Terry P.

VIMOOZ is for lovers of independent films + foreign film + documentary + film festivals. We love championing the little films.

Hannah Fidell’s Road Trip Comedy THE LONG DUMB ROAD Sets November Release Date

[caption id="attachment_31170" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Long Dumb Road[/caption] The road trip comedy The Long Dumb Road directed by Hannah Fidell that World Premiered earlier this year at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival will open theatrically in NY on November 9th before expanding to LA and other cities on November 16th. The Long Dumb Road stars Tony Revolori, Jason Mantzoukas, Taissa Farmiga, Grace Gummer, Casey Wilson, and Ron Livingston. From writer-director Hannah Fidell (A Teacher, 6 Years) and co-writer Carson D. Mell (“Silicon Valley,” “Tarantula”) comes a comedy of transformation, discovery and maturity set on the road between Austin and Los Angeles. When college-bound teenager Nat (Tony Revolori) offers itinerant 30-something mechanic Richard (Jason Mantzoukas) a ride during a stop-over in small-town Texas, neither one realizes the indelible impact each traveler will have on his respective journey. Nat, an aspiring photographer, is heading towards a bright future in art school in Los Angeles and wants to find the real America en route to new beginnings out West; Richard, a lovably unkempt motormouth, is simply looking for connection in the moment — and maybe a beer or ten — while he grapples with indecision, past mistakes and dead-ends. As they travel through the American Southwest, taking in picturesque towns and crossing paths with an assortment of old flames, fellow travelers, kooky cons, and Good Samaritans, both passengers come alive through the myriad possibilities of the open road. Finding connection, comfort and chaos in their shared journey, this improbable and unforgettable screen duo forges an epic bond few will forget.
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2018 Durban International Film Festival Awards: THE REPORTS ON SARAH AND SALEEM Wins Best Film

[caption id="attachment_31165" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Reports on Sarah and Saleem[/caption] The 39th Durban International Film Festival held its awards ceremony on Saturday and awarded the Best Feature Film prize to The Reports on Sarah and Saleem, directed by Muayad Alayan. Maisa Abd Elhadi was awarded Best Actress prize the for her role as Bisan in the film. A total of 17 awards were given out at the ceremony. DIFF has recently been included as a Documentary Feature Qualifying Festival by the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences, which means that both the winners of the Best Documentary, New Moon and Best SA Documentary Sisters of the Wilderness, will now automatically qualify for consideration for an Oscar nomination.
39th Durban International Film Festival Awards
Best Feature Film: The Reports on Sarah and Saleem, directed by Muayad Alayan, and produced by Muayad Alayan, Rami Alayan, Hans de Wolf, Hanneke Niens, Rebekka Garrido, Rodrigo Iturralde, Georgina Gonzalez, and Alejandro Duran. Best South African Feature Film: High Fantasy, directed by Jenna Bass and produced by David Horler and Steven Markovitz. Best Documentary: New Moon, produced and directed by Philippa Ndisi-Hermann. Best South African Documentary: Sisters of the Wilderness, directed by Karin Slater and produced by Ronit Shapiro. Best Direction: Constantin Popescu for Pororoca Best Cinematography: Liviu Marghidan for Pororoca Best Screenplay: Jennifer Fox for The Tale Best Actor: Bogdan Dumitrache for his role as Tudor in Pororoca, directed by Constantin Popescu Best Actress: Maisa Abd Elhadi for her role as Bisan in The Reports on Sarah and Saleem Best Editing: Anne Fabini, Alex Hall and Gary Level for The Tale Artistic Bravery: was won jointly by High Fantasy, directed by Jenna Bass and Supa Modo directed by Likarion Wainaina. Best South African Short Film: Stillborn, directed by Jahmil X. T. Qubeka and produced by Huanxi Media Group, Xstream Pictures, and Yellowbone Entertainment. Best African Short Film: Aya, directed by Moufida Fedhila and produced by Appel d’Air Films. Best Short Film: The Patience of Water (La Paciencia Del Agua), directed by Guillem Almirall. Audience Choice Award: The State Against Mandela and the Others, directed by Nicolas Champeaux and Gilles Porte. Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award: Silas, directed by Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman and produced by Appian Way, Big World Cinema and Ink & Pepper Productions. Best Wavescape Film: Heavy Water, directed by Michael Oblowitz
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2018 Stony Brook Film Festival Awards: THE ETRUSCAN SMILE Starring Brian Cox Wins Grand Prize

The Etruscan Smile, starring Brian Cox won the Grand Prize at the 23rd Annual Stony Brook Film Festival. It also stars Rosanna Arquette, Thora Birch, JJ Field, Peter Coyote, Treat Williams and twins Aero and Boom Epps. The Etruscan Smile is based on the bestselling book La Sonrisa Etrusca by Jose Louis Sampedro, with the story being transposed to Scotland and the United States. In it, a rugged old Scotsman reluctantly leaves his beloved isolated Hebridean island and travels to the U.S. to seek medical treatment. Moving in with his estranged son and workaholic daughter-in-law, he finds his life being transformed by a new-found bond with his baby grandson. Alan Inkles, founder and director of the Stony Brook Film Festival announced additional awards at a reception at Staller Center for the Arts, Stony Brook University on Saturday, July 28. “We received so many enthusiastic responses from our astute audience members over the ten days of the Festival. The Etruscan Smile was hailed as a favorite. I was fortunate to have Brian Cox reach out to us just as we were finishing our schedule. He had been to the Stony Brook Film Festival for his film The Carer and was keen on having the U.S. Premiere of The Etruscan Smile at Stony Brook.” Th Stony Brook Film Festival has awarded eight Grand Prizes in its 23-year history. The Etruscan Smile is the ninth to receive a Grand Prize.
2018 STONY BROOK FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS

2018 Grand Prize
The Etruscan Smile U.S. Premiere – United States – 107 min Directed by Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis. Written by Michael McGowan, Michal Lali Kagan and Sarah Bellwood. With Brian Cox (Braveheart, The Carer), Thora Birch (Ghost World), JJ Feild (Austenland), and Rosanna Arquette (Pulp Fiction).
2018 Jury Award – Best Feature (tie)
Octav U.S. Premiere – Romania – 100 min Directed by Serge Ioan Celebidachi. Written by Serge Ioan Celebidachi and James Olivier. With Marcel Iures, Victor Rebengiuc, Eric Aradits and Alessia Tofan. The magical feature Octav centers on an elderly man returning to his family home after decades of absence. The apparition of his childhood sweetheart triggers a rewind to the life-changing events from his youth. As long-forgotten memories resurface, he begins to find answers to the questions that have cast a shadow over his life and gains clarity on decisions before him. Octav is a life-affirming story that celebrates the purity of childhood, love, and friendship. In Romanian with subtitles. Produced by Adela Vrînceanu Celebidachi. Edited by Mircea Olteanu. Director of Photography: Blasco Giurato. A Celi Films and Oblique Media Film production. From The Little Film Company.
2018 Jury Award – Best Feature (tie)
Symphony for Ana East Coast Premiere – Argentina – 119 min Directed by Ernesto Ardito, Virna Molina. Written by Ernesto Ardito, Virna Molina and Gaby Meik. With Isadora Ardito, Rocio Palacin, Rafael Federman, Ricky Arraga, Vera Fogwill and Rodrigo Noya. Based on a true story, Symphony for Ana is about the bloodiest coup d’etat in Argentina, when the military dictatorship ‘disappeared’ 108 students from The National High School of Buenos Aires, known for being elite and prestigious. Ana is a student there, a teenager who just wants to fall in love, have lots of friends, and fight for a better world. Instead, she must choose her friends carefully as she navigates the power struggles and ever-changing allegiances in her 15-year-old world. This intense and superbly acted film features current students from The National High School of Buenos Aires. The hard-hitting story drawn from Gaby Meik’s book is history that should not be forgotten. In Spanish with subtitles. Produced by Ernesto Ardito, Virna Molina. Edited by Ernesto Ardito, Virna Molina. Director of Photography: Fernando Molina. An Ernesto Ardito and Virna Molina Film.
2018 Audience Choice – Best Feature
The Guilty Denmark – 85 min Directed by Gustav Möller. Written by Emil Nygaard Albertsen and Gustav Möller. With Jakob Cedergren, Jessica Dinnage and Omar Shargawi. In this brilliantly suspenseful thriller, an alarm dispatcher and former policeman answers an emergency call from a kidnapped woman, when the call is suddenly disconnected. With the phone as his only tool, the dispatcher enters a race against time to save the endangered woman and find her kidnapper, but he soon realizes that he is dealing with a much more complicated crime than he first thought. A tense and restrained knockout performance by Jakob Cedergren keeps the audience riveted throughout the film. In Danish and English with subtitles. Produced by Lina Flint. Edited by Carla Luffe Heintzelmann. Director of Photography: Jasper Spanning. A Nordisk Film/SPRING production. From Magnolia Pictures.
2018 Spirit of Independent Filmmaking
Thrasher Road East Coast Premiere – United States – 86 min. Written and Directed by Samantha Davidson Green. With Allison Brown and Christian Kohn. Samantha Davidson Green, the writer and director of Thrasher Road, attended the Stony Brook Film Festival with actress Allison Brown and Christian Kohn to represent the film. Ms. Green teaches film directing at Dartmouth College and Thrasher Road was her first feature film after making award-winning short films that have been featured at festivals worldwide. In this original, fresh road trip story, pregnant Chloe and her elderly dog, Thrasher, get an unwelcome rescue from Chloe’s father when her car breaks down in a trip across country. Stuck together in a car with thousands of miles ahead of them and thirteen years’ estrangement behind them, father and daughter start to reconnect. Shot on location from California to Mississippi to Vermont, this very indie road trip features a cast from across the country, and a heart as big as a huge, rusted-out, pickup truck. Produced by Maria Rosenblum, Jonathan Wysock. Edited by Karen Smalley. Director of Photography: Eric Leach. A BetwixtNbetween Films production.
2018 Jury Award – Best Short
Unnatural East Coast Premiere – United States – 26 min. A film by Amy Wang. In every attempt for normality, 18-year-old James is perpetually confronted by his demon. “The core of this film is about hating who you are,” notes Amy Wang. In Unnatural, she introduces a reclusive teenager with a secret.
2018 Audience Choice Award – Best Short
Internet Gangsters New York Premiere – United States – 6 min. A film by Sam Friedlander. SBFF alumnus and Deer Park native Eddie Alfano (Cops and Robbers) returns to star in a hilarious short as two New York hitmen in L.A. discover technology is the real enemy. As one of the many gems among the shorts that the SBFF audience rated highly, it was a standout. Image: (left to right) Emmy Award winning actor Brian Cox and Alan Inkles, founder and director of the Stony Brook Film Festival, at the U.S. Premiere of The Etruscan Smile, July 21, 2018. The Etruscan Smile won the Grand Prize at the 23rd Annual Stony Brook Film Festival Presented by Island Federal Credit Union. Credit: Nick A. Koridis
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Dark Cuts Pictures to Release Jeremy Wechter’s E-DEMON in the Fall [Trailer]

Jeremy Wechter’s e-Demon tells of an escaped demon on a dark and twisted mission that manipulates a group of friends hanging out on a video-chat. The film is craftily structured – it takes place completely on a computer screen via the webcams being shown. Dark Cuts Pictures has acquired North American rights to e-Demon, planning a fall theatrical and VOD release. Kendra, AJ, Mar and Dwayne are old college friends who find themselves growing apart. Attempting to hang on to their good old Ohio State days, the gang gets together online for a night of stories, pranks and drinking via web-cam. As the evening progresses, they unknowingly release a deviously clever demon that had been trapped for centuries in Salem, Massachusetts. Since the demon can possess multiple people at once, the group of friends must determine who they can still trust in order to survive the demon’s dark and twisted mission. Dark Cuts is planning a September theatrical roll-out with a day-and-date VOD release. e-Demon writer and helmer Wechter scored best director at the New York Horror Film Festival.

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RLJE Films to Release GALVESTON Starring Elle Fanning and Ben Foster [Trailer]

The drama Galveston, which premiered at this year’s SXSW Film Festival and will screen at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival in September will be released in theaters this Fall after been acquired by RLJE Films. Based on the novel “Galveston” by “True Detective” creator Nic Pizzolatto, the film was directed by Mélanie Laurent (Breathe), written by Jim Hammett and stars Ben Foster (Hell or High Water), Elle Fanning (The Beguiled), Lili Reinhart (“Riverdale”), and Beau Bridges (“Homeland”). In Galveston, Roy is a heavy-drinking criminal enforcer and mob hit man whose boss set him up in a double-cross scheme. After killing his would-be assassins before they could kill him, Roy discovers Rocky, a young woman being held captive, and reluctantly takes her with him on his escape. Determined to find safety and sanctuary in Galveston, Roy must find a way to stop his boss from pursuing them while trying to out-run the demons from his and Rocky’s pasts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XFKu8UNi7I “Elle Fanning and Ben Foster deliver powerful performances in this provoking drama,” said Mark Ward Chief Acquisitions Officer for RLJE Films. “Their chemistry captures audiences on a gripping, emotional ride. We are so proud to bring this film to the big screen.” Galveston was executive produced by Jean Doumanian (Everyone Says I Love You), Patrick Daly (August: Osage County), Kevin Flanigan (Take Shelter), Dexter Braff (The Kings of Summer), and Sean Thomas O’Brien (My Blind Brother).
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KUSAMA – INFINITY, Portrait of Legendary Female Artist Yayoi Kusama Sets Release Date

