The 2009 NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL will take place June 3-7 in beautiful Newport, Rhode Island. This year’s Festival will present five days and nights of screenings of over 90 U.S. and international feature, documentary and short films; Rhode Island focus, narrative, documentary and audience award competitions; filmmaker panels; events; a free screening in beautiful Ballard Park; the presentation of the prestigious Claiborne Pell Award; and those fabulous Newport parties. There will also be the previously announced collaboration with The Museum of Modern Art: Archival Screenings featuring a special selection of films from The Museum of Modern Art’s annual exhibition To Save and Project: The MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation.
Under the new leadership of Executive Director Jennifer Maizel, Artistic Director Tom Hall and Programmers Holly Herrick and Andrea van Beuren, the 2009 Festival looks to be among the best ever. In its 11 years, NIFF has grown dramatically into one of America's leading regional film festivals. The Festival has a reputation for stellar programming and has cemented its status as one of the most exciting and exclusive festivals of its kind. Annually attracting over 10,000 filmmakers, celebrities, journalists, and film enthusiasts of all kinds together in a less frenzied, less commercial, and more intimate environment, the Festival has distinguished itself as one where art ranks before commerce.
From the Opening Night Film on Wednesday, June 3 to the Closing Night presentation on Sunday, June 7, the Newport International Film Festival is going to be the place to be for all film lovers.
The Festival will open with In The Loop (UK/USA) from director Armando Iannucci and starring Anna Chlumski, James Gandolfini, Mimi Kennedy, David Rasche and Zach Woods. Kennedy, Rasche and Woods will be on hand for the Opening Night screening and party.
On Sunday, June 7, the Newport International Film Festival will wind up its 2009 edition with a film that should certainly speak to the Newport community. Pierre Marcel’s new documentary Tabarly (France) is a tender, moving portrait of Éric Tabarly, one of the greatest, most innovative yachtsmen in the history of sailing, whose humility and soft-spoken nature belied his passion for competition and the rigors of a life at sea. Pierre Marcel will be in Newport for the screening.
On Saturday evening, June 6 at the Jane Pickens Theater, the 2009 Newport International Film Festival will present The Claiborne Pell Award to one of our great masters of cinema. The late Senator Pell was a champion of the arts, responsible for the legislation that created the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. This award, established by the Pell family in partnership with NIFF over 10 years ago, will feature a multimedia retrospective of our Honoree’s career as well as an on-stage conversation with the Honoree, to discuss their work and upcoming projects. The festival has partnered with the Museum Of Modern Art (MoMA) to expand the mission of the Pell Award, starting this year, the festival will partner to donate $10,000 on the Honoree’s behalf to the MoMA Film Archive to support the museum’s To Save and Project Series. The honoree, in consultation with NIFF and MoMA will take part in chosing which film the grant will benefit.
2009 Newport International Film Festival Narrative Films:
• (500) Days Of Summer (USA) directed by Marc Webb, and starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
• 35 Shots of Rum (France/ Germany), directed by Claire Denis and starring Alex Descas, Mati Diop and Grégoire Colin.
• Adam (USA) directed by Max Mayer and starring Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Frankie Faison and Peter Gallagher.
• Bronson (UK) directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and starring Tom Hardy, Matt King.
• Children Of Invention (USA - Narrative Feature Competition), directed by Tze Chun and starring Cindy Cheung, Michael Chen and Crystal Chiu.
• Entre Nos (USA - Narrative Feature Competition) directed by Paola Mendoza and Gloria La Morte and starring Paola Mendoza, Sebastian Villada and Laura Montana.
• Humpday (USA - Narrative Feature Competition) directed by Lynn Shelton and starring Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard and Alycia Delmore.
• Kisses (Ireland/ Sweden) directed by Lance Daly and starring Kelly O'Neill and Shane Curry.
• Moon (UK) directed by Duncan Jones (who will be in Newport) and starring Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey.
• Natural Causes (USA – Rhode Island Focus), directed by Michael Lerman, Alex Cannon and Paul Cannon and starring Jerzy Gwiazdowski, Leah Goldstein, Shonda Leigh Robbins.
• Paris (France), directed by Cédric Klapisch and starring Juliette Binoche, Roman Duris and Fabrice Luchini.
