2008 Rhode Island Film Forum

August 7-8th 2008 • 8:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Brown University, Carmichael Auditorium in Hunter Lab,

89 Waterman Street, Providence

Actor Dan Butler delivers Keynote Address on

Thursday, August 7th

2008 Application Form, click here to download

Only $45 a day or both days for $75!

(with special rate available to visiting filmmakers)

WHAT IS THE RHODE ISLAND FILM FORUM?

The Rhode Island Film Forum is a two-day symposium that brings together the movers and shakers of the film industry and the Rhode Island and New England community. Calling out specifically to Artistic Directors, Film Vendors, Civic Organizations, Hotel Managers, Rental Agencies, and Historic and Preservation Groups, the forum provides an informative and entertaining look at the state of filmmaking today.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Rhode Island Cities & Towns
Filmmakers
Film Production Crews
Film Students
Artistic Directors, Film Vendors
Civic Organizations
Historic and Preservation Groups
Property Manager
Recreation Managers
Hotel Managers, Rental Agencies

Be a part of this multi-million dollar industry here in Rhode Island

Here’s your chance to become involved with Rhode Island’s “stars” of the film community. The two-day forum will bring together leaders of the film industry with the decision-making community leaders and historic, natural and commercial property managers of Rhode Island. New technologies, the impact of tax credits, plus so much more will be addressed.

“How To” Sessions:

• How to work with the film industry
• How to get the film industry to work with you
• How to be prepared and pro-active
• What are the resources that filmmakers need?
• Understand how to create a partnership so that everyone involved benefits.
• What are the emerging technologies that will be impacting on future film productions?

• How do you promote and what is web 2.0?

• Union or non-union?

• Funding

Rhode Island in Film & Television

Here are some of the films made in the Ocean State. To learn more about Rhode Island's film history, click here.

• The Great Gatsby (1974)
• The Scarlet Letter (1975)
• The Betsy (1978)
• Mr. North (1987)
• Mermaids (1990)
• Reversal of Fortune (1990)
• Wind (1992)
• Federal Hill (1993)
• The Buccaneers (1993)
• True Lies (1994)
• Dumb and Dumber (1994)
• Killer ( 1994)
• American Buffalo (1995)
• Code of Ethics (1996)
• Ties to Rachel (1996)
• Strangers in Transit (1996)
• Outside Providence (1997)
• Tax Day (1997)
• Amistad (1997)
• There's Something About Mary (1998)
• Meet Joe Black (1998)
• Me, Myself & Irene (1999)
• NBC 's Providence (1999 -
• The Brotherhood (2005 - )
• Underdog (2007)
• Dan in Real Life (2007)
• 27 Dresses (2008)
• Hachiko: A Dog's Story (2008)

Will you film be next? Will your community host the next film or photo shoot?

The Rhode Island Film Forum is designed to provide a networking platform, spur dialogue and get answers to your questions from those who make decisions.

First held in 1998 at the Aldrich Mansion in Warwick, the 2008 will be bigger, cover more ground and will be capped by a keynote address on Thursday, August 7th by actor, Dan Butler.

Apply to the RI Film Forum 2008

2008 Application Form, click here to download

You Can Also Order Your Pass Online:

Day One, Thursday, August 7th:

 Day Two, Friday, August 8th:

 Day One and Two Combination:

For more information on THE RI FILM FORUM '08, call the RIIFF offices at (401) 861-4445.

August 7-8th 2008 • 8:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Brown University, Carmichael Auditorium in Hunter Lab, 89 Waterman Street, Providence

This Year's Program:

DAY ONE:

8:00 AM          Registration

8:30 AM          Welcome & Opening Remarks

9:00 -9:45 AM
“Sound Design: How Sound Can Make and Break A Movie”
Panel Discussion. Moderator: Chris Jones, Filmmaker (Gone Fishing.) Featuring: Colin Owens, Composer and Musician; Michael McDonald, Filmmaker (88); Justin Lerner, Filmmaker (The Replacement Child); Doug Olear, Filmmaker (Hold On).

Sound design can save a bad film or build a good one into exquisite cinema. From piano accompaniment in the silent era to foley and orchestral scoring in to the modern era, sound design is one of the most important components of a movie. Discover how these filmmakers have a made sound work for them, and learn how you can use sound to create and enhance the tone of your film.

9:45 AM          Break

10:00 -10:50 AM
“Changing Technologies in Film”
Moderator: Stephanie Budiman, Withoutabox. Featuring: Mark Almark Altekruse, Director of Sales and Marketing for Abaltat; Michael Phillips, Principal Product Designer for Avid Technology, INC; Mike Bell, Embee Studio, Blue-Ray Auhoring;

The film business is constantly changing in today’s technology. Keep up with the latest software and technology available and learn how you can make it work for your independent films.

