Rhode Island International Film Festival to Honor Paul Sorvino

Monday, July 25, 2011

GoLocalProv Arts Team

It's a star-studded line-up indeed, teed up by none other than actor Paul Sorvino.

FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) has announced that the well-known character actor will come to Rhode Island for the 15th annual festival, running from August 9-14, to receive RIIFF's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Sorvino, who starred in Goodfellas, Romeo and Juliet (1996) and The Cooler, has had a colorful career playing multi-faceted and intriguing characters in hit movie and television shows. The actor will be present at a special reception on Aug. 11 at Federal Hill’s D’Vine on the Hill Restaurant. A $30 ticket covers the reception as well as a 7:15pm screening of Lily of the Feast, the latest film in which Sorvino stars, along with The Sopranos' Federico Castelluccio, who also directed the short (and who will also be in attendance). Sorvino will be honored with RIIFF’s Lifetime Achievement award preceding the film’s screening.

Record submissions for 2011

This year, RIIFF received a record 4,537 submissions from filmmakers representing more than 60 countries. After whittling down the talent-filled pool to just 195 films, RIIFF now announces the full schedule of screenings for its six-day festival. This year there are 18 world and 21 North American/United States premieres.

Superb shorts

As an Academy Award-qualifying festival in the short film category, RIIFF is known for its world-class selection of short films. This year, RIIFF offers audiences a number of short film packages, grouping its diverse array of short films into themed packages, including: Cinéma Ooh La La, a collection of French films; Cine ¡OLÉ!, a collection of Spanish language films; Reel Love Shorts, a collection of romantic comedies; Road to Hollywood, a collection of short films with big star power; Comedy Showcase, a collection of side-splitting comedies; and Student Academy Award Nominees, a group of student films nominated or that have won Academy Awards in the student division.

This year’s short films feature Academy Award winners and nominees, film and television stars and studio executives, including: Rita Wilson, Chad Michael Murray and Anna Paquin in The Carrier (USA); John Hurt in the world premiere of Sailcloth (UK); Ed Asner and Mark Rydell in the world premiere of Good Men (USA); Anthony LaPaglia in In Loco Parentis (Australia); Tom Felton and Emelda Staunton in White Other (UK); Seymour Cassel and Fionnula Flanagan in Pass the Salt, Please (USA); Melissa Leo and Peter Gerety in The Sea is All I Know (USA); Keira Knightly and Colin Firth in Steve (UK) directed by Rupert Friend; Bruno Ganz in the world premiere of Brot [Bread] (Germany) directed by Ahmet Tas; Adam Arkin, Clifton Collins Jr., Carla Gugino and Jesse Spencer in Tell-Tale (UK); Peter Cattaneo directs Bunce (UK) and Terry Gilliam directs The Wholly Family; and Martin McCann stars in Hollow (UK).

Rich documentaries

Always a destination for documentaries, this year's festival promises much for lovers of the form. Look for the world premiere of A Balloon for Allah directed by Nefise Özkal Lorentzen; Boys of Bonneville directed by Curt Wallin; Code Name: Blast Off directed by Tristan Rudat (the filmmaker son of Rhode Island’s own Hasbro toy designer Ron Rudat who masterminded the creation of the popular G.I. Joe franchise); Fambul Tok directed by Sara Terry; Go There Once, Be There Twice directed by Gil Bettman; Hand Held directed by Don Hahn; Incident in New Baghdad directed by James Spione; Marathon Boy directed by Gemma Atwal; The Pipe directed by Risteard O Domhnaill; With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story directed by Will Hess and featuring the stars of the many movies spawned by the all-time great comic book superhero creator; and Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians directed by Bryan Storkel.

Fabulous features

RIIFF is also screening a selection of intriguing and captivating feature films, including: As If I’m Not There directed by Juanita Wilson; the world premiere of Brief Reunion directed by John Daschbach; Broken Kingdom, whose director Daniel Gillies and lead actor Rachael Leigh Cook will be in attendance for the screening; Fort McCoy whose directors Kate Connor and Michael Worth will be in attendance for the film’s screening; Happy New Year directed by K. Lorrel Manning, whose full cast will be in attendance for the film’s screening, and which will be followed by a post-screening discussion panel centered around the film’s topic – Iraq War veterans returning home with Post-traumatic stress disorder; Montana Amazon: The Adventures of Dunderheads directed by D.G. Brock, starring Olympia Dukakis, Haley Joel Osment, Alison Brie; Take Me Home whose director Sam Jaeger will be in attendance for the film’s screening; Answers to Nothing directed by Matthew Leutwyler, and starring Dane Cook; A Wake directed by Penelope Buitenhuis; and What Happens Next directed by Jay Arnold, and starring Wendie Malick.

Swinging soirees

Wait, there's more. Anything film has to have parties, and RIIFF is building out a schedule of nightly filmmakers' parties and restaurants and lounges throughout Providence. All parties start at 10pm and are being held during the festival at: Sidebar Bistro (127 Dorrance St) on Wednesday; Bravo Brasserie (123 Empire St) on Thursday; Pot Au Feu (44 Custom House St) on Friday; and a special “Sweet Success” closing night celebration at at Temple Downtown, 120 Francis St.

GLBT FF

RIIFF proudly announces its Providence Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Film Festival, a cinematic sidebar of the main festival. In its 12th year, the GLBT Film Festival features compelling dramas, comedies, and documentaries centered around the GLBT community. Funded in part by a grant from The Rhode Island Foundation’s Equity Action fund, the GLBT Film Festival will hold the majority of its screenings at Bell Street Chapel (5 Bell St) from Wednesday Aug. 11 through Sunday Aug. 14. The festival kicks off with an opening night filmmaker reception at Bell Street Chapel. Some standout films from the GLBT films include: Judas Kiss, directed by J.T. Tepnapa and staring adult industry star Brent Corrigan; The Green directed by Steven Williford; Sedona directed by Tommy Stovall; The Stranger In Us directed by Scott Boswell; and Walk a Mile in My Pradas directed by Joey Sylvester.

Opening night

In RIIFF tradition, the festival will hold a large opening night ceremony, held at The Vets on Tuesday, Aug. 9, with remarks, selected screenings, and an after party, all for $25.

Tickets for all RIIFF screenings and events, including all-inclusive festival passes, are available online at RIFilmFest.org and are available at all venues.

For a full list of film synopses, actor listings and trailers, please see the Festival Genius application at RIFilmFest.org

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