Kusama – Infinity is a revelatory portrait of artist Yayoi Kusama, who overcame impossible odds to become the top-selling female artist in the world. Directed by Heather Lenz, the film will open on Friday, September 7 at New York’s Film Forum and in Los Angeles at the Landmark Nuart with a national rollout to follow. Yayoi Kusama is best known for her colorful polka dot- and pumpkin-themed designs and her massively popular mirrored Infinity Rooms. For decades, her work pushed boundaries that often alienated her from her peers and those in power in the art world. She was an underdog with everything stacked against her: growing up in Japan during World War II, life in a dysfunctional family that discouraged her creative ambitions, sexism and racism in the art establishment, and mental illness in a culture where that was a particular stigma. In spite of it all, Kusama has endured and has created a legacy of artwork that spans the disciplines of painting, sculpture, installation art, performance art, poetry and novels. After six decades of work—including many years in New York in the pulsing art scene of the ‘60s—people around the globe are now experiencing her Infinity Rooms in record numbers, and Kusama continues to create new work every day.
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HBO Announces Documentaries on Sandra Bland, Jane Fonda, and More for Second Half of 2018

[caption id="attachment_28284" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Sandra Bland in SAY HER NAME: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF SANDRA BLAND.[/caption] HBO has confirmed a fresh array of thought-provoking documentaries for the second half of 2018, including: Susan Lacy’s JANE FONDA IN FIVE ACTS, the intimate story of an icon; Nathaniel Kahn’s THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING, an insider’s look at today’s money-driven art world; Kate Davis and David Heilbroner’s SAY HER NAME: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF SANDRA BLAND about the tragic death of a young woman who was stopped for a routine traffic violation; and Rudy Valdez’s Sundance award winner THE SENTENCE, a portrait of a family in crisis. Upcoming HBO documentaries include (in chronological order): SWIPED: HOOKING UP IN THE DIGITAL AGE (debuts Sept. 10). With more than 40 million Americans currently engaging in online and app dating, this $2.5-billion industry is rapidly changing the rules of dating, while expanding access to potential mates for everything from “hookups” to long-term relationships. This eye-opening look at the evolving nature of sex and dating in the digital age offers candid insights from twentysomethings and experts in the field. Directed by Nancy Jo Sales. THE OSLO DIARIES (Sept. 13). In 1992, with Israeli-Palestinian relations at an all-time low and any communication between the two sides punishable by jail time, a small group of Israelis and Palestinians gathered secretly in Oslo for a series of meetings that came to be known as The Oslo Accords and dramatically changed the political landscape of the Middle East. Articulated through readings of the participants’ diaries from the time and airing on the 25th anniversary of the Accords, this geopolitical story features never-before-seen archival footage and exclusive interviews with key players, including the last on-camera conversation with former Israeli president Shimon Peres. A riveting account of talks that spanned a period of 1,100 days, the film offers a resonant portrait of diplomacy and the delicate nature of peace. Directed by Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan. JANE FONDA IN FIVE ACTS (Sept. 24). Girl next door, sex icon, activist, fitness tycoon, Oscar(R)-winning actress Jane Fonda has lived a life marked by controversy, tragedy and transformation – and she’s done it all in the public eye. From award-winning documentarian Susan Lacy, this is an intimate look at one woman’s singular journey. RX EARLY DETECTION: A CANCER JOURNEY WITH SANDRA LEE (Oct. 8). This deeply personal short documentary follows Sandra Lee, along with those closest to her – including her sister, Kimber, and her longtime partner, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo – as she faces a cancer diagnosis following a routine annual exam. Directed by Cathy Chermol Schrijver. THE SENTENCE (Oct. 15). Drawing on hundreds of hours of footage, Rudy Valdez shows the aftermath of his sister Cindy’s 15-year incarceration for conspiracy charges related to crimes committed by her now-deceased ex-boyfriend, known in legal terms as “the girlfriend problem.” Valdez’s method of coping with this tragedy was to film his sister’s family for her, both the everyday details and the milestones, which Cindy can no longer share in. But in the midst of this nightmare, Valdez and his family begin to fight for Cindy’s release during the last months of the Obama administration’s clemency initiative. A 2018 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award winner. Directed by Rudy Valdez. STOLEN DAUGHTERS: KIDNAPPED BY BOKO HARAM (Oct. 22). In 2014, 276 Nigerian school girls were kidnapped from a school in Chibok, Northern Nigeria, and hidden in the vast Sambisa forest for three years by Boko Haram, a violent Islamic insurgent movement. Granted exclusive access to the 82 girls who were freed last year and taken to a secret government safe house in the capitol of Abuja, the film reveals how the young women are adapting to life after their traumatic imprisonment and how the Nigerian government is handling their reentry into society. Directed by Karen Edwards and Gemma Atwal. WE ARE NOT DONE YET (Nov.). This documentary follows veterans and active-duty service members from varied backgrounds who come together to combat their traumas through the written word in a USO-sponsored arts workshop at Walter Reed National Military Hospital. Sharing fears, vulnerabilities and victories via poetry becomes a process for bonding, empowerment and healing that culminates in a live performance of a collaborative poem at Washington, D.C.’s Lansburgh Theater. Under the direction of poet Seema Reza and actor Jeffrey Wright, the warrior-poets take to the stage to tell often hidden truths about the consequences of intimacy with war and death. Directed by Sareen Hairabedian. THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING (Nov.). Exploring the labyrinth of the contemporary art world, this film spotlights the role of art and artistic passion in today’s money-driven, consumer-based society. Featuring collectors, dealers, auctioneers and a rich range of artists, from current market darlings George Condo, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter and Njideka Akunyili Crosby, to one-time art star Larry Poons, it exposes deep contradictions as it holds a mirror up to contemporary values and times, coaxing out the dynamics at play in pricing the priceless and ultimately asks, “Who does art belong to?” Directed by Nathaniel Kahn. THE TRUTH ABOUT KILLER ROBOTS (Nov.). An eerie, eye-opening work of science nonfiction, this film charts incidents in which robots have caused the deaths of humans in an automated Volkswagen factory, in a self-driving Tesla vehicle and from a bomb-carrying droid used by Dallas police. Though they are typically treated as freak anomalies, each case raises questions of accountability, legality and morality. Exploring the provocative views of engineers, journalists and philosophers, and drawing on archival footage, the film goes beyond sensational deaths to examine more subtle ways that robots pose a threat to society. Directed by Maxim Pozdorovkin. SAY HER NAME: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF SANDRA BLAND (Dec.). In 2015, Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old black woman from Chicago, was arrested for a traffic violation in a small Texas town. Three days later, she was found hanging from a noose in her jail cell. Though ruled a suicide, her death sparked allegations of racially-motivated police murder and made Bland’s case a rallying point for activists across the country. Featuring Bland’s passionate video blogs, the timely documentary follows her family and their legal team as they try to make sense of what happened, presenting a compelling look at her life as well as her death. Directed and produced by Kate Davis; produced by David Heilbroner. BRESLIN AND HAMILL: DEADLINE ARTISTS (Dec.). Brilliant writers, tribunes of the working class and icons of the lost world of newspapering, Jimmy Breslin and his friend, Pete Hamill, personified New York City. This documentary spotlights their unique take on many of the historic events of the second half of the 20th century. Directed by John Block, Jonathan Alter and Stephen McCarthy. BLEED OUT (Dec.). After a routine partial hip replacement operation leaves his mother in a coma with permanent brain damage, what starts as a son’s video diary becomes a citizen’s investigation into the future of American health care. Using undercover footage, court testimony, verité scenes shot over several years and interviews with people on all sides of the story, the film goes deep inside a flawed healthcare system. Part medical mystery and legal thriller, part investigative journey and meditation on family, this personal story is a cautionary tale. Directed by Steve Burrows.
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JANE FONDA IN FIVE ACTS, The Story of the Cultural Icon, Debuts September 24 on HBO