11:00-11:50 AM
“Online Distribution for Indies/Withoutabox”
Moderator: Simon Cox, Filmmaker (Gone Fishing). Special Guests Include: Scott Kirsner, Journalist; Stephanie Budiman, Withoutabox; Rhonda Moskowitz, Shining Light Productions; Chris Renzi, Netfilm.com

Looking for a distribution contract? Why not do it yourself online? Independent filmmakers are increasingly finding the internet as the best venue for their film distribution. Learn about the many online distribution channels, including direct distribution to the film festival circuit with Withoutabox!

12:00-12:50 PM
“Financing your film/tax credits: What New England has to Offer”
Moderator: George Marshall, Executive Director of the Film Festival. Featuring: Cynthia Close, Documentary Educational Resources; Chris Jones, Filmmaker (Gone Fishing); Andrew Lund, Filmmaker (Finders Keepers)

Venture Capital opportunities, strategic funding for Independent Films, and Tax Credits…Learn about all the many ways available to fund your next venture. Tax incentives for film production have become very competitive from state to state. Your films stimulate the economy and better the neighborhoods that you shoot in. Discover how selling tax credits to other companies and individuals can help with financing your film, and hear how New England states’ tax credits can help benefit you as a filmmaker.

1:00-1:50 PM
Keynote: Rediscovering the Joy of Filmmaking
Dan Butler, actor, discusses his career in Hollywood and the production of his film, “Karl Rove, I Love You.” “This experience making the film re-ignited my joy of filmmaking, which I didn’t know I had lost,” he says.

DAY TWO:

8:00 AM          Registration

8:30 AM          Welcome & Opening Remarks

9:00-9:45 AM
“Filmmaker Forum: Rhode Island Film Making/Local Documentaries”
Moderator: Stu Maddux, Filmmaker (Trip to Hell and Back). Panel Discussion featuring: Kristin Adamo, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Providence Warwick Convention and Visitor’s Bureau; Katherine Farrington, City of Newport; Sue Ellen Kroll, Grants Director of Rhode Island Council for the Humanities; Michelle LaMura Meek, The Independent/New England Film.com, (Red Sneakers); Carson Grant, actor; Andrew Lund; Bob Giraldi.

A filmmaker’s panel with a selection of Rhode Island filmmakers, community members, and the Rhode Island Tourism Bureaus. Hear from those who have done it themselves about the joys of making a film in the beautiful Ocean State. We will tell you all about the resources you need to get your production underway and completed on your budget by networking with surrounding businesses and residents of the area.

10:00-10:50 AM
“Directing Actors and Creating Exceptional Characters”
Moderator: Andrew Lunc, Filmmaker (Finders Keepers). Featuring: John Ratzenbergert, Actor; Kevin Sheridan, Actor (Leaving Barstow); Carson Grant, Filmmaker; Daniel Ragussis, Filmmaker (Haber)

Even the most beautifully shot film falls flat with poor acting. Learn how to get stellar performances from actors of all experience levels and how to salvage performances in editing.

11:00-11:50 PM
“Visual Effects: From Retouching to Revolution”
Moderator: Kalani Queypo, Filmmaker (Ancestor Eyes). Featuring: Dan Trezise, visual effects professional (Adaptation, The Life Aquatic, Matrix Revolutions, The Golden Compass, The Hulk, Fun With Dick and Jane, Spiderman, and Starship Troopers); Chris Jones, visual effects professional.

From high-budget actions movies to quick short films, special effects are being used more and more. Learn from the experts about cutting edge techniques and special effecs on a budget. When is it okay to “fix it in post” and when should you get it right the first time?

12:00-12:40, 12:50-1:30 PM

Breakout Sessions: Alternative Cinemas (pick two)

A description on the evolution of these specific genres of cinema through the years, both in terms of how they have been produced and financed and changes in their acceptance and portrayal of issues. Discusses past issues and upcoming challenges.

