RIIFF /rif/ - acronym for Rhode Island International Film Festival ~ a 6-day event beginning the second week in August; always starting on a Tuesday at various locations throughout the State of Rhode Island with premiere works in the capital city of Providence;
~ the largest public film festival in New England and an Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences qualifying event;
~ the major portal of entry for filmmakers to discover the Ocean State as a center for film development and production;
~ a unique platform for the creative and cultural discovery of new cinematic talent, both at home, nationally and globally;
~ synonymous with sophisticated, savvy, discerning and film-loving audiences;
Please Note: Our office hours for the Winter: M-F 10:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m.
RIIFF's Oscar Night® America
Tickets are on Sale Now
There are 49 Oscar NIght® America Parties across the United States. This is Rhode Island's Only Authorized and Officially Sanctioned Celebration by the Academy of Motion Picture
Tickets are $125 for the 6:30 PM Red Carpet Gala which will be followed by the Academy Awards ceremony. Groups are strongly encouraged with special rates available, please call our office (401/861.4445) for details.
5 Films that Played RIFF in 2011 vie for the Best in their Category, plus Rhode Island's own, Viola Davis is nominated for Best Actress!
2012 Rhode Island International Film Festival Call for Entries is Now Open
Next Edition: August 7-12, 2012
Deadlines: Regular: May 15, 2012; Late: June 1, 2012
Extended Deadline: June 15, 2012
The Rhode Island International Film Festival is
a founding partner of The International Film Festival
Submission System (BrigitFest) – on the Web at
Withoutabox.com and prefers paperless entries. Withoutabox
provides cost-saving, online entry to major film festivals
throughout the U.S. and in Europe with one master entry
form, allowing you and us to enter your film more quickly
and with greater accuracy. This method is free and easy.
Withoutabox users enjoy the advantages of Extended Deadlines
and Online Press Kit submissions and filmmakers with
an upgraded project on Withoutabox receive $5.00 off
their Entry Fees.
Nominations were announced at 5:30 a.m. PST.on January 24th
5 Films that Played RIFF in 2011 vie for the Best in their Category, plus Rhode Island's own, Viola Davis, is nominated for Best Actress:
• "Incident in New Baghdad" D. James Spione
• "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" D. William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
• "Raju" D. Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
• "The Shore" D. Terry George and Oorlagh George • press
• "Time Freak" D. Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
February 7th
Join the Caravanserai...
"Made in Pakistan" with filmmaker Ayesha Khan : A FirstWorks Presentation
We are very pleased to partner with FirstWorks to support this important cultural event
Meet talented young actress and filmmaker Ayesha Khan as she showcases her documentary, "Made in Pakistan".
An insider's look into "The Most Dangerous Country in the World" (as labeled by a cover story in Newsweek, Oct. 29, 2007), "Made in Pakistan" follows the lives of four young Pakistani professionals who defy this prevailing stereotype of the country by the very choices they have made in their lives. Shot during Pervez Musharraf’s state of emergency in 2007, this real slice of life reveals a country where one definition of an Islamic State no longer holds true.
Presented as part of "Caravanserai: a place where cultures meet", a program managed by Arts Midwest on behalf of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations with financial support from the Building Bridges Program of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art.
Location: Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, Brown University, Providence
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Donation: $8.00 in advance / $12 day of screening • Tickets available at the door
Join the Caravanserai...
"Bridging Culture Through Film" Panel Discussion
We are very pleased to partner with FirstWorks to support this important cultural event
Join Why do we believe what we do about other people we’ve never met? Where does our information come from? How do we form the conclusions we make and how valid are they at the end of the day? Is there really such as thing as a universal truth and if so, how is that determined? As part of the Caravanserai, a special panel of international and regional filmmakers and educators explores the power of documentary film to break down cultural barriers and serve as a means of intercultural exchange.
Featuring Ayesha Khan, Executive Producer of the award-winning documentary "Made in Pakistan,"Beena Sarwar, journalist and documentary filmmaker; Sara Archambault, Program Director of the LEF Foundation, Keith Brown, RI Filmmaker/Professor of Film at the University of Rhode Island; Reshad Kulenovic, is a writer/director and Student Academy Award finalist; and Dr. Kevin Esch, educator and author of a new book on screen acting. Moderating the panel is George T. Marshall, Executive Director of Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival.
The Panelists:
Sara Archambault, Program Director of the LEF Foundation, and a programmer and co-founder of the award-winning documentary film series at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, The DocYard. Sara has an extensive professional history in production, programming, and foundation work. She was the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, Managing Director/Producer for Ebb Pod Productions on the Emmy-award winning documentary TRACES OF THE TRADE: A STORY FROM THE DEEP NORTH, and worked as a producer with Christopher Lydon on his online radio show OPEN SOURCE. Sara is currently producing the feature-length documentary film STREET FIGHTING MAN directed by Andrew James and creating an online audio map telling the stories of not-so-forgotten places in the Ocean State called RHODE ISLAND LOST LANDSCAPES: A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF PLACES THAT USED TO BE. She advises and volunteers with a number of film festivals including her work as Chair of the Advisory Board at the Points North Film Forum of the Camden International Film Festival. Most importantly, she has an adorable baby boy named Oscar and looks forward to reading again someday.
