It’s been a while since these pages delved into the heated waters of local film activity, but everything from features to web series, documentaries to bountiful shorts is getting released constantly by the RI film community. Here’s some of what’s coming up this fall. The most talked-about larger production will be in pre-production through the […]
[See later Dec 2017 interview: motifri.com/hr-bad-brains-pop] Documentary subject Paul “H.R.” Hudson, the frontman for Washington, DC, punk legends Bad Brains, and director James Lathos were both in attendance for a screening of Finding Joseph I at the Greenwich Odeum in East Greenwich, RI, on Aug 18. Following the screening, recent Rhode Island transplant Ted Leo […]
Karen Allen was barely into her 20s when she first read the short story, A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud., by Carson McCullers, but the words continued to resonate throughout her life. They eventually inspired a film that was to become her directorial debut. This delicately wrought tale of the chance encounter between a young […]
The recently released trailer for Higher Methods is generating lots of excitement for the film, which director Nathan Suher describes as a “trippy psychological drama.” Higher Methods is about an actor named Matthew (Michael Christoforo) whose search for his missing sister leads him to a theater group led by an unconventional instructor. “It goes […]
I made my debut as an extra in motion pictures on July 23. It was the last day of filming on Higher Methods. I reported to Country Gardens in Rehoboth, which is a wedding and banquet facility with sprawling grounds. A production assistant escorted me to the filming location. The scene I was needed […]
After 21 years, the Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) “Flickers” had its first unpleasant encounter with the new political climate: Director Kaveh Mazaheri of the 20-minute short Retouch and its filmmaking team are unable to come to screenings in the United States due to visa restrictions against people from Iran. It isn’t a political […]
For many, the words “woman” and “animation” lead to one uniform image: The Disney Princess. Maybe Betty Boop if you’re into icons, maybe “Let It Go” played on infinite loop if we’re taking into account aural associations and you have a child under age 10. The Womanimation! Film Festival, now in its ninth year, returns […]
This summer, if you’re looking beyond big studio emoji, fast moving CGI cars or the latest superhero mashup, prequel or sequel fare, join me as we head off the beaten path. For films slated to debut around June, we have for starters, from Israel’s Avi Nesher, a mysterious tale of two sisters called Past Life, […]
The weather is getting warmer and the superheroes have already seized the box office, so that must mean that summer blockbuster season is upon us. We have already had guardians, aliens, pirates and even lifeguards. May kicked the season off in a big way with Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2 and Alien: Covenant. The […]
The South East New England Art, Music and Film Festival (SENE) completed its 9th year at the end of April in Providence. It is well-organized, affordable, exciting, welcoming, inclusive and run by some of the nicest people on the planet. That’s no easy feat. After five days packed with events, and a year of preparation, […]