The Twelfth Annual Festival Concludes Attracting Extraordinary

 Films, Celebrities and Record Crowds

PROVIDENCE, RI (August 10, 2008). The 2008 Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) announced the winners in this year’s film competition at its annual Awards Ceremony held at the Providence Biltmore Hotel's Garden Room in Providence, RI. George T. Marshall, RIIFF's Executive Director welcomed over 175 attending filmmakers at the ceremony. He was joined by Adam Short, Producing Director; Demetria Carr, Associate Producing Director; and Chase Huneke, Programming Manager.

"It's been an amazing and sensational year for us," said RIIFF Executive Director George T. Marshall, "We had films screened and filmmakers attend from all over the world. The box office and audience levels were up significantly over last year. And we were blessed to have Bythe Danner, John Ratzenberger, Richard Jenkins, Mark Margolis, Kevin Sheridan, Ron Palillo, Dan Butler, Jason Clark and Marlyn Mason on hand to join in the cinematic celebration.

"Audience feedback has been equally strong, a clear indication that we were able to achieve the right programming mix. Of course, this is only due to the exceptionally strong films submitted to the Festival; so the kudos really belong to the filmmakers who made this year's event happen. We also had an exceptional staff in place that was filmmaker-centric and worked together as a team; making a clear difference in how this Festival was produced."

This year’s RIIFF ran August 5-10th and showcased 289 cinematic works submitted from over 53 countries, and 32 states in the United States. The 2008 RIIFF presented 58 World Premieres and 41 US/North American Premieres. Following months of adjudication and review, Festival films were selected from over 3,000 international submissions.

Attendance levels were well above 2007 records with 12 sold-out screenings throughout the week. Over 300 filmmakers registered with the festival in turn representing more than 100 titles that hailed from New Zealand, Belgium, Australia, Japan, Ireland, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Peru.

For the second year in a row, the Festival’s opening night took place at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), the elegant and historical theater, located at 220 Weybosset Street in the heart of downtown Providence. A record crowd of over 2,000 were in attendance.

Since RIIFF is one of only 62 film festivals (out of 7,000) world wide that is accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) the Opening Night has become a crowd-pleasing salute to the Art of the Short Film. Actor, John Ratzenberger was the Master of Ceremonies. HB Communications and Sony Corporation showcased the latest media equipment in the lobby of the theatre as well as sponsoring the High Definition exhibition of the evening's films.

The Festival also presented major artistic and individual awards this year which included:

• The George M. Cohan Ambassador Award presented to Rhode Island actor, Richard Jenkins.

• The Crystal Vision Award presented to actress, Blythe Danner

• The Key to City of Providence presented to actor, John Ratzenberger.

The Annual RIIFF Producers Circle Awards for ongoing support of the Festival went to Paul Brooks, City of Providence; Steve Dirksmeier of Sony Corporation; and Christina Mealey, former Director of the KidsEye™ Summer Filmmaking Camp.

Honorary co-chairs for the 2008 edition of the Rhode Island International Film Festival are Providence Mayor David M. Cicilline and US Congressman James Langevin. The Festival's 2008 design and look were created by Antonio Cortez.

The RIIFF Awards were presented by RIIFF Executive Director George T. Marshall; Demetria Carr, RIIFF's Associate Producing Director; Jocelyn Donaghue, Courthouse for the Arts and Mary Healey Jamiel, documentary filmmaker.

The Rhode Island International Film Festival was supported in part by the City of Providence, the Providence Tourism Council, the Providence Department of Arts, Culture & Tourism, WJAR TV10, The Providence Phoenix, Clear Channel Communications, Sony, HB Communications, SAG/INDIE, CVS, NewEnglandFilm.com, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Amtrak, URI's College of Arts and Sciences, URI's Feinstein College of Continuing Education, the URI Film Media Program, Rule Broadcast/Boston Camera, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Art New England Magazine and contributions from members and community supporters. 

The Flickers Arts Collaborative, an organization with 25 years of experience presenting major artistic events as well as independent and foreign films to the public, produces the Rhode Island International Film Festival. 

The RIIFF Awards 2008:

Best Short


GRAND: “Gone Fishing”, Chris Jones, Director, United Kingdom


First: “New Boy” Steph Green, Director, Ireland


Second: “Absolutely Positive” Kate Brown, Director, Netherlands

Best Feature:


GRAND: “The Full Picture” Jon Bowden, Director, USA


First: “This Beautiful City” Ed Gass-Donnelly, Director, Canada


Tied with: “Tobiro No Muko” (Left Handed) Laurence Thrush, Director, Japan


Second: “Wherever You Are” Rob Margolies USA

Best Feature Documentary:


GRAND: “Accelerating America” Timothy Hotchner, Director, USA


First: “The Wrecking Crew” Denny Tedesco, Director USA 


Tied with: “Small Voices” Heather Connell, Director U S A, Cambodia


Second: “Swim Lessons: The Nick Irons Story” Alex Houston, Director, USA

Best Documentary Short


GRAND: “Trip to Hell & Back” Stu Maddux, Director, USA


First: “Swim Lessons: The Nick Irons Story” Alex Houston, Director, USA


Second: “Art in Darkness” Naomi Wise, Director USA & Canada

Directorial Discovery Award:


“Ancestor Eyes” Kalani Queypo, Director, USA, and
 

“The Graduates” Ryan Gielen, Director, USA

International Discovery Award:


GRAND: “Romans 12:20” The Shammasian Brothers, Directors, United Kingdom


First: “Sotto Il Mio Giardino” Andrea Lodovichetti, Director, Italy


Second: “The Pond” Sonja Phillips, Director, United Kingdom 


Tied with: “Spielzeugland”(Toyland) Jochen Alexander Freydank, Director, Germany

RIIFF Director’s Choice Award
“

Next Floor” Denis Villeneuve, Director, Canada

“Helping Hand” International Humanitarian Award


“Hakim” Ismail Sahin, Director, Germany, Tanzania

Providence Film Festival


GRAND: “Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women” Nancy Porter, Director, USA


First: “Commit to the Line” Rachelle Dermer, Director, U S A, Canada


Second: “Inside the Outside” Leigh Medeiros, Director, USA

Editing:


GRAND: “Blackspot” Ben Hawker, Director, New Zealand 


First: “Satellites & Meteorites” Paul Mullen (Picture Editor); Rick Larkin, Director, United Kingdom 
Tied with: “My Inventions” Tony Dean (Picture Editor); Robert Holbrook, Director, Canada

Screenplay:

GRAND: “Model Rules” Marlyn Mason, Screenwriter; Ray Nomoto Robison, Director, USA


First: “Chasing the White Dragon” Kathilynn Phillips, Screenwriter/Director, USA


Second: “The Drummer” William Block, Screenwriter/Director, USA

Best Experimental:


GRAND: “eclipse” Mark Lapwood, Director, India, Australia, New Zealand


First: “Tongue of the Hidden” David Anderson, Director, United Kingdom

Tied with: "Ikigai" Brian Quigley, Director, Canada, Japan 


Second: “Kataude” Akemi Tachibana, Director, Japan

Alternative Spirit:


GRAND: “Bi the Way” Brittany Blockman, Josephine Decker, Directors, USA


First: “The Back Room” Greg Ivan Smith, Director, USA 


Tied with: “Karl Rove, I Love You” Dan Butler and Phil Leirness, Directors, USA

Best Soundtrack:


GRAND: “Crazy” Rick Bieber, Director, USA


First: “Of All the Things”, Jody Lambert, Director, USA & Philippines 


Second: “I Can Tell the World”, Jody Lambert, Director, USA

Best Original Musical Composition (Score):


GRAND: “The Flyboys”, Music by Lisle Moore, USA


First: “Varmints”, Music by Johann Johannson, United Kingdon


Second: “Victor y la Maquina”, Music by Javier Romanos & José Antonio Pérez García, Spain

KIDSEYE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL


KidsEye (Films Made for Kids):


GRAND: “Anita’s Africa”, Beverley Reid, Director, Canada, Uganda


First: “Mandy & Lester”, Lena Beug, Director, USA


Second: “Red Sneakers”, Michele Meek, Director, USA

KidsEye (Films Made by Kids):


GRAND: “tiny pillows …” Joseph Procopio, Director, Canada

Best Comedy Short


GRAND: “Bill” John Salcido, Director, USA


First: “Parachute” Lucas Fleischer and Paul Grellong, Directors, USA


Second: “Speed Dating” Crystal Liu, Director, USA 


Tied with: “Struck” Taron Lexton, Director, USA

Best Animation:


GRAND: “Varmints” Marc Craste, Director, United Kingdom

First: “This Way Up” Adam Foulkes; Alan Smith, Directors, United Kingdom 


Second: “El Mono” Hyeseung Lee, Director, USA

NEW ENGLAND STUDENT FILM FESTIVAL 


Best Undergraduate Student: (AVID AWARD)


GRAND: “Lover Boy” Zia Anger, Director, USA


First: “No Wind, No Waves” Julian Anthony Higgins, Director, USA

Best Graduate Student:


GRAND: “Haber” Daniel Ragussis, Director, USA


First: “The Wall” Michael Lloyd Green, Director, USA 


Tied with: “The Replacement Child” Justin Lerner, Director, USA

Best Acting:


GRAND: “Leaving Barstow” Kevin Sheridan, Actor, USA


First: “Happy New Year” Michael Cuomo, Actor, USA


Second: “Plainview” Ryan Driscoll, Actor, USA

Best Cinematography:

GRAND: “Zum Dritten Pol” (The Third Pole), Denis Ducroz (Cinematographer/DP), Germany, France, Nepal, Switzerland


First: “Megalopolis” Roberto Cimatti (Cinematographer/DP), U S A, Pakistan, Brazil, Egypt, Japan, China, Italy


Second: “Janey Mary,” Seamus Deasy (Cinematographer/DP), Ireland

Special Jury Prize 


“Certifiably Jonathan” Jim Pasternak, Director, USA

Vortex Sci-Fi & Fantasy:


GRAND Sci-Fi: “Afterville” Fabio Resinaro & Fabio Guaglione, Directors, Italy


First Prize Sci-Fi: “H5N1” Roberto De Feo, Director, Italy

GRAND Fantasy:

“Hugo” Nicholas Verso, Director, Australia 


First Prize Fantasy: “The Secret Adventures of the Projectionist” Max Sacker, Director, Germany

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