Queer Cinema
Featuring: Franco D’Alessandro, Screenwriter; Tom Gustafson, Filmmaker (Were the World Mine); Cory Krueckeberg, Screenwriter; Stu Maddux, Filmmaker (Trip to Hell and Back)

 

Children’s Cinema
Featuring: Laura Belsey, Filmmaker (Katrina's Children); Rita Walsh, Fimmaker (Hugo); Peter Golia, Filmmaker (Racoon and Crawfish)

 

Native American Films
Featuring: Kalani Queypo, Filmmaker (Ancestor Eyes); Dale Rood, Filmmaker (Racoon and Crawfish)

 

Jewish Cinema
Featuring: Ofer Prag, Filmmaker(Harozhim Shebynynu); Galia Shiloach, Filmmaker (Harozhim Shebynynu); Eli Kaufman, Filmmaker (California King)

 

2008 RI Film Forum August 7-8th

You can participate in either the one or two day program.

Costs: $45 per day

$75 for both morning sessions

Apply to the RI Film Forum 2008

2008 Application Form, click here to download

Please print out the application form and fax directly to our office at 401.490.6735

Questions? Call 401-861-4445 and speak with Michael Morgenstern

or email info@film-festival.org

Who's Who at the Rhode Island Film Forum:

Keynote:

Dan Butler's film, Karl Rove I Love You, is playing in this year's festival. He was born on December 2, 1954 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is an actor and a director. He was on the show Frasier in beginning in 1993. Dan Butler is not a married man and has no kids. His most famous part is on Frasier playing the part of Robert "Bulldog" Briscoe. He also directed an episode of Frasier in 1998. Dan Butler has been in many movies. Some of the movies he has been in include The Enemy of the State, and Silence of the Lambs. He has made appearances on the shows "Just Shoot Me" and "X-Files".

Kristin Adamo is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitor's Bureau. She is a member of PRSA and an active participant in a number of local boards, including the Arts & Business Council of Rhode Island where she serves as Vice President.

Mark Altekruse is Director of Sales and Marketing for Abaltat (www.abaltat.com) a company dedicated to providing soundtrack composition tools to the film industry.  In addition to building sales and marketing programs for the company, Mark travels extensively connecting with video and filmmakers across all genres and commercial endeavors showcasing the latest Abaltat soundtrack technology.

Prior to Abaltat, Mark held management positions in marketing and business development for Apple, Inc. that were directly responsible for increasing the awareness and adoption of Apple’s popular professional audio applications. Previous to Apple, he also held sales and marketing management positions at KORG USA, a highly successful technology company developing products for the music industry.

Mark is a consummate musician and member of Hex Orchestra, a composition ensemble dedicated to composing music for media. Hex Orchestra’s first release “Human Experiments” is available worldwide on Apple’s iTunes® Music Store.

Mark is also a founding partner of the Creative Money Group LLC and Creative Money Works. Based in Camden, New Jersey, Creative Money Group LLC is dedicated to building assets and financial literacy for children and young adults whereas non-profit  based Creative Money Works is involved in a number of diverse initiatives including food drives for hungry children and programs that give hands-on experience in the creative media arts for low income communities.

Mike Bell is a Blu-Ray and DVD Author in Providence. He was educated at Northeastern University, and is now the owner of Embee Studio.

Mike has nearly 10 years of experience producing high-end feature film DVDs and other interactive media products. His company has recently started production of high-definition Blu-ray discs.

Laura Belsey
Prior to directing Katrina's Children, which will be shown in this year's festival, her first feature-length documentary, Laura Belsey directed hundreds of commercials and several narrative and documentary shorts. She has won numerous international awards, including a Cannes Gold Lion. Born in New Orleans and raised in Switzerland, Belsey was a professional actor in her teens, before returning to the United States. She is currently an adjunct professor at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Film Program and a partner at Shadow Pictures, a film production company in New York.

Stefanie Budiman has been a Partner Liaison in the Festival Department at Withoutabox, Inc. since 2006. The Liaison Team works together to cultivate, manage, and enhance partnerships with hundreds of film festivals, competitions, and events worldwide. In addition, Stefanie has been involved in certain Withoutabox programs that are connected to independent distribution, such as the Withoutabox Distributionlab.

A graduate of the University of California Los Angeles, she has earned two Bachelors of Arts, in Psychology and Southeast Asian Studies. Although not directly related to either degree, Stefanie has always had an interest in film, which led to her position at Withoutabox. She has also been involved in the production of several of her own projects, ranging from music videos to short films, and brings a unique filmmaker perspective to the Withoutabox team.

Cynthia Close has been the Executive Director and currently is acting President of Documentary Educational Resources, (DER) a Watertown Massachusetts based non-profit film and video production/distribution company founded in 1968. DER distributes over 800 titles worldwide. Cynthia serves on the Board of Directors of the Society for Visual Anthropology and the Margaret Mead International Film and Video Festival, NYC. She is on the Advisory Board of Women In Film and Video New England Chapter, The Camden International Film Festival, ARTVISION, INC., The Do It Your Damn Self Film Festival and AmericanInsight, Inc. She currently is acting as fiscal sponsor for over 30 documentary projects in production.