Keith Brown, RI Filmmaker/educator; holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rhode Island and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Boston University. He developed and taught a course for the Experimental College at Tufts University which focused on the study of representation of youth in American film. He has also taught 16mm film production courses at Boston University. Keith is currently a Lecturer in the Film/Media program at the University of Rhode Island. In the Fall of 2011, Keith was honored with the Teaching Excellence Award from the College of Arts & Sciences at URI.
Keith's work has been exhibited at the Boston Cinema Census, the Antelope Valley International Film Festival, the Georgetown Indy Film Fest, the Syracuse International Film and Video Festival, Film Stock, and the Rhode Island International Film Festival. He is also one of the founders of Boston Open Screen, an open-mike night for filmmakers, which is now held at the Somerville Theater in Massachusetts.
Keith is also the program director of the KidsEye Filmmaking Camp, a summer week-long program, run by the Rhode Island International Film Festival, which teaches children how to be filmmakers. In addition to still working with 16mm and Super 8 film, he also works with digital video. Most recently, he produced a short documentary on the demise of the video store, which was shot in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Beena Sarwar is a journalist, artist and documentary filmmaker with extensive experience working with television and print media in Pakistan and abroad. She holds a Masters in Television Documentary (Goldsmiths College, University of London, 2001) and a BA in Studio Art & English Literature (Brown University 1986). She was a Nieman Fellow, Harvard University (2005-06), Research Fellow, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard Kennedy School (2006-07), and is currently a Fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance at the Harvard Kennedy School. She is also editorial consultant for Aman ki Asha (www.amankiasha.com) a peace initiative between the Jang Group of Newspapers, Pakistan and The Times of India.
Reshad Kulenovic, is a writer/director based in Rhode Island and New York. He has worked in the production department of numerous films and TV shows, including THE EDUCATION OF CHARLIE BANKS and in the camera department for the Newport Jazz Festival. He has been awarded the Antonio Cirino Memorial Art Fellowship and the University of Rhode Island gave him the first ever President's Award for Excellence in Film. For his short film SNOVI he became one of the first artists to be funded by the Heinrich Boll Foundation. Another producer of SNOVI was the Centre Andre Malraux Sarajevo, which also produced Jean-Luc Godard’s NOTRE MUSIQUE. SNOVI is nominated for a 2011 Student Academy Award.
He is currently writing his follow up film and teaching in the film department at the University of Rhode Island
Dr. Kevin Esch has taught film studies at Tulane University and Hofstra University, and currently teaches at Roger Williams University and the University of Rhode Island. His articles and reviews have been published in Film Quarterly, Journal of Film and Video, Film Criticism, and a forthcoming edited collection on screen acting from Routledge.
He is at work on his first book, to be titled In the Moment: Mythologies of Performance in the Contemporary Hollywood Industry.
In a previous life, he was a film reviewer for WORT-FM in Madison, Wisconsin.
The session will be moderated by George T. Marshall, Executive Director of Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival.
Presented by FirstWorks as part of their year-long Caravanserai project—introducing American audiences to Sufi artists, filmmakers & musicians through a series of intensive community engagement and performance programs. This project is an initiative of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts, administered by Arts Midwest.
This event is supported in part by a grant from the RI Council for the Humanities, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, with additional support from the Brown University Creative Arts Council.
Location: Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, Brown University, Providence
Time: 4-6:00 p.m.
Donation:Free • Tickets are limited, reserve today!
Back by popular demand and starting the New Year off with a bang!
Join us for a special monthly series from the Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival that presents some of the best films screened during the 2011 festival presented through our partnership with the Jamestown Arts Center in Jamestown, RI. The films have been curated by a community team lead by longtime RIIFF adjudicator, Jocelyn Donaghue. The schedule:
Bob (3 mins.) from Germany. Animated. Directed by Jacob Frey. Who says a hamster can’t travel the world chasing down his lady-love? Uh, Bob? More info:www.bob-film.com
Johnny & Lyman: A Life Together (18 m.) Directed by Michael Chen and Paul Detwiler. A heartwarming documentary on two men who have spent 65 years together, surmounting challenges and living through decades of societal changes. 2011 RIIFF Best Documentary short award winner. More info:www.facebook.com/johnnyandlyman
Luna (6 m) From Canada. Animated. Directed by Donna Brockopp. A flirtatious dance between a charming and debonair caterpillar and a stunning and graceful luna moth – will their attraction withstand the powerful attraction of other suitors and lamps? More info:www.rainmaker.com
Mancrush (14 m.) From U.K. Directed by Tony Haggar. In a metro-sexual mode of modern times, two guys competitively argue about which of them is best mates with their mutual friend Dave.
