RIIFF programming director Shawn Quirk guided us through a selection of features and shorts. Opening night ceremonies on August 7 feature dedication of the 2018 festival to emerita professor Winifred Brownell “who was instrumental in creating the URI film program.” Short films are the “crème de la crème” of RIIFF, Quirk said, considering the Academy […]
If you’re looking to move beyond Solo, super heroes and adults playing tag, consider these summer movie alternatives. Let’s begin with a film that takes place in summer, Summer 1993, a Berlinale-winning film from Carla Simon taking us back 25 years, about a young girl named Frida sent to her uncle’s family in the countryside […]
Summer is here and the tent pole blockbuster movies are already in full swing. But there’s more coming! June will kick off with Adrift, a romance in the midst of disaster set at sea that looks to be equal parts touching and harrowing, while fans of action / sci-fi can check out Upgrade, a […]
The Cable Car Cinema, most recently owned by Daniel Kamil and Emily Steffian, is closing its doors after a 42-year run, and here, members of the area creative community share some tributes. Richard Manning, former co-director for the French Film Festival and retired film archivist for modern culture and media at Brown University, reminds us […]
From tough-to-tackle subjects like school shootings to tough-to-film concepts like time-travel and space-travel, the teen filmmakers from across the state continued their tradition of making short films that are surprising, thoughtful, funny and, as a group, more impressive every year. This year’s Give Me Five showcase of RI teen-made films took place on Sunday evening, […]
Moving up to directing after 15 years experience working on the production side of countless films and television series, Rhode Islander (and occasional Motif contributor) Jonathon Schermerhorn released his first feature, The Manor, on May 15. Distributed by Lionsgate, the film is available (under its original working title, Anders Manor) from Amazon and other major vendors via […]
Fattitude is a film from creators Lindsey Averill and Viridiana Lieberman that examines how popular culture promotes fat hatred and fat-shaming, resulting in a very real cultural bias and a civil rights issue for people who are living in fat bodies. The film came together organically, with both filmmakers coming from academic backgrounds and interviewing […]
Mike Messier is the founder of the Avalonia Festival, a short-film festival that recently started in Providence. After a successful first event last December, they’re following up with a second festival on April 20 at Rhodywood Studios, AKA The Brooklyn Coffee and Tea House. I had a chance to talk with Messier about the upcoming festival […]
For the 10th consecutive year, Southeast New England (SENE) Film, Music and Arts Festival will entertain Rhode Islanders with its assortment of creative productions. SENE will start April 24 and run through the 28th, taking place across the state in various venues. The five venues for this year’s festival are Columbus Theatre and Rhodywood Studios in […]
An annual event since 1998, the Providence French Film Festival takes place Saturday, February 24, through Saturday, March 3, with all screenings at the Cable Car Cinema. Although the event is presented by Brown University, the films are not academically oriented and are open to the public. Richard Blakely, director of the festival, said he is […]