Cynthia teaches a course in Funding and Selling the Documentary at the Maine International Film and Television Workshops and a course in the History of Ethnographic Film at the University of Vermont. She has been a guest lecturer at the Boston University Program in Digital Media Arts; Emerson College, Harvard University & Lesley University, Cambridge; Temple University, Primary Source, Boston; and the University of New Mexico, Center for Documentary Film. She curated and sponsored film retrospectives at the Anthology Film Archives in NYC. She has curated and presented programs at film festivals in Boston and New York; Taipei, Taiwan; Tartu, Estonia; and Paris, France. She reviews book manuscripts on documentary film for Focal Press a branch of Elsevier Publishing. She has juried the documentary awards for the Chicago International Film Festival and served as a panelist at the 2007 SILVERDOCS Forum and the Woods Hole Film Festival.

Prior to her involvement with film she lived in Germany, working as a corporate Art Consultant and in the 1980’s was Dean of Admissions at the Art Institute of Boston. Her first career was as an artist and instructor in drawing and painting at Boston University and the Art Institute of Boston. She has a BFA and MFA degree from Boston University. She has published articles in media magazines including THE INDEPENDENT, IMAGINE, NewEnglandFilm.com and is a contributor to THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NEW ENGLAND. She has been a blogger since 2003.

Franco D'Alessandro is a native of New York and has been educated and worked both in Italy (Rome and Siena) and New York City and speaks fluent English and Italian.  D'Alessandro has twelve professional international, Off-Broadway, Off-Off Broadway and regional and international productions of his work.  His 2002 Off-Broadway hit “Roman Nights” was a critical and commercial success in New York and in 2004 in London. It opened in Prague in 2006 where it has been sold out for two years on an East European tour.  The play will soon be made into a feature film. 

Franco's drama “The Shattering” will be premiered in 2009.  Franco has also been hired to adapt the acclaimed 1970 novel Out Of Place by Joseph Papaleo for screen.

As of 2008 D'Alessandro's plays will have been translated into five languages and performed in five countries.  D'Alessandro holds a Master's Degree in English Education and teaches drama, theatrical text analysis, and creative writing in New York City schools, several universities, and in Rome during the summers.

D’Alessandro has worked on over a dozen films as a script doctor or dialogue consultant.  He is a Member of The Dramatists Guild of America (1996) and The Cherry Lane Playwrights Alternative and Writer's Guild of America.

Kathryn Farrington is currently the V.P. of Marketing at the Newport, Rhode Island Convention & Visitors Bureau.  In this role Kathryn overseas the CVB’s influential advertising, public relations, and marketing campaigns, as well as the award- winning website, www.GoNewport.com, and www.YourNewportWedding.com.

Kathryn’s CVB career began over seventeen years ago as the Special Events Manager, a newly created position with the goal of driving tourism business to Newport in the non-peak season (November-March) through special events and packaged travel programs.  Farrington developed events including the Harvest Festival, Twelve Weeks of winter and the Kinsale Ireland Festival of Fine Food/Newport (now in its 107th season).   In addition Farrington was instrumental in the development of Newport’s winter and summer getaway package programs- a popular travel package that is now in its 13th year, and incorporates more than 50 hotels, inns and bed & breakfasts as well as dozens of attractions,  retail shops, and restaurants.  Today, Newport is a thriving tourist destination with a dynamic year-round calendar of events.

Kathryn has also worked diligently to develop the film industry in New England.  She has been influential in attracting major motion pictures to Newport, and has worked with directors such as Steven Spielberg and James Cameron.  She has coordinated with the assist from the many municipalities a host of magazine and catalog shoots as well, all creating direct economic impact throughout the community.

Kathryn is an active member of the International Festival and Events Association, International Special Events Society, and the International Events Group, on the Advisory Board of the North American Travel Journalists Association, and is on the Board of Directors for the Newport Performing Arts Task Force, and is highly active in a variety of other community, and regional organizations.

Carson Grant (Actor/Director) studied acting during the 1970's with Lee Strasberg and has created character roles in over 300 films. His recent films include "The House Is Burning" (Cannes Film Festival); "God Bless America" (won the GIAA Heritage award), "Dear J: Liars and Lunatics", "Should Heaven Fall", "The Crackdown" "The Closet" and "Dead Serious". Among his most fortunate moments is his romantic kiss with Christina Ricci in Woody Allen's "Anything Else" as Ron Keller, Acting teacher.

