Under the waters of the New York Harbor, a bed of oysters quietly listens to the landscape of life on the surface. There is the dull roar of motorboats, of laughter and shouts and horns, a green-handed torch thrust towards the sun; things of little concern to the oyster, but unbeknownst to them, of utmost […]
In the intimate, shaggy sphere of Providence’s classic Avon Cinema, a row of college students sit in their winter parkas. They are taking ample time before the lights go down to talk; munching popcorn and biting off the heads of twizzlers with gloved hands. The heat in the cinema has turned off, and everyone’s breath […]
Ann Clanton has spent two decades contributing to Rhode Island’s thriving journalistic and creative communities, providing support to the state’s African-American, AfroCaribbean and Afro-Latin filmmakers while running her own business, Ann Clanton Communications, as a consultant. Not only is she the founder of the Rhode Island Black Film Festival (RIBFF), an event designed to promote […]
A film about folks over 70 discussing aging may conjure images of trying to escape your grandparents at the holidays, when they warm up to tell that story about “Back in my day..” for the one-hundredth time. But documentarian Michelle LeBrun, whose documentary Optics of Aging premiered recently at the Providence Public Library, has managed […]
The changing seasons means different things to different people. The segue from luscious green, warm summer days, to the fiery red fall chill, doesn’t sit well for everyone. I always have the toughest time accepting that summer really is coming to an end; that the sun-soaked days will soon be in the past. One thing […]
Throughout most of human history, elders have occupied an esteemed place in most local cultures, handing down the wisdom gained over their years to younger people trying to figure life out. In more recent American culture, some of this has changed. The status and treatment of older Americans has perhaps never been more discussed than […]
For political enthusiasts looking for fact-based rationalism in our hyper-polarized political climate, this film represents a breath of fresh air on the horizon. At the intersection of sanity and racial intellectualism, the documentary Dr. Ira Raid Haverford College’s Unsung Scholar and Activist comes to Newport this month. The documentary was screened this spring at the […]
Directed by RI’s own Nick Albanese, Charles Street is a depiction of his life growing up on one of Providence’s main arteries. Now a resident of Lincoln, Albanese has fond memories of his old neighborhood. He was able to film his feature debut in the same bakery his family used to own, called Croce’s (original […]
When you hear the name “Arthur Digby Sellers,” does it mean something to you? If so, you’re probably a fan of the Coen Brothers film, The Big Lebowski. If you have no idea what I’m talking about — but you’re a Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Captain Beefheart, or Gypsy Kings fan — then I […]
Directed by RI’s own Nick Albanese, Charles Street is a depiction of his life growing up on one of Providence’s main arteries. Now a resident of Lincoln, Albanese has fond memories of his old neighborhood. He was able to film his feature debut in the same bakery his family used to own called Croce’s (original […]