Directed and produced by award-winning documentarian Susan Lacy, Jane Fonda in Five Acts is an intimate look at Oscar(R)-winner Jane Fonda singular journey, drawing on 21 hours of interviews with Fonda, who speaks candidly about her life and her missteps. Girl next door, sex kitten, activist, fitness tycoon: Fonda has lived a life marked by controversy, tragedy and transformation, and she’s done it all in the public eye. Jane Fonda in Five Acts debuts Monday, September 24 (8:00-10:15 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. Jane Fonda has been vilified as Hanoi Jane, lusted after as Barbarella and heralded as a beacon of the women’s movement. This film goes to the heart of who she really is, a blend of deep vulnerability, magnetism, naiveté and bravery, revealing a life transformed over time. The documentary draws on 21 hours of interviews with Fonda, who speaks candidly about her life and her missteps. She explores the pain of her mother’s suicide, her father’s emotional unavailability, 30 years of an eating disorder and three marriages to highly visible, yet diametrically opposed, men. Jane Fonda in Five Acts also includes interviews with family and friends, as well as rare home movies and verité footage of the 80-year-old Fonda’s busy life today at, as she puts it, “the beginning of my last act.” Where “girls” of her generation were raised to be passive and compliant, Fonda has always seemed like very much “her own woman.” But her memories reveal the extent to which she was defined and controlled by the desires, ambitions, and fortunes of the powerful men in her life, and how much her own secret insecurities, unresolved anxieties and impulsive actions often prevented her from being the person she aspired to be. Featuring interviews with Robert Redford, Lily Tomlin, producer Paula Weinstein and former spouses Tom Hayden and Ted Turner, among others, the first four acts of Fonda’s life are named after the four men who shared – and hugely influenced – her personal and professional ambitions. The fifth act is named after Fonda herself, as she finally confronts her demons, reconnects with her family and resumes a successful career as both an actress and an activist, entirely on her own terms. Fonda recalls growing up “in the shadow of a national monument” in the form of her father, Henry. One of the most beloved actors of his time, the elder Fonda was a distant father in private, neglecting his family and having an affair while her mother descended into mental anguish that led to tragedy. Fonda’s name and good looks brought her modeling gigs and a chance to study acting with Lee Strasberg, but “it never felt real,” she recalls. She impulsively went to France to experience the cinematic revolution of the French New Wave, and married director Roger Vadim, agreeing to live a “heady and hedonistic” life and reluctantly allowing herself to become a sex object with films like “Barbarella.” Fonda’s proximity to leftist politics in Paris inspired an awakening about America’s role in Vietnam. Despite being a new mother, she threw herself into anti-war activism, eventually earning the nickname “Hanoi Jane” and a place in the crosshairs of the Nixon administration, and meeting her second husband, activist and organizer Tom Hayden. “I’m proud of most of what I did,” Fonda recalls of the period when she became a divisive political figure, “but very sorry for some of what I did.” While her acting career soared in films like “Klute” and “Coming Home,” she lived a deliberately stripped-down life with Hayden and their son, Troy Garity (who recalls the family arriving at the Oscars in a station wagon), funneling just as much energy into Hayden’s career and ambitions as her own. She produced an exercise video to raise money for their political work, only to see “Jane Fonda’s Workout” become the best-selling home video to date. With a newfound sense of purpose, Fonda began to confront her chronic discontent, leaving Hayden, going “cold turkey” on a lifelong eating disorder, learning more about her mother’s life and death and fostering an emotionally creative reunion with her father on the film “On Golden Pond.” Buoyed by the affection of third husband, billionaire mogul Ted Turner, she went into semi-retirement, until she recognized that she still had more to contribute and finally struck out on her own. Today, still challenging herself creatively and still active politically, Jane Fonda continues to demonstrate that there is no limit to the possibilities in a life full of self-determination, honesty and hard work. Susan Lacy is the creator and former executive producer of the celebrated WNET series “American Masters,” which is shown on PBS nationwide. She has won countless awards, and has produced and directed a broad library of acclaimed films exploring the lives of America’s most enduring cultural icons. Her previous HBO documentary, “Spielberg,” debuted on the network in Oct. 2017 and was recently nominated for an Emmy(R) in the category of Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special.
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Steve McQueen-Great Escape Doc “THE COOLEST GUY MOVIE EVER” Sets Digital Release Date [Trailer]

From filmmaker and film historian Chris Espenan comes The Coolest Guy Movie Ever — a fascinating forensic documentary about the making of the classic World War II adventure film The Great Escape — to DVD and digital HD from Virgil Films on August 21, 2018, after a special screening earlier this year at Marché du film in Cannes. Before Evans, Hemsworth, and Downey Jr. there was McQueen, Garner, and Bronson. These men represented what it meant to be tough guys in the 1960s, and they had the acting chops to play the toughest characters around – including the real life airmen who pulled off one of the most improbable escapes in war history. The filming locations of the enormously popular World War II adventure The Great Escape have become enshrined over the years by film buffs and historians alike, forever changing the landscape of the small German towns that once played host to these Hollywood heavyweights. Now for the first time, Filmmaker Chris Espenan set out to visit all of the locations in Germany where the 1963 film was made, while compiling facts, behind-the-scenes stories, and inside information on how the film was produced. From visiting Geisel Gastag Studios in Munich to the Bavarian town of Füssen, Espenan assembled a unique team of cameramen, historians, film buffs, and local experts who painstakingly found the exact spots where actors Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, David McCallum, and others toiled in the summer of 1962. Uncovering treasures such as footage from a German television news shoot — which included a rare interview on the set with Steve McQueen — to getting first person interviews from the locals who were there during filming, The Coolest Guy Movie Ever is a true labor of love, fashioned by filmmakers who exult The Great Escape as one of the most memorable World War II movies ever made, featuring one of the greatest casts ever assembled, and for many, indeed, The Coolest Guy Movie Ever. “The Great Escape is my favorite film of all time,” said Producer Steve Rubin. “It is the first film I started researching for my book ‘Combat Films 1945-2010’, the subject of my 1993 documentary Return to The Great Escape, and the reason I was nominated for Best Classic Commentary in 2004 for The Great Escape: Special Edition. When filmmaker Chris Espenan came to me with the idea for The Coolest Guy Movie Ever, I literally dropped everything to help him.” Executive Producer and Virgil Films CEO Joe Amodei echoed Rubin’s sentiments when he said “As a young boy exploring the big wide world of motion pictures for the first time The Great Escape excited me, thrilled me and cemented a love for movies that has stayed with me forever. This is the film that started it all.”

