The Rhode Island International Film Festival, also known as Flickers, took place August 4 through August 9, bringing filmmakers, actors, industry professionals, and film lovers from around the world to the Ocean State.
This year’s festival received more than 7,000 submissions representing over 100 countries. Selected films screened at venues throughout Rhode Island, including the Avon Cinema, AS220, and 195 District Park, over the course of six days.
The Opening Night celebration almost filled the Providence Performing Arts Center auditorium, where audiences were shown nine short films, including Extraño by local filmmakers K. Elisa Garcia and Lia Lockhart. The poignant film follows a mother and daughter adjusting to a new reality shaped by loss. It was just one of the many Rhode Island connections showcased at this year’s festival.
The Windkeeper, by Julia C. Liu, received First Prize in the Experimental Film category. Liu, an Emmy-nominated cinematographer, is also currently working on the local short film Hot Dancing Granny.
Proxy, a sci-fi proof-of-concept film co-created by Diana Porter and Mikel Wisler and starring Lia Lockhart, received First Prize in the New England Film Festival category.
Rhode Island filmmaker Tommy DeNucci received the RIIFF Director’s Choice Award for Bad News on the Doorstep, which had a huge turnout at the screening.
Are You Crazy, Mia?, by Sophia Blum and Manya Glassman, was included in the Women in Film block. The film tells the story of a woman who unlocks a bolder version of herself she never knew existed. Glassman, a Rhode Islander who earned her BA from Providence College before receiving an MFA in Film Directing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, was also part of the festival’s Filmmaking in Rhode Island panel. Her short film, HOW I LEARNED TO DIE, executive produced by Spike Lee, premiered at Tribeca in June 2025 and won the Visionary Award. She is scheduled to begin filming her feature-length film later this year.
School for Defectors, a documentary exploring the stories of North Korean defectors, had its Rhode Island premiere at the festival. The film was created by Jeremy Workman, best known locally for The Secret Mall Apartment, and was supported by several Rhode Islanders, including filmmaker Dante Bellini, Jr.
I attended several portions of the festival, although there was absolutely no way to experience everything. Between screenings, the Film Forum, after-parties, Opening Night, and the awards breakfast, there was a whole lot happening.
And, to be honest, that was part of the fun.
Flickers isn’t simply about watching movies. It’s about bringing together the people who make them.
I had the pleasure of meeting some fantastic film folks from near and far, including Megan Sharpless, who traveled from Wisconsin and was recognized as a semifinalist for her very first screenplay.
I also met Victor Pagasse, a French filmmaker who lives in New York City, who filmed his charming comedy at the Fletcher House mansion on College Hill. The film won Best Comedy Feature – First Prize and featured quite a few familiar faces from RI’s theater community.
Matthew James Thompson, a former Ocean Stater who now also lives in the Big Apple, was back in RI with his film Handle With Care, which received the Best Feature Grand Prize.
I attended a screening of You Fuckers Figure It Out: A Jason Molina Story, a documentary directed by Tommy Nickoloff. The late Jason Molina, a prolific and beloved musician from Ohio, spent a summer living in Providence, where he connected with longtime collaborator and local artist William Schaff, who is based in Warren.
Chris Sparling, a Providence native, served as the keynote speaker for the Film Forum. Sparling is an independent filmmaker and screenwriter whose work includes Buried, which screened at Sundance before eventually being sold to Lionsgate Films. In 2020, he wrote the screenplay for Greenland, a disaster film — which, I should note, happens to be one of my personal favorite genres. The sequel (both star Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin) was released earlier this year. I must watch it!
The Film Forum offered another opportunity to see just how many different paths can lead into the film industry. For someone who is still relatively new to the world of filmmaking, acting, and production, these conversations are a reminder that there isn’t one prescribed way to build a career in show business. The message I kept hearing over and over again was: just make something.
There has been criticism of the festival, with some warranted complaints, as it regroups following the loss of its founder, George T. Marshall. I certainly understand that any organization going through such a significant transition will have challenges. As someone who has coordinated events myself, I am guessing that managing a festival of this magnitude is no small feat.
More than 7,000 submissions had to be processed. Films had to be selected and organized into screening blocks. Venues needed to be coordinated. Panels, parties, awards, volunteers, interns, filmmakers, and audiences all had to somehow come together. I had the opportunity to interact with many of the staff, volunteers, and interns throughout the festival, and my experiences with each were pleasant and helpful.
I also ate a lot of buttered popcorn. So, there’s that.
There were several after-parties that I missed, although I heard they were great opportunities for attendees to connect and continue the conversations sparked throughout the festival.
According to Shawn Quirk, executive director, short films receiving awards at the Rhode Island International Film Festival will be screened in Los Angeles as part of a showcase that will qualify them for Oscar nominations. That’s a pretty significant opportunity for the filmmakers whose work was recognized right here in Rhode Island.
Granted, I haven’t attended a lot of film festivals at this point, but my experiences have varied. There is definitely a scene that comes with attending a film festival, particularly for anyone involved in show business. A festival can absolutely serve as a marketing opportunity for a community. It can bring attention to local filmmakers, attract visitors, and create connections that might not otherwise happen. Personally, I would love a portion of the festival dedicated to showcasing and connecting our local talent in Rhode Island more directly, with each other and the global filmmaking community.
But ultimately, it comes down to the art of making movies.
Witnessing the joy of people being recognized for the hard work of bringing a story to life — whether on the big screen, through podcasts, or via web series — is one of my favorite parts of being around this community.
As luck would have it, everyone seated at my table at the awards breakfast received an award. It included grand prize winner for Best Podcast, Emily Rainbow Davis of New York City, who was so overwhelmed by the unexpected award for her podcast (The Dragoning) she asked if she could hold my hand for a moment so as to not float out of the room. Not a bad table to sit at, all things considered.
For this showbiz broad, I’m already making plans for next year’s festival. I’ll have a clearer strategy about what I want to see, who I want to meet, and which conversations I want to have. But I also don’t want to lose sight of the kismet moments — the spontaneous conversations and unexpected connections that make these events special.
Like chatting with Christian Meola, who flew in from Texas to see the New England premiere of his film Tomorrow, which screened as part of the LGBTQ+ Representation – Shorts program. And, because apparently this filmmaker traveling across the country wasn’t enough, his mom came all the way from Albany to see the film and support her son.
Gotta love that. That’s the magic of a film festival. You never quite know what story you’re going to see, or who you’re going to meet along the way.
To learn details about the festival, programming, and films screened, see film-festival.org. To connect with Dennise, find her on IG @TheAdventureBroad.