Memoires d’une Jeune Fille Derangee (Memoirs of a Disturbed Young Woman) (18 m) From France. Directed by Keren Marciano. Twenty-five year old Lola is a virgin, and busy-body friends have taken an unhealthy concern for her welfare. More info: www.mitiki.com/html/production-image/memoires-d-une-jeune-fille-derangee.html
My First Claire (18 m) Directed by Lou Howe. Eleven year old Teddy is grappling with his parents divorce and his friends’ recent discoveries of girls. When his new babysitter arrives, the beautiful and carefree Claire, he sets out to learn about the opposite sex.
Time and Love (7 m) Directed by Bo Price. Sonny tries to reconnect with Katie, the love of his life from sixth grade. More info: www.timeandlovemovie.com
Two’s A Crowd (20 m) Directed by Tom Isler. Documentary. A New York story about romance and rent control. Spurred on by economic downturns, a recently married couple deals with the question “to cohabitat or not to cohabitat.” 2011 RIIFF Best Comedy Short award winner. More info: www.gloamingpictures.com/crowd.htm
Oscar Night® America is the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' grassroots program that enables not-for-profit charities to host glamorous parties while raising much needed funds. In 2012, the FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) has again been selected to host Rhode Island’s only officially sanctioned party, one of only 50 official parties throughout the country sanctioned by the Academy.
Join our Honorary Chairman, Steven Feinberg, Executive Director/RI Film & Television Office and our Host and Master of Ceremonies, Charlie Hall for all of the excitement, Sunday, February 26, 2012. Guests will experience the thrills and surprises of the 84th Academy Awards® at Providence's Oscar Night® America party, held at the The Vets (formerly VMA Arts & Cultural Center, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Providence). The cost for the VIP Red Carpet Reception is $125 which includes dinner, drinks, live music, raffle and screening of the Academy Awards.
For those who wish to watch the Awards ceremony only on our large screen, tickets are $10 with the doors opening at 8:00 p.m. TIckets are available at the link above. To find out more information, click here.
March 13th:
Newport County Chamber of Commerce Business Expo
Join us at this wonderful outreach event at the Hyatt Regency on Goat Island in Newport Harbor.
March 15th
Third Thursday Encore Film Series
Back by popular demand and starting the New Year off with a bang!
Join us for a special monthly series from the Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival that presents some of the best films screened during the 2011 festival presented through our partnership with the Jamestown Arts Center in Jamestown, RI. The films have been curated by a community team lead by longtime RIIFF adjudicator, Jocelyn Donaghue. The schedule:
Sailcloth (18 m.) Directed by Elfar Adalsteins. An elderly gentleman (the incomparable John Hurt) absconds from a nursing home by setting in motion events that veil his disappearance. He heads to the local pier, where an old companion awaits him, ready for their last great journey. 2011 RIIFF opening night selection, Best Short Grand Prize winner and short listed for best live action short film Academy Award. More info: www.elfaradalsteins.com
Dark Side of the Lens (6 mins.) From Ireland. Directed by Mickey Smith. A stunning visual insight into the mind and world of renowned surfing cinematographer Mickey Smith. 2011 RIIFF Best Cinematography award winner.
Noreen (18 m.) From Ireland. Directed by Ciaran Deeney, David Clarke, and Juliette Bonass. Two policemen learn life lessons on a house-call in rural Ireland. Frank is young and heartbroken, Con is middle-aged and weary. They’re both alone, and they’re both idiots. More info: www.noreenthemovie.com
The Shore (30 m.) From Ireland/U.K. Directed by Terry George. Northern Ireland, today. The Troubles are over. Two boyhood friends, long separated by history and misunderstanding, are reunited…with unexpected laughter and tears. 2011 RIIFF opening night selection, Award winner – Best Director, and Best Male Actor (Ciaran Hinds,) and shortlisted for best live action short film Academy Award. More info: www.theshorefilm.com
Tooty’s Wedding (18 m.) From U.K. Directed by Frederic Casella. A young couple’s marriage hilariously hits the rocks during a weekend wedding in the country. 2011 RIIFF opening night selection and award winner – Grand Prize Best Comedy short. More info: www.tootyswedding.com
Location: Jamestown Arts Center, 18 Valley Street, Jamestown
Join us for a special monthly series from the Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival that presents some of the best films screened during the 2011 festival.
Location: Jamestown Arts Center, 18 Valley Street, Jamestown
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Donation: $10.00 • Tickets available at the door.