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Indie Memphis Announces 2018 Black Creators Forum, Alex Huggins Wins Residency

Indie Memphis Film Festival continues it commitment to supporting black filmmakers, present and future, with the new Black Creators Forum, running November 1st and 2nd at the Hattiloo Theatre. The Black Creators Forum will run before and parallel with the opening of the Indie Memphis Film Festival (November 1st – 5th, 2018), and is a two-day symposium of workshops and invited speakers led by notable black filmmakers and critics with a wide interdisciplinary range, including fine art, music, and online content. The goal is to explore ways black filmmaking can find creativity and sustainability from other mediums, and to ease the barrier of entry for black artists who would like to work in film. The event will be programmed by Indie Memphis Senior Programmer Miriam Bale and produced by Jason Farmer, Indie Memphis board member and owner of Black Lens Productions. “With the rich cultural, arts and musical legacy of Memphis as the backdrop, creating vibrant stories in our own tenor and tone on film is a natural, organic progression,” said Farmer, ”The Black Creators Forum in conjunction with the Indie Memphis Film Festival was created to give voice and vision to empower artists who can meet a growing demand for new media.” The two-day event of closed door discussions will conclude with a public pitch event on November 2nd, 2018. A dozen filmmakers will pitch projects, including finalists of the inaugural Indie Memphis Black Filmmaker Residency in Screenwriting program, as well as the winner of the Residency, Alex Huggins. Huggins will receive a $7500 unrestricted cash grant and a two month residency in Memphis to work on his feature film screenplay, Mason Dixon. “There was an incredible range of subjects and tones among the finalists’ projects—from a coming-of-age period piece about pop culture just before Beyoncé to a perverse comedy adventure, best described as if John Waters were a queer woman. Ultimately the selection committee went with Alex Huggins and his strong vision as a writer-director,” said Bale. “But we want to see all these projects made. Our intention is that the Forum and its pitch event will bring these new talents to the attention of producers, funders, and future collaborators.” The Residency finalists were decided by Indie Memphis staff and a board member from 106 applications, and the winner was decided by an independent selection committee of black film professionals.
2018 Recipient

Alex Huggins
Bio: Alex Huggins is a filmmaker and screenwriter from Salt Lake City, Utah. After a stint studying Architecture at Parsons School of Design in New York, and a brief period back home working in production through the Utah Film Commission, he returned to New York to act as an apprentice to Josh and Benny Safdie at their burgeoning studio Elara Pictures. Growing up in an immigrant household –raised by his Haitian mother and the youngest of three – Huggins recalls watching films from an early age, utilizing them to bridge the contrasting realities impressed upon him by his Caribbean influenced home life and the American West. In his work, Huggins exercises these contrasting realities via subversive themes in an effort to cast reconfigured historical context on a contemporary landscape. Huggins is currently working on his next film – a short entitled “Pennies” following a group of vampires in Harlem – while also writing collaboratively on multiple projects. Project, Mason Dixon: The film tells the story of Vanessa Pierre, a 20-year-old Haitian American, who becomes entangled in a convoluted historical mystery following the return of her estranged father to her mother’s home.
2018 Finalists

Jon-Carlos Evans
Bio: Jon-Carlos Evans is a Berlin-based filmmaker, audiovisual artist and writer. A native of St. Louis, MO, he holds a B.A. in Film Production from Webster University-St. Louis and a MFA in Media Arts Production from the City College of New York. Under his musical alias Klaas von Karlos, Evans is also the founder of experimental-electronic collective ReVerse Bullets and creative director of the GLITCH performance series/music label. As Klaas von Karlos, he is a member of music projects BIINDS, Naked Sweatshop, and Divan Rouge. His previous works include the short films “Antithesis,” “Goodbye Brooklyn,” “Julya,” and “Salvation (Without You).” He is a recipient of the Eastman Kodak Student Grant (2006), the Aloha Accolade Award (2010, Honolulu International Festival), and the Silver Palm Award (2010, Mexico International Film Festival). His recently completed feature, All Tomorrow’s Children, continues to play in festivals after winning the Bronze Remi Award at Worldfest Houston and Best Narrative Film at the 2017 CUNY Film Festival. Project, The Lost Gods of Memphis: The Lost Gods of Memphis is a free jazz-noir, dark fairytale about a hidden society of Egyptian gods and goddesses based along the Mississippi River in the 21st century. When the sacred bull disappears, a group of four elderly, eccentric gods turned jazz musicians are enlisted to restore order.
Natalie Frazier
Bio: Natalie Frazier is the director and writer of Cheetah & The Deathgoers. She is a proud Chicagoan, filmmaker and writer. She’s worked as a production assistant on MTV’s “Sweet Viscous” and “Catfish,” and “Brujos,” a web series. She graduated with a degree in Radio, Television and Film from Northwestern University in 2016. Project, Mr. Interlocutor: After years of attempting to entertain a world that just can’t seem to peg them, G, a scorned burlesque dancer, embarks on a different kind of tour — a farcical killing spree.
Jeri Hilt
Bio: Jeri Hilt is a mixed media artist and filmmaker native to Louisiana. Her art reflects cosmologies, aesthetics, and cannons of thought from communities of color as she has experienced them this lifetime. Though much of her work has been regionally specific in space and time to southern Louisiana and the state’s coastal Wetlands; her art is created with intent to be both resonate and reflective of contemporary Black/Indigenous communities throughout the African Diaspora. Project, Five Million Marielles: After the assassination of Marielle Franco in 2018, Black and Indigenous Women in Brazil and throughout the African Diaspora create a campaign to “produce” five million Marielles by vowing to name their next immediate child-regardless of sex/gender-Marielle. Discreetly, they also vow to raise them according to her principles and humanistic philosophy-with the ultimate goal of changing the world completely in one generation.
Amanda Layne Miller
Bio: Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Amanda Layne Miller is a writer, director, and part-time editor in Los Angeles, creating new worlds and complex characters in fantasy/sci-fi and coming-of-age narratives. She is passionate about inclusive representation in film, television, and digital media. She loves using dramatic and comedic elements to portray real life in bizarre ways, and is excited by the new opportunities and stories being told on television and new media services. Miller’s ultimate goal is to create content that reflects her personal worldview as a Black woman from the American South. In doing so, she also hopes to expand the range of identities represented on-screen and behind the scenes. She is currently a developing writer on an American/Chinese co-production, while serving as a Creative Assistant and writer at indie comic company Stranger Comics. She has previously interned for HBO West Coast Production in LA, MACRO in Hollywood, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment in LA, and HBO Creative Services in New York City. Project, Black Cherry: In 1985 Memphis, black and white communities bump heads and turn to chaos when head cheerleader Cherry Grace receives an invitation to Cotillion–the first black girl in the tradition’s long history.
Ama Quao
Bio: Ama Quao is a first-generation African-American, screenwriter based in New York by way of Tennessee. A 2012 graduate of Brown University, she has interned and worked at A24, Billions on Showtime and Sweetbitter on Starz. A 2017 MADE IN NEW YORK Fellowship Semi-Finalist and recipient of the 2017 Jesse Thompkins III Emerging Storyteller Award, her comedic writing seeks to expand the representation of women of color in film and TV. Project, 1999: When Zeus, a first-generation African-American loses a pound of weed, the same day his type-A sister, Zola, wins two tickets to a Britney Spears concert, they realize they must work together if they want to make it to the concert alive.
Final Selection Committee for Indie Memphis Black Filmmaker Residency in Screenwriting

