Outreach and Support

2002 Annual Appeal

The Rhode Island International Film Festival (August 7-12, 2002) in cooperation with Governor Lincoln Almond and the Rhode Island Office of Film & Television, is a natural by-product of the intense interest that film of all types generate among the viewing public.

Film has become a multi-billion dollar industry; each year surpasses the last in box office gross. What other industry crosses the line between commerce and art and still enchants, amazes, puzzles, teaches and intrigues? What other industry comments so effectively on the human condition, no matter what language the actors speak? As an essential part of global communications, cinema builds bridges that span geography, culture, age and prejudice.

In order to continue the work of our Festival, we need your support. Please contribute to our 2002 Annual Appeal. Your contribution will help us make a difference. What sort of difference? Our mission and history speak for themselves.

Please download and print out the PDF file.

On behalf of all of the filmmakers who are a part of our Festival, our sincere thanks!

Our Mission
The Festival is dedicated to the creation of opportunities for artistic interaction and exchange among independent film directors, producers, distributors, backers and the film-going community. It's intent is to help preserve the past and promote the future of filmmaking. The Festival's goal is to bridge the gap between the entertainment industry and the global creative community. Because of the Festival's unique geographic location, one of the chief aims of the Festival is the encouragement of an artistic exchange between Filmmakers from New England and the Canadian provinces and the world at large. Also, the Festival will recognize achievement and innovation in a variety of filmmaking and storytelling disciplines while providing an opportunity to secure wider distribution of films.

The Growing Importance
of Independent Film
Today's most financially successful films, produced by the major studios, are often limited in their reflection of our popular culture. However, there is growing interest worldwide in independent films and experimental films that take a more sophisticated look at the human condition. In fact, since 1982, nearly two-thirds of the films that have won the Academy Award for Best Picture were produced or licensed internationally by independent film companies.

An Exciting Program
The 2002 Festival marks a continued expansion of the already evolving Festival. It leads off with summer workshops on filmmaking for young people and a film exhibition called KidsEye™, continues with it's Screenplay Competition, and presents the acclaimed program on film production -- Take One, Two Three: Filmmaking with the Pros. The Festival is proud to host a monthly filmmaking Salon with the AIVF (Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers). Additionally, the Festival sponsors a Festival-within-the Festival called the Providence Film Festival that showcases homegrown talent. RIIFF6 marks the fourth year of this successful and sold-out event. Additionally, the Festival will present sidebars on films from Canada and the new Rhode Island Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

During the course of the Festival, screenings will take place at multiple sites throughout the City and RIIFF 6 will include forums, colloquia, opportunities to meet filmmakers, special live performances of film music, special social gatherings, and other unique film-related events. (For the 2001 Festival, 246 filmmakers registered at the Festival Office.)

There will also be the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award and an Artistic Vision Award. In 2000, recipients were Academy Award winner, Patricia Neal and founder of the Newport Jazz Festival, Elaine Lorillard; and in 2001, the Lifetime Achievement Award went to director, Blake Edwards.

A Film-Literate Audience
The Festival's proximity to New York, Hartford, New Haven and Boston and the presence of Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island College, the University of Rhode Island, Johnson & Wales University and more than ten other institutions of higher learning within a 40-mile radius give it a film-literate audience and provide an ideal forum for Filmmakers to show their work.

Michel Coutu, CEO of premiere sponsor, Brooks Pharmacy is the Honorary RIIFF Chair along with Rhode Island's Governor, Lincoln Almond. The Rhode Island International Film Festival is presented by BROOKS Pharmacy in cooperation with the Rhode Island Office of Film & Television; and in collaboration with Tourisme Québec, Without-a-Box, Cox Communications, Final Draft, Moviemaker Magazine, Scr(i)pt, Kodak, Nextel, New Engalnd Audio Visual, Radio Disney AM 550, the United States Postal Service, OSO.com, the University of Rhode Island, the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, Oop!, and theUnion Saint Jean Baptiste/CFLI. Actress Patricia Neal oversees the Festival Scholarship Fund which is named in her honor.

An Opportunity to Recognize Excellence
A panel of jurists comprised of filmmakers and
other cinema professionals will award cash and
prizes for RIIFF entries including:

Festival's Best Feature
Best Short
Kodak VisionAward
BestAnimation/Experimental
Best Foreign Film
Tourisme Québec Film Award
Best Director
Best Editing
Viola M. Marshall Festival Favorite
Final Draft Original Screenplay Award
Best Documentary
Brooks Pharmacy's Positive Lifestyle Award
Providence Film Festival "Homegrown" Award
and the RIIFF New Talent Discovery Award.

A Great Location
The Festival primarily takes place in historic Providence, Rhode Island, which offers excellent screening facilities, strong community support, and unlimited growth potential. Rhode Island has a long history of filmmaking going back to silent movies. It's been chosen for James Cameron's ("Titanic") "True Lies" and Steven Spielberg's "Amistad." The hit NBC television series "Providence" is set in the city and the production crew periodically shoots in the state. As the Committee is aware, the recent renaissance in the capital city has created access to excellent dining, recreation and art. The small size of the state is a another asset; within an hour's drive a tourist can experience mansions in Newport, museums in Providence, beaches in Narragansett and now the International Film Festival in Providence and the surrounding Blackstone Valley.

An Experienced Presenter
Now in its sixth year, the Rhode Island International Film Festival is created and produced by the Flickers Arts Collaborative, an organization with over 21 years of experience presenting independent and foreign films to the public.

From August 7-12, 2001, downtown Providence was invaded by filmmakers from around the world who came to exhibit their films, take educational classes, meet with distributors and compete for the Festival's top prizes. The actual five-day, independent film festival drew 14,789 people to film screenings and events. This represented a 12% increase over the 1999 Festival statistics. Locations for the Festival included the Columbus Theatre and Cinémateque, the Avon Cinema, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Auditorium, List Auditorium at Brown University,the Providence Marriott and the RI State House. The Festival received live daily coverage on the internet by its partner FilmFestivals.com from Paris and its trailer was available through video streaming at Minutemovies.com, NewEnglandFilm.com and ReelMind.com Furthermore, the Festival received national exposure not just within industry related publications, but in Yankee Magazine and New England Travel & Life.

The Festival statistics included 42 World Premieres and 20 US Premieres. 706 Films were entered into competition, representing 37 countries, 32 states in the US and 7 Provinces in Canada. As of December 2001, 25 of the titles during the Festival have been picked up by distributors; several have gone on to win major awards at other festivals.

A special note in the Festival's history is that in 1998, RIIFF kicked off with a special "Festival Preview" on July 14th with the East Coast Premiere of the sleeper hit of the 1998 summer season, "There's Something About Mary," courtesy of Honorary Chairman, Bobby Farrelly, the film's director. The event raised more than $70,000 for the Jimmy Fund and the Cam Neely House. Stars in attendance included Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Chris Elliot, Anne Meara, Jerry Stiller, Woody Harrelson, Cam Neely and Brett Favre.

RIIFF has built strong relationships with Miramax Films, Lions Gates Films, Seventh Art Releasing, Fox Searchlight, Zeitgeist Films Ltd., Kino International, Telefilm Canada, New Yorker Films, the National Film Board of Canada, Sony Classics, Northeast Historic Films, Tourism Québec, Gouvernement du Québec - New England, Cité-Amérique International, andthe UCLA Film & Television Archives.