• Quiet Chaos (Italy/UK), directed by Antonello Grimaldi and starring the masterful Nanni Moretti.
• Still Walking (Japan), directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda and starring Hiroshi Abe and Yui Natsukawa.
• That Evening Sun (USA - Narrative Feature Competition), directed by Scott Teems and starring Hal Holbrook and Ray McKinnon.
• The Burning Plain (USA), directed by Guillermo Arriaga and starring Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger and Jennifer Lawrence.
• White On Rice (USA - Narrative Feature Competition), directed by Dave Boyle and starring Hiroshi Watanabe, Nae, Mio Takada, Lynn Chen and James Kyson Lee.
NIFF will also be presenting, in collaboration with The Museum of Modern Art, Archival Gotham: NYC ON Film featuring a special selection of films from The Museum of Modern Art’s annual exhibition To Save and Project: The MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation, exhibited in restored archival prints.
• East Side, West Side (1927 – silent with piano accompaniment), directed by Allan Dwan and starring George O’Brien and Virginia Valli.
• Little Fugitive (1953), directed by Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin and Ray Ashley, starring Richie Andrusco and Richard Brewer.
• On the Waterfront (1954), directed by Elia Kazan and starring Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Eva Marie Saint and Rod Steiger.
• The Projectionist (1970) directed by Harry Hurwitz and starring Chuck McCann, Ina Balin and Rodney Dangerfield.
• Taxi Driver (1976) directed by Martin Scorsese, and starring Robert DeNiro, Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel and Cybil Sherpard.
2009 Newport International Film Festival Documentary Films:
• 45365 (USA – Documentary Feature Competition), directed by Bill Ross IV & Turner Ross.
• 21 Below (USA – Documentary Feature Competition), directed by Samatha Buck.
• 58 Harrison Lane (USA – Rhode Island Focus), directed by Sprague Theobold.
• Afghan Star (USA/ Afghanistan), directed by Havana Marking.
• Art & Copy (USA) directed by Doug Pray.
• Boy Interrupted (USA), directed by Dana Heinz Perry.
• Dancing Across Borders (USA), directed by Anne Bass.
• The End Of The Line (UK), directed by Rupert Murray.
• Haze (USA), directed by Pete Schuermann,
• P-Star Rising (USA), directed by Gabriel Noble.
• Pop Star On Ice (USA) directed by David Barba & James Pellerito.
• Prodigal Sons (USA – Documentary Feature Competition), directed by Kimberley Reed.
• Racing Dreams (USA), directed by Marshall Curry.
• Trimpin: The Sound of Invention (USA – Documentary Feature Competition), directed by Peter Esmonde.
• The Way We Get By (USA – Documentary Feature Competition), directed by Aron Gaudet.
• We Live In Public (USA), directed by Ondi Timoner.
• The Windmill Movie (USA), directed by Alexander Olch.
Members of our Narrative and Documentary Competiton Juries include:
Documentary Jury - Wendy Mitchell, Senior Editor of Screen International and ScreenDaily.com; Clémence Taillandier, Head of Theatrical Sales at Zeitgeist Films; Jeremiah Zagar, Director, In A Dream.
Narrative Jury - Alison Willmore, Editor of IFC.com; Jake Perlin, Associate Film Programmer at BamCinematek and Founder of The Film Desk; Adam Kossack, Manager at management and production firm Anonymous Content.
2009 Newport International Film Festival Short Films Program
All Short Film Descriptions can be found at www.newportfilmfestival.com and in the Festival catalogue.
Shorts Program 1 - Outsider Stories: Short Narrative Films:
Expect the unexpected and be prepared to try something new as you meet the unusual, rule-breaking characters in these eight original stories. There is something for everyone in this diverse selection of narrative short films hailing from every genre.
• Adelaide (USA), directed by Liliana Greenfield-Sanders.
• Countertransference (USA) directed by: Madeleine Olnek.
• Dead*Line (USA), directed by Joseph Bakhash.
• Love Child (Sweden), directed by Daniel Wirtberg.
• Terminated (USA), directed by André Hereford & Riccardo Costa.
• The Nowhere Kids (USA), directed by Eric Juhola.
• Our Neck of the Woods (USA), directed by Rob Connolly.