Monica Cooper
Monica Cooper was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and reared in Pittsburgh. She studied Theater Arts at the University of North Carolina in Asheville, NC. While working as an actress and voice over artist in the Carolinas, she was frustrated at not being able to find good talent representation, so opened her own successful model and talent agency. After a move to Hollywood, she worked as Casting Assistant on films such as Posse (1993, Mario Van Peebles) and Friday (1995, F. Gary Gray). She has worked as Casting Director on films like Cauleen Smith’s Drylongso (1998). Currently Cooper is President of Make it Happen Entertainment, which develops film television and new media projects in the U.S. and internationally. Cooper is also the founder of the In-Focus Film Society, developing educational programs such as a recent series of panels and discussions on diversity at the Cannes Film Festival.
Rooney Elmi
Rooney Elmi is the creator and managing editor of SVLLY(wood), a biannual print and digital movie magazine geared toward radical cinephilia. As the former director of development of Ohio Film Group, she handled acquisitions and marketing for the state-of-the-art post production studio and currently programs short films and documentaries for international cinema spaces and online platforms.
Rob Williams
Rob Williams is a veteran Creative Executive and Producer who has worked with most major studios including Paramount, DreamWorks, and Disney/ABC, developing and shepherding many an award-winning projects through the production process. He is currently Senior Vice President of Theatrical Motion Pictures at JuVee Productions is an award-winning, artist-driven production company from Viola Davis and Julius Tennon. Prior to that he was a consultant to the CEO of Cape Town Film Studios in South Africa and instrumental in securing US Congressional support for a sustainable value chain consisting of training, production, distribution and complimentary media services linked between South Africa and the United States. During his tenure at Amblin, Williams worked as a Screenplay Editor on Amistad, Ants, and Deep Impact. Williams was also intimately involved in the development and production of the Michael Mann directed motion picture Ali. During his tenure, he worked closely with Oscar-winning Producer Graham King (Argo, The Town, The Departed) and Mann in developing several high-profile projects including Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator, and the upcoming highly anticipated Ferrari to be directed by Mann. Image(pictured from top-left): Alex Huggins, Jon-Carlos Evans, Natalie Frazier, Jeri Hilt, Amanda Layne Miller, and Ama Quao.
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Award-Winning Puppy Documentary PICK OF THE LITTER Opens in Theaters on August 31 [Trailer]

This has got to be among the cutest and sweetest documentaries ever. Pick of the Litter directed by Dana Nachman and Don Hardy, follows a litter of puppies from the moment they’re born and begin their quest to become guide dogs for the blind. The film World Premiered earlier this year at the 2018 Slamdance Film Festival and went on to become an audience pleaser winning Audience Awards at multiple film festivals. Sundance Selects will release Pick of the Litter in theaters on August 31, 2018. Cameras follow these pups through an intense two-year odyssey as they train to become dogs whose ultimate responsibility is to protect their blind partners from harm. Along the way, these remarkable animals rely on a community of dedicated individuals who train them to do amazing, life-changing things in the service of their human. The stakes are high and not every dog can make the cut. Only the best of the best. The pick of the litter.

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Rhode Island International Film Festival Celebrates 22nd Season with Over 290 Films

