RIIFF 2007 Screenings Courthouse Center for the Arts, Kingston

Location:
Courthouse Center for the Arts
RTE 138, West Kingston, RI
401.782.1018
100 seats, www.courthousearts.org

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Date:

Thursday August 9th

Showtime: 7:00 p.m.
(HATE) MACHINE
Phil Caron, director
4 min. CANADA, 2007
Innocent words, beautiful children, transparent direction, unexpected results: these are the elements of (Hate) Machine, a short video that explores the subjective process of creating media. Produced in reaction to media inspired xenophobia, this video explores the boundaries of what can be extracted and constructed from harmless raw footage. With society’s growing reliance on mediated, second-hand experience, this thoughtful, award-winning piece underscores the importance of media literacy.

BORDER
Chris Burgard, Director
104 min. USA, 2006
Filmmaker and family man Chris Burgard has his concerns about the porous nature of the borders of the United States. Living in canyon country just outside of Los Angeles, California, he witnesses first-hand the effect of the influx of people entering the country through illegal methods – and how it may influence his son and daughter as they grow up. He is also frightened by the possibility of people who may not simply want to make money to support their families or better their lives, but to intentionally cause harm to his neighbors, friends, and family.

Chris was discouraged that the federal government was not stepping up to enforce the border. Then, a group of similarly concerned citizens banded together to assist the undermanned Border Patrol by keeping vigil on the border and reporting any suspicious or illegal activity. This group labeled themselves as The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. Others, including President Bush, labeled them as vigilantes.

With only the media to depend on for information – questionable at best, bipolar at worst – Chris made the decision to find out the facts for himself. Armed with portable cameras and a mobile home, Chris and his dog ventured east along the border, documenting the journey so that others could benefit from his research.

Along the journey, Chris talks with The Minuteman members themselves and bears witness to their activities in an attempt to deny or confirm the “vigilante” rumors. He sits with the politicians and the activists. But, most importantly, he talks with those whose views are most significant – the people, the Everyman: Citizens of the United States, Mexico, and elsewhere.

Date: Friday August 10th

Showtime: 7:00 p.m.
“THE BEST OF THE REST” 10 films – 9 countries

THE BARROWS
Tori Garrett, director
10 min. AUSTRALIA, 2007
What if Bonnie and Clyde didn’t die violently in a hail of bullets? What if Bonnie and Clyde got life imprisonment instead? What if they were only allowed to see each other once a year? This is the story of Mr and Mrs Barrow who once roamed the highways as a pair of reckless youths, indifferent to the law and idolized by the media, and no matter how dark their pasts, they share a bond no walls, or even mortality, can break.

BIG FAMILY
COHEN CYRIL, Director
(3 m) France, 2006
Big Family is a story which proceeds in New York City where everithing is possible, the worst like the best. Whatever happens, life goes on !

THE BIRTH (LA NASCITA)
Massimo Amici and Carlo Stoppa, directors
9 min. ITALY, 2006
A modern-day tale, based on an old Indian fable. On a morning like any other, a man hurries toward his busy day, unaware it could be his last. Time ticks away and the man hardly notices things or people around him. Meanwhile, a carefree woman who leads her life in the opposite manner, walks his same path, fully aware of everything around her, or almost.

DEATH OF A GENTLEMAN
Matthew Lancit, director
14 min. CANADA, 2007
In late autumn, a group of young intellectuals discuss love and aging at a cottage lake house. Bored by the banter, one young man drifts into reverie. What proceeds is an absurd but deeply introspective examination of his own essence. Playing tour guide, he takes the audience through his own disintegration as an old man. Hints of his past loom about in the form of him as a young boy. And a beautiful woman emanates a relinquished love – or love relinquished. All this, and eventually his own death, must play out in front of the dismissive narrator. Cinematic conventions like time, space and identity are challenged in this intriguing blend of nonsense and philosophy.

DROOMTIJD (DREAMTIME)
Tom Van Avermaet, director
20 min. Belgium, 2007
A man lives contentedly in a dark, industrial world where clocks are treated as gods and give the beat. He appears punctually at his work every day, until a visit from the mysterious sandman changes everything...

HIYAB
XAVI SALA, director
8 min. SPAIN, 2007
US Premiere
Fátima stands up to her teacher because of she doesn’t want to take off the Islamic veil.

THE LISTENER (L’ECOTEUR)
Kester Dyer, Writer/Producer
13 min. CANADA, 2007
A Man who takes pleasure in listening becomes one day the aural witness of a violent assault. Having until then avoided all contact with his neighbours, the Man must now venture outside of his apartment and face the society which surrounds him.

LOVE STORY
Amit Gupta, director
13 min. UNITED KINGDOM, 2007
A young girl asks her father, 'Why do you love Mummy?' As the man considers this question, his memories of the first sighting of his future wife reveal the depth and complexity of his love for her.

NUTS
Andre Lyon, director
13 min. USA, 2007
Mickey insists he's allergic to nuts. His father doesn't believe his son is allergic to anything, and he'll do whatever it takes to prove it.

Salim Baba
Tim Sternberg, director
15 min. India, 2006
http://www.rv-films.com/projects/salim.html
Salim Muhammad is a 55-year-old man who lives in North Kolkata with his wife and five children. Since the age of ten he has made a living screening discarded film scraps for the kids in his surrounding neighborhoods using a hand-cranked projector that he inherited from his father. A pragmatic businessman as well as a cinephile, Salim runs his projector with his sons in the hopes that they will carry on his legacy of showing films to the local children.

Date: Saturday August 11th

Showtime: 7:00 p.m.

ARRIVALS
Naomi Jaye, Writer; Jennifer St. John, Producer
13 min. CANADA, 2007
Amazing short film with brilliant cast, moving visuals, beautiful cinematography, strong direction and a quite, yet profound story.

JUST LIKE THE SON
Morgan J. Freeman, director
86 min. USA, 2007
Just Like The Son chronicles Daniel Carter’s (Mark Webber) attempt to help Boone (Antonio Ortiz), a quirky little boy who suffers from a broken home-life. They meet while Daniel is doing community service at a school. When Boone ends up missing from class Daniel learns, despite having family in Texas, that Boone is placed in an orphanage.

The story then takes to the road as Daniel decides to take the law in his own hands and breaks Boone out of foster care and they head to find Boone's sister in Dallas. While the destination is Boone's sister in Texas, the heart of the story is the unexpected journey and the lessons learned on their quiet trip.