April 22, 23, 24 & 26th:
Seventh Annual Roving Eye Film Festival
FLICKERS:Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) is proud to present its seventh annual Roving
Eye Film Festival™. The popular and acclaimed festival celebrates the film arts from across the globe. All programming is curated by RWU students from current entries to RIIFF. Along with shorts and documentaries, this year's Festival will feature animation, Latin-American, and Asian film sidebars. All screenings, unless otherwise noted, will be free of charge and open to the public and screened on the campus of Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI.
Join us for a special monthly series from the Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival that presents some of the best films screened during the 2011 festival.
Location: Jamestown Arts Center, 18 Valley Street, Jamestown
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Donation: $10.00 • Tickets available at the door.
July 9-13th:
KidsEye™ Summer Filmmaking Camp
KidsEye™ is a fun yet intensive
five-day filmmaking camp for children ages 10-16 presented
by FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival™.
Over the course of the last 14 years, the camp has
expanded, allowing children to learn more about what
it takes to make a movie. We strive to incorporate as
much hands-on learning as possible, therefore placing
our focus primarily on production. KidsEye™ participants step into the roles of screenwriters, actors,
directors and crew, and learn the importance of working
as a team. Now in its 14th Year!
Next RIIFF:
August 7-12, 2012
This Festival will be a celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Flickers Arts Collaborative and will include a retrospective look at some of the amazing programming that has taken place since 1981. Some of the planned highlights include:
• A showcase of the classic art and foreign films screened by Flickers when it first began in the 1980s
• A retrospective of the work of Canadian filmmaker, Joseph Procopio whose first film premiered at RIIFF when he was eight years old
• Reunion programming for RIIFF participants with special passes and reduced pricing
• A special showcase of films and cultural activities from the Province of Québec celebrating our Jubilé Franco-Américain programming from 1994-2011 and our 18 year partnership with the Délègation du Québec, Boston and Tourism Québec
• East Meets West showcase of films from Japan with a retrospective covering our involvement with the Black Ships Festival from its creation in 1984
We are very pleased to report that the FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival will continue to partner with UniFrance. French films submitted will be offered a special reduced rate through UniFrance. This unique collaboration was created to show our support for international filmmakers, while providing a portal for discovery and exhibition in the United States.
For more information about UniFrance, click on the image above.
Sara Archambault, Program Director of the LEF Foundation, and a programmer and co-founder of the award-winning documentary film series at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, The DocYard. Sara has an extensive professional history in production, programming, and foundation work. She was the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, Managing Director/Producer for Ebb Pod Productions on the Emmy-award winning documentary TRACES OF THE TRADE: A STORY FROM THE DEEP NORTH, and worked as a producer with Christopher Lydon on his online radio show OPEN SOURCE. Sara is currently producing the feature-length documentary film STREET FIGHTING MAN directed by Andrew James and creating an online audio map telling the stories of not-so-forgotten places in the Ocean State called RHODE ISLAND LOST LANDSCAPES: A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF PLACES THAT USED TO BE. She advises and volunteers with a number of film festivals including her work as Chair of the Advisory Board at the Points North Film Forum of the Camden International Film Festival. Most importantly, she has an adorable baby boy named Oscar and looks forward to reading again someday.
Beena Sarwar is a journalist, artist and documentary filmmaker with extensive experience working with television and print media in Pakistan and abroad. She holds a Masters in Television Documentary (Goldsmiths College, University of London, 2001) and a BA in Studio Art & English Literature (Brown University 1986). She was a Nieman Fellow, Harvard University (2005-06), Research Fellow, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard Kennedy School (2006-07), and is currently a Fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance at the Harvard Kennedy School. She is also editorial consultant for Aman ki Asha (
Reshad Kulenovic, 
Dr. Kevin Esch has taught film studies at Tulane University and Hofstra University, and currently teaches at Roger Williams University and the University of Rhode Island. His articles and reviews have been published in Film Quarterly, Journal of Film and Video, Film Criticism, and a forthcoming edited collection on screen acting from Routledge. 
Sailcloth (18 m.) Directed by Elfar Adalsteins. An elderly gentleman (the incomparable John Hurt) absconds from a nursing home by setting in motion events that veil his disappearance. He heads to the local pier, where an old companion awaits him, ready for their last great journey. 2011 RIIFF opening night selection, Best Short Grand Prize winner and short listed for best live action short film Academy Award. More info: 
The Shore (30 m.) From Ireland/U.K. Directed by Terry George. Northern Ireland, today. The Troubles are over. Two boyhood friends, long separated by history and misunderstanding, are reunited…with unexpected laughter and tears. 2011 RIIFF opening night selection, Award winner – Best Director, and Best Male Actor (Ciaran Hinds,) and shortlisted for best live action short film Academy Award. More info: 