[caption id="attachment_31064" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR FAMILY[/caption] Over a six-day run, from August 7 to 12, 2018, the 22nd Annual Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival will screen 293 films that include 84 World/United States Premieres from 48 countries. The festival will host the premieres of local films such as Pat Heywood and Jamil McGinnis’ “Fall River,” Clayton Vila’s “Back to Life: The Torin Yater-Wallace Story,” URI Film Professor, Reshad Kulenovic’s “Blood & Moonlight,” Selene Means’ “The Time Is Already,” Ali Migliore’s “After Her,” Denali Tiller’s “Tre Maison Dason,” Gene Pina’s “Warrior,” Tim Gray’s “Survivors of Malmedy: December 1944” and many, many more. Starting on Tuesday, August 7th, a special year long “Celebration of Women in Film and Arts” will be launched (#WomenInTheArts). To celebrate this achievement, the Festival is dedicated this year’s event to Dr. Winifred E. Brownell, a groundbreaking educator and Dean Emerita of the Arts and Sciences at the University of Rhode Island. Her visionary work propelled the University to become a leading hub for film media studies and nurtured the Festival during its infancy, spurring it to become the internationally acclaimed event that it is today. The Festival is also establishing a $2,000 annual scholarship in her name that pays recognition to her career championing the arts and humanities at the University of Rhode Island and a leading female voice in higher education. RIIFF is one of 10 Festivals in the world that is an Academy Award qualifier in the Live Action, Animation and Documentary Short categories and a qualifier with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).
AWARDS
GILBERT STUART ARTISTIC VISION (LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT) AWARD will be presented to Joseph M. Alves, an American film production designer. He designed the three mechanical sharks for the movie Jaws (1975). Alves also designed three features for Steven Spielberg, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction and won the BAFTA for Best Art Direction for his work on Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The RIIFF SCREENPLAY COMPETITION AWARD will be presented to Barry Brennessel from Silver Spring, MD whose screenplay is entitled “ANH SANG.” The 2018 PRODUCER’S CIRCLE AWARDS are presented annually to members of the community who have actively worked to support and promote the mission of the Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival. This year’s recipients include: Michael Braca, photographer; Judge Frank Caprio, Municipal Judge and television personality; Dr. J. Scott Oberacker, RIIFF Educational Outreach Director; and Niko Stamatakos, business sponsor/supporter
OPENING NIGHT LINEUP
TIGHT SPOT | Directed by: Kevin Haefelin | 4 min. Switzerland, USA, 2018 Shining the shoes of a walk-in customer, a shiner discovers his client’s dark secret. ZION | Directed By: Floyd Russ | 11 min. USA, 2017 Zion is a short documentary about the life of Zion Clark, a young wrestler who was born without legs and grew up in foster care. CAROLINE | Directed By: Celine Held and Logan George | 12 min. USA, 2018 When plans fall through, a six-year-old is faced with a big responsibility on a hot Texas day. FALL RIVER | Directed by: Pat Heywood and Jamil McGinnis | 7 min. USA, 2018 Through the intimate reflections of one extraordinary woman, Fall River tells the story of a family’s tragedy, the once-thriving city they inhabited, and how hope can blossom in unexpected places. In the search for closeness, for comfort, for history — what does it mean to be from somewhere? THE COLLAR | Directed by: Viktoria Runtsova | 23 min. Russian Federation, 2017 A modest young woman buys the new collar for her clothing. But the collar starts to rule her life leading to an important decision. MARGUERITE | Directed by: Marianne Farley | 19 min. Canada, 2017 An aging woman and her nurse develop a friendship that inspires her to unearth unacknowledged longing and thus help her make peace with her past. GEOFF | Directed by: Michael Rouse and Will Kenning | 20 min. United Kingdom, 2017 Bridging Fear with Love and Peanuts. TYRANNOSAURUS FUNK | Directed by: Sandra Boynton | 4 min. United States, 2017 A confident T. Rex singing about the particular joys of being king of the dinosaurs. FERN | Directed by: Johnny Kelly | 6 min. United Kingdom, 2017 A woman loses her husband, and finds a houseplant. ONE SMALL STEP | Directed by: Bobby Pontillas | 8 min. USA/China | 2018 Luna, a young Chinese American girl, dreams of becoming an astronaut. Supported by her humble father, Luna endeavors to make her dreams come true.
WORKSHOPS AND SPECIAL PROGRAMMING
A number of events that RIIFF will hold during the week are targeted toward helping novice and professional filmmakers improve and refine their skills. One of the most popular events is the annual RHODE ISLAND FILM FORUM, to be held on Thursday, August 9, at the Biltmore Hotel Ballroom in collaboration with the RI Film & Television Office, the University of Rhode Island’s Harrington School of Communication and Media, Johnson and Wales University, Providence College, and Roger Williams University. This year’s special guest is director and production designer, Joe Alves (IMDB). Alves will receive the 2018 Gilbert Stuart Visionary Artist Lifetime Achievement Award. Joseph Alves is an American film production designer best known for his work on the third of the Jaws films, and for directing Jaws 3-D. Alves designed three features for Steven Spielberg, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction and won the BAFTA for Best Art Direction for his work on Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Alves worked on Jaws 2 in the capacity of both production designer and as second unit director, and he was visual consultant on Carpenter’s Starman. The SCRIPTBIZ SCREENPLAY PITCH SEMINAR returns on Friday, August 10 for its 19th edition, showcasing this year’s Grand Prize Screenplay Competition winner “ANH SANG.” Barry Brennessel from Silver Spring, MD. The SCRIPTBIZ workshop is a great place for aspiring screenwriters looking to make an impact with their work by receiving constructive critique and advice from people with experience in the field. The director of the program, Andrew Lund, Esq. filmmaker and entertainment lawyer, is an Associate Professor and Director of the Integrated Media Arts MFA Program in the Film & Media Department at Hunter College of the City University of New York. The extensive list of panelists will include writer Chris Sparling, actor/director, Tribeca Film Festival Program Director, Sharon Badal; writer/director, Alfred Catalfo; and British actor/director, Freddie Fox. This year the Festival will re-launch its popular Morning “Coffee Talks” entitled “THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN 60 MINUTES: Journeys in Filmmaking” with leading directors, actors, writers, composers and members of the industry at the Hotel Providence. Audience members, and, up-and-coming filmmakers attending the Festival would have the opportunity to learn about the development and evolution of the films screened at the Festival, the process and journey filmmakers have taken to make it in the industry and the growing importance of the international box office. Additionally, on Thursday, August 9th at 8:00 p.m. Flickers’ acclaimed television series “doubleFEATURE,” will provide highlights of this year’s Festival and feature Dr. Winifred E. Brownell, for whom the Festival is dedicated this year. In a compelling interview with Steven Feinberg, audiences will learn how one person can make a difference. Now in its second year, the series is produced by Flickers in partnership with RI PBS and the Rhode Island Films and Television Office.
FILM HIGHLIGHTS
