RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES ITS 2007 SEASON

More Than 280 Films Are Expected To Be Screened At Venues Across The State Of Rhode Island During A Six-Day Period

(PROVIDENCE, RI • July 11, 2007)--- The 11th Annual Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) announced Wednesday its 2007 season with over 275 films from around the world and shown in venues in Providence and across the state running Aug. 7-12.

"It's a pretty sensational year for us," said RIIFF Executive Director George T. Marshall, "We have films from all over the world that our audiences will definitely enjoy. They're not just going to be popcorn entertainment. We have some very thoughtful pieces that will inspire, and hopefully encourage audiences to take action.”

For the first time, the Festival’s opening night will premiere at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), the elegant and historical 3,300 seat theater. 

Providence Mayor David M. Cicilline introduced the Festival’s newest partnership with statewide non-profit groups dubbed RIIFF Community Outreach, which gives out 1,500 tickets for opening night; translating to over $23,000 for non-profit organizations.

The program gives non-profit groups fundraising and marketing opportunities as well as introduces a new audience to the Festival.

“If we bring more people in the community and introduce them to what we’re doing, and encourage them to keep coming back,” Marshall said. "We want them to discover something beyond the next Hollywood sequel and to take a risk in supporting independent filmmakers."

RIIFF has received national and international recognition and is a qualifying festival with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The largest in New England, the six-day Festival includes films from an assortment of genres, gala events, and educational workshops.

“This festival is just over a decade old and really has become known as one of the best festivals in the world from the State of Rhode Island. I’m very proud of it,” Cicilline said.

RIIFF is an integral part of the “incredible momentum” of arts and culture in Providence and the state, said Cicilline, “and we know it adds to the vitality of our city.”

One of the exciting films featured at this year’s Festival is the short film “Room 10,” directed by actress Jennifer Aniston and starring Robin Wright Penn and Kris Kristofferson. Her directorial debut, Anniston’s film tells the story of 'Frannie', a veteran nurse with a hardened heart and crumbling marriage; until some life changing situations challenge her to rethink her choices in life.

A Brazilian documentary, “The Model Prisoners,” by director David Notman-Watt is making its national premiere at the Festival. The film tells the story of a 4,000 female prison in Rio de Janeiro in the weeks leading up to the annual “Miss Penitentiary” beauty pageant and how the event affects their lives.

“The Listening Project" is a captivating 85-minute cinematic journey around the world in search of the meaning of America has its World Premiere at RIIFF. Filmed in 14 countries, this documentary follows four Americans as they travel from a Shanghai hip-hop club to a war-ravaged Kabul neighborhood to a village at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro, in each place asking “what do you think of America?” In beautifully-photographed locales, fascinating and diverse characters share not only the impact of the U.S. on their lives, but their perspectives on crumbling empires, human fellowship, and what it means to be a citizen in a globalized world will ring home to audiences.

The Festival is not short on name actors who will be gracing the screen with this work this year, or in some cases, behind the camera as director. These include: Bryce Dallas Howard, Minnie Driver, Lukas Haas, Neve Campbell, Kristin Kreuk, Alfred Molina, Brad Paisley, Jill Eikenberry, Seymour Cassel, Harry Groener and Michael Tucker, Alexa Vega, Vincent Pastore, Harrison Ford, Alan Cumming, Anne Heche, Carrie Fisher, David Boreanaz, Karen Black, Kevin Sorbo, Jennifer Tilly, Andie MacDowell, Russell Means, Colm Feore, Rupert Graves, Charles Dance, Joseph Mazzello, William Baldwin, Kathleen Quinlan, Harold Lloyd, Julie Andrews. Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Ian McKellen and Steve Coogan

Films to be presented at RIIFF have come from all over the world. From an entry base of over 2,500 films, RIIFF 2007 films have come from Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Romania, Israel, Croatia, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, The Netherlands, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Afghanistan Chile, Bosnia, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Russia, Sweden, Taiwan, Finland, Poland, South Africa, Nigeria, India and the United States. Over 70 countries will be represented.

Steven Feinberg, head of the state’s Film and Television Office said filmmakers who showed their work during last year’s RIIFF event “were so ‘wowed’ by the city by the state” that many are now eager to return and produce their new films here.

RIIFF has also become an important vehicle for filmmakers to network and meet industry people, said filmmaker Eric Latek of Phantazma Pictures (Sweet Dreams). It was that opportunity that led to Latek sign on to two television shows, he said.

“What I’ve learned is there are thousands and thousands of film festivals, but only a few really matter, and RIIFF is actually a film festival that counts,” Latek said

For more information about the 2007 Rhode Island International Film Festival or to order tickets, go to the fest’s web site at www.RIFilmFest.org