching, inspiring and humbling. SueEllen is a native of Massachusetts, but was lured to Providence in 2001 enamored by the city’s sense of community and its rich cultural life. Since her arrival, SueEllen has helped out on various community projects, including spearheading the RI Human Rights Film Festival (2001 – 2006). In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, bike rides, collecting African literature and working on her historic home. SueEllen holds a BA in English Literature from Wheaton College.

Michelle LeBrun •

Documentarian

The award-winning documentary Death: A Love Story, marked Ms. Le Brun’s debut as a filmmaker having directed, produced, written and photographed the film. It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, won top awards at several other national film festivals and aired on national PBS and CBC Canada. An analysis of the film was also featured in Documentary Media, by Broderick Fox and Sundancing, by John Anderson. Ms. Le Brun has produced and directed a variety of short films that have aired on Rhode Island PBS including “Gone Fishin’ and “Ruth Dealy: A Portrait”. In 2002 Ms. Le Brun founded HARKEN! Youth Media providing workforce development filmmaking opportunities to youth. We teach youth to master their environment by learning storytelling, technical skills associated with camera work, interviewing, and editing as well as civic engagement to tell compelling stories. Michelle is also an adjunct professor in the Integrated Arts and Learning Graduate Masters Degree Program at Lesley University and also teaches in the Film Media and Communications departments of the University of Rhode Island.

Bob Leddy •

Film Historian

Retired in Nov. 2001 after 38 years at the Providence Journal, including two decades covering high school sports. He majored in journalism at URI Extension Division. For the past 41 years he has also been a contributor to the Journal-Bulletin's editorial pages, beginning with the former "In Perspective'' columns in both papers. His columns and unsigned editorials have focused on film history and criticism. Over the years, he has written numerous book reviews for the paper on film-related topics, and was a frequent lecturer on film history at Lenox (Mass.) High School, and Barrington (R.I.) High. Both schools at the time offered classes in film studies, at which he was invited to speak. He would arrange video screenings of movies, and devote classes to subjects such as film noir (both past and neo), cinematography, directing, story content, acting, etc.

Ray Lepre •

He earned a B.A. Degree from RI College in Film Studies (1989). For the past 17 years he has worked for Cox Communications as a producer and Operations Manager and currently oversees operations for Cox Sports New England, the company owned local network. He has worked as a sports free-lance camera operator covering the New England pro and college teams. Co-Directed “An Uzi at the Alamo” (Scarredheel Productions) 2005. Served as Director of Photography for the narrative short: “Balance” (Scarred Heel Productions) 2006. Is currently working on launching 8 Frederick Films, a local production company that specializes in the creation of short and feature narrative projects.

Ed Mastriano •

Ed Mastriano is a marketing manager at Cox Communications. In his position, Mastriano leads client-driven promotions and marketing services. He is responsible for developing the Cox Media brand, driving new product launches and building partnerships with customers and cable programmers. He has a B.A. from Franklin Pierce College.

Kamille Gentles-Peart • about

Assistant Professor of Communication at Roger Williams University teaching international communications.  A first-generation immigrant, born and raised in Jamaica, W.I.  she received a B.A. in Mass Communication, with a focus on multicultural journalism, from Lehman College of the City University of New York. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  Her general research interests include the symbiotic relationship between media and the cultural settings in which they are produced.  More precisely, her scholarship addresses how the cultural identities of media audiences inform how they interpret media messages, and how media in turn shape the identities of their audiences.  Her current research explores how West Indian immigrant women in the U.S. interpret mainstream U.S. media content, and how it informs the construction of their identity. 

Duncan B. Putney • about
Actor/Screenwriter/Historical Consultant/History Casting

Duncan is a professional actor and award-winning screenwriter residing in Providence, Rhode Island while working in the New York and New England markets. Duncan is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he studied both accounting and theatre. He went on to make his career in acting in stage, film, and television, as well as an associate producer in film and theatre. He has performed stand up and improv., as well as being a published poet and historian. He has served as an officer/delegate for both SAG and AFTRA. Duncan is creative producer and co-founder of OCD Associates (Original Concept Development) and is also the creator of the History Casting division of LDI Casting, finding historic reenactors extras and historic consultants for film and television productions. Recent projects have been shown at the Smithsonian Institution's Ocean Hall and on NBC television, winning two Gold Screen Awards. A public service campaign titled "Canisters" penned by Duncan won a 2009 Emmy Award.

Jim Seavor • about

Lifelong Rhode Island resident and nearly a lifelong resident of theater seats. For many years he was a reviewer and entertainment writer for the Providence Journal. He now writes for Motif and Options.

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