THE ETRUSCAN SMILE Directed by: Mihal Brezis | 107 min. Switzerland, 2018 Starring acclaimed British actor Brian Cox as Rory MacNeil, a rugged old Scotsman who reluctantly leaves his beloved isolated Hebridean island and travels to San Francisco to seek medical treatment. YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR FAMILY Directed by: Miranda Bailey | 113 min. USA, 2018 A seventeen year-old boy blackmails his father after discovering he has a secret family. Starring two-time Emmy award-winner Anna Gunn, and Emmy award-winner Jim Gaffigan. FAKE TATTOOS | Directed by: Pascal Plante | 87 min. Canada, 2017 Theo spends his 18th birthday alone, getting drunk at a brutal punk rock show. There, he meets Mag, a marginal teenager who invites him to spend the night at her place. A love story unfolds between them, but Theo has to move to a small town at the end of the summer, far away from a painful past. MAXIMILIAN (English Version) | Directed by: Nicolas Greinacher | 76 min. France, Switzerland, 2016 With an IQ of 149+, 13-year old Maximilian Janisch is Switzerland’s most famous highly gifted child. After passing the final secondary-school examinations in Mathematics at just 9 years old, Maximilian has jumped forward 3 grades and is now attending Mathematical courses at University level. The film follows Maximilian and his parents through their high-energy daily life and reflects on what it means to be a child prodigy. Maximilian Janisch will be in attendance. TRE MAISON DASON Directed by: Denali Tiller | 90 min. USA 2017 A story of boyhood marked by the criminal justice system and what it means to become a man in America, TRE MAISON DASAN explores parental incarceration through the eyes of three boys. eHero | Directed by: Joseph Procopio | 85 min. Canada, 2018 An up-and-coming video gamer faces his greatest challenge yet as he and his team must overcome a fiery gaming superstar, as well as their own battling egos, to win the ultimate video game championship. Featuring Sean Astin. THE MAESTRO Directed by: Adam Cushman | 94 min. USA, 2017 After the Second World War, budding film composer Jerry Herst moves to Hollywood to study with infamous master teacher Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Starring Xander Berkeley. ANJELICA HUSTON ON JAMES JOYCE: A SHOUT IN THE STREET | Directed by: Kieron Walsh | 59 min. Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, USA, United Kingdom, 2018 Anjelica Huston played the lead female role in the movie adaptation by her father, John Huston, of James Joyce’s famous short story, ‘The Dead’. It was the last of the classic movies that the legendary director made, and is regarded as the finest adaptation of Joyce’s work ever produced. In this film, Anjelica uses her background – as a child in Ireland and as an acclaimed actor – to tell the extraordinary story of the life and work of the celebrated, (and, at times, infamous) Irish novelist. She tells of his impoverished childhood in Dublin; of the chaotic years when he struggled to establish himself as a writer of originality and distinction; of the world wide celebrity that followed the appearance of his great novel, ‘Ulysses’; of his epic struggles against censorship and ill health: and of his final desperate flight from the Nazi occupation of France which threatened the life of his only grandchild. As Anjelica relates Joyce’s personal and creative history, other distinguished writers – such as David Simon, John Banville, Jeffrey Eugenides and Edna O’Brien – help to explain why his influence has been so extensive and so profound. REINVENTING POWER: AMERICA’S RENEWABLE ENERGY BOOM Directed by: Tony Valentino | 49 min. USA, 2018 Takes us across the country to hear directly from the people making our clean energy future achievable. These individuals are working to rebuild what’s broken, rethink what’s possible, and revitalize communities. Highlighted among others is the Block Island Wind Farm. SECRET INGREDIENTS Directed by: Amy S. Hart, Jeffrey M. Smith| 80 min. USA | 2018 | 1 hr 20 min Compelling stories of people who regain their health and transform their lives after identifying the ‘secret ingredients’ in their food, and making a bold commitment to avoid them. BACK ROADS Directed by: Alex Pettyfer | 80 min. USA, 2018 A young man cares for his sisters after their mother is imprisoned for murdering their abusive father. When he strikes up an affair with a married woman, long-dormant family secrets bubble to the surface in this noir thriller. Featuring actor/director Alex Pettyfer. INTELLIGENT LIVES Directed by: Dan Habib | 70 min. USA, 2018 Three pioneering young adults with intellectual disabilities — Micah, Naieer, and Naomie — challenge perceptions of intelligence as they navigate high school, college, and the workforce. Featuring noted actor, Chris Cooper. AMERICAN RELAPSE * | Directed by: Pat Adam McGee Linkenhelt | 105 min. USA, 2018 AMERICAN RELAPSE is a feature documentary about the ripped-from-the-headlines heroin epidemic and the corrupt underground rehab industry that has sprung up around it in Southern Florida. This, on-the-ground documentary follows the day-to-day struggle of recovering addicts Allie and Frankie attempting to place addicts in treatment, but can they stay clean themselves? ON KILLER ROBOTS Directed by: Lorraine Nicholson | 15 min. USA, 2018 On July 7th 2016, US Law Enforcement used robotic technology to confront and kill a suspect for the first time. Through the mouths of its fictional characters, ‘On Killer Robots’ explores the morality behind this historic step towards automation. HERO Directed by: Freddie Fox | 18 min. United Kingdom, 2018 An isolated young boy and a decaying old film star are brought together by their shared love of the silver screen – and for a brief moment its magic seeps into their lives. With Charles Dance, James Norton and Jessica Brown Findlay. On Saturday, August 11th at 12:15, Metcalf Auditorium, RISD Museum, the Festival presents a powerful, thought-provoking and inspiring program entitled: THE POWER OF FILM: Can a Film Change the World? This special showcase centers on films that show how very brave people confront the challenges we all face in just living our lives. Discover how these challenges can push all boundaries. Learn how the power of our shared humanity – the daily struggles and fights we all have – can ultimately lead to a new and more empowering future. The focal point of the event is a presentation of the documentary film: the feature “The Push” and the documentary short, “A Racing Heart.” THE PUSH is a documentary film that focuses on Grant Korgan, an adventure athlete and former nanoscientist who became the first spinal-cord injured athlete in history to ski the final degree of latitude to the bottom of the world ~ to Antarctica’s geographic South Pole. Just five months after marrying the love of his life, Shawna, Grant Korgan went out with his three friends one morning for a day of fun and filming on snowmobiles. After much consideration, he attempted a jump that he had always wanted to take on his snowmobile. Grant’s snowmobile crashed down hard, and Grant broke his back. Despite his prognosis, that he would never walk again, both he and Shawna focused on the goal of 120% recovery. Shawna, a health and wellness expert, took his recovery head-on and with the same drive and tenacity as Grant. While working on his rehabilitation, Grant was offered an opportunity to join an expedition heading to the South Pole. If he completed the 100 miles using his arms to pull himself on a sit-ski, he would become the first spinal cord injured athlete to reach the South Pole. Grant and two guides headed off to South America. On the ice, they struggled with minus 50 degree conditions, failing solar panels, hypothermia, frost bite, and mental challenges. On January 17, 2012, Grant reached the bottom of our world on the 100th anniversary when Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova expedition arrived at the earth’s most remote spot. When Grant returned home, the thrill of his achievement turned to reflection about his reality. He had to face his paralysis and realize that going forward he would still have to overcome his inability to use his legs unassisted. But Grant made a profound, inspiring decision, to choose positivity. He focuses on what he is able to do and finds pleasure and comfort in kayaking, downhill skiing, diving, and waterskiing as an adaptive athlete. On August 2015, Korgan broke the record for the human powered circumnavigation of Lake Tahoe by over two hours, finishing the 72-mile paddle in just 14 hours and 15 minutes. Andrew Dickhout’s “A RACING HEART” introduces us to John Dickhout, a recent heart transplant survivor, who attempts to cross the final goal off of his bucket list as a documentary crew follows him on a weekly basis. His goal; to run a 10k in under 60 minutes, and show the progress he has made in the 2 years since his life was saved. While training, John regales us with stories about his near death experiences, and his desire to prove himself after a stranger and their family’s choice to donate helped to give his life new meaning. Featuring triumph against all odds, what you experience at this screening might just change your life! Interactive networking events will be held nightly during the span of the six-day festival including our CITY PARTY PUB CRAWL, starting at The Rosendale, 55 Union Street, and ending at EGO, 73 Richmond Street, downtown Providence. Last year’s event drew over 2,000 participants, making the week of the Festival an unparalleled Celebration of Film, Arts and Culture.
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