Shorts Program 2 - Animators Showcase:
These seven short animated films from around the world reflect the limitless styles and creative possibilities at the fingertips of ambitious contemporary animators. From a utopic city in the sky to an unusual bowl of spaghetti, these original and imaginative films are sure to surprise and inspire you.
• Horn Dog (USA), directed by Bill Plympton.
• A Film From My Parish- 6 Farms (Ireland), directed by Tony Donoghue.
• Invisible Loneliness (Taiwan), directed by Jung Hsien-Lin.
• Western Spaghetti (USA), directed by PES.
• Capes (USA), directed by Bryan Cohen.
• Silent Moon (USA), directed by Melanie Mandl.
• I Am So Proud of You (USA), directed by Don Hertzfeldt.
Shorts Program 3 - Truth Before Fiction: Documentary Films:
The short documentaries program presents three wildly different must-see works of short form non-fiction.
• A Blooming Business (Netherland/ Kenya), directed by Ton van Zantvoort.
• Paints on the Ceiling (USA), directed by Jeremiah Zagar.
• I Knew It Was You (USA), directed by Richard Shepard.
Museum of Modern Art, Archival Gotham: NYC on Film Shorts
• Hearts Of Age (1934), directed by William Vance & Orson Welles.
• Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor (1936) directed by Dave Fleischer.
• The City (1939) directed by Willard Van Dyke & Ralph Steiner.
• The Tender Game (1958) directed by John Hubley.
Shorts Playing Before Feature Films:
• Dish (USA), directed by Brian Harris Krinsky, plays before Humpday.
• The Fire, The Blood, The Stars (France), directed by Caoline Deruas, plays before Quiet Chaos.
• Hugo (USA), directed by Paul Lovelance, plays before Trimpin: The Sound of Invention.
• Quarry (USA), directed by Richard P. Rogers, plays before The Windmill Movie.
2009 Newport International Film Festival Children’s Film Programs:
• Azur And Asmar (France), directed by Michel Ocelot.
Children’s Short Film Program: Ages 6 to Adult:
• Animacat (Switzerland), directed by Claude Luyet.
• Breaking The Mould (England), directed by Rebecca Manley & Luca Paulli.
• The Bridge On The River Zzzeee (France), directed by Thomas Szabo.
• Carrot On The Beach (Estonia), directed by Pärtel Tall.
• Cyber (Germany), directed by Stefan Eling.
• Don’t Let It All Unravel (UK), directed by Sarah Cox.
• Hooked (Canada), directed by Kristin Williams.
• KJFG NO. 5 (Hungary), directed by Alexi Alexeev.
• Leonardo (USA), directed by Jim Capobianco.
• Ruby Who? (Australia), directed by Hailey Bartholomew & Natalia Stuetz.
• 7 Days Of The Week (USA) David Cowles & Sean McBride.
• Sooner Or Later (Switzerland), directed by Jadwiga Kowaiska.
• Triple Concerto In D Minor (Australia), directed by Daniel Mitchell.
• World In Your Hands (Norway), directed by Geir Henning Hopland.
• The Weatherman (UK), directed by Will Becher.
• Zoological (USA), directed by Nicole Mitchell.
Children’s Short Film Program: Ages 10 to Adult:
• Good Advice (Sweden), directed by Andrea Tibbin.
• Hakim (Germany), directed by Ismail Sahim.
• Hangman (Norway), directed by Hanne Ramsdai & Cecillie Semec Mikkelson.
• Little Girl Waiting (Mexico), directed by Esteban Reyes.
• Stranger In Her Own City (Yemen), directed Khadiia Al-salami.
• The Trophy (New Zealand), directed Justine Simei-Barton.
Short Films For Teens: Ages 14 To Adult:
• Careful With That Axe (New Zealand), directed by Jason Stutter.
• Chocolate Bunny (The Netherlands), directed by Lernert Engelberts & Sander Plug.
• New Boy (Ireland), directed by Tamara Anghie.
• Post! (Germany), directed by Christian Asmussen & Matthias Bruhn.
• This Way Up (England), directed by Smith and Foulkes.
• Toyland (Germany), directed by Jochen Alexander Freydank.
• Victory (Bua) (Ireland), directed by Sonya Gildea.
Chatelin Bruno 