Carson will be running Competing as an Actor in the Digital Age on Saturday, August 9th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This workshop will help to organize your acting career to compete within this new media technology. Participants will begin to identify their skills and talents in order to establish an internet presence, explore how to compete for auditions with legit and commercial casting directors, and independently submit to casting in theater, film, webcasts, print and commercials. Participants are asked to bring their headshot, resumes, portfolios, and a one-minute monologue, (plus pen and notebook). Please sign up early since this 3 hour workshop is limited to 30 adults. Contact 401-861-4445. Cost: $30. Register here for this program... For more information, check out: www.carsongrant.com

Peter Golia's film, Racoon and Crawfish, is showing in this year's festival.

Tom Gustafson's film, Were The World Mine, will be showing at this year's festival.

Tom’s directing credits include the side-show inspired short film, The Need, and the prolific, award-winning short musical film, Fairies, which inspired his feature directorial debut: Were the World Mine. Tom has worked as the location casting director on many Hollywood films including Pirates of the Caribbean II & III, The Good Shepherd & The Dark Knight. He's a graduateof Northwestern University and was the recipient of the William Morris Filmmaking Award.  He recently won the Scion First-Time Director award at the Philadelphia Int'l GLFF and the Heineken Red Star award at Outfest 2008. Tom is a founding member of SPEAKproductions.

Karen Jedson has invested 15 years in the tourism and economic development industry in the City of Warwick in various capacities, and most recently as Director of the Department of Tourism Culture and Development. In 2003 she received her MBA from Johnson & Wales University in Global Marketing, where she currently serves on the Graduate School Advisory Board. Her duties in the City of Warwick include creating marketing campaigns to promote the city to potential visitors and businesses. She is currently the Marketing Chairperson for the bureau, as well as on the Board of Directors for the Central Rhode Island Development Corporation, the Rhode Island Sports Council and the Warwick Tourism Advisory Board.

Chris Jones' film “Gone Fishing” is showing in this year's festival. (Note as of July 31st, the film won the Kodak Best Short Film Award, 2008 in England!)

He was born and raised in the North of England. His first memory of Cinema was Cecil B Demille’s The Ten Commandments - and from that day he knew what he wanted to do. In his teens he produced numerous super 8 horror movies which gained him a place at Bournemouth Film School where he spent three years making short films.

He made a short entittled "The Thing From Beneath The Bed" which went on to win 12 international awards including the BBC’s Young Filmmaker of the Year, The Algarve Film Festival and The Tokyo Video Festival. Chris is author of the popular “The Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint”

Eli Kaufman's film, California King, is in this year's festival.

He spent his first decade in Japan, Iran, and Belgium where his parents taught in international schools. A graduate of Oberlin College, he taught middle school English for three years before enrolling in the MFA directing program at The UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television. He also worked as the personal assistant to the Polish brothers on their third film, Northfork.

Kaufman has written and directed several short films invluding Birthday Haiku and Winning The Peace. He also directed live theater for the UCLA Francis Ford Coppola One Act Play Festival and was recipient of the Jim Morrison Prize for directing, the Caucus for Television Producers, Writers & Directors Foundation Production Grant and the 2003 Alfred P. Sloan Film Production Award for his thesis film script, The Laws of eMotion, currently in production.

Scott Kirsner is a journalist who writes about new technology, regularly contributing to Variety and The Boston Globe. He has been a contributing writer for Fast Company and Wired since 1997. He edits the blog CinemaTech (http://cinematech.blogspot.com), and is the author of the new book Inventing the Movies, a technological history of Hollywood. His writing has also appeared in the New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Salon, the San Jose Mercury News, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Newsweek, among other publications. Scott is part of the founding team of The Conversation, a new event being held this October in the San Francisco Bay Area, focusing on the convergence of film, games, and online video (http://www.theconversationspot.com).

He has also spoken at the Sundance Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and the South by Southwest Film Festival. He is a graduate of Boston University’s College of Communications and the New World School of the Arts, in Miami. He can be reached at kirsner@pobox.com.

SueEllen Kroll has been the Program Officer for the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities since 2004. As Program Officer, she coordinates the community radio program Action Speaks as well as RICH's film series with Rhode Island PBS. In addition, SueEllen counsels potential grant applicants and administers RICH's Early Response Mini Grant program. Since moving to Providence over five years ago, SueEllen has helped out on various community projects including founding the annual RI Human Rights Film Festival. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, bicycling, and working on her historic home. SueEllen holds a BA in English Literature from Wheaton College.

Cory Krueckeberg's film, Were the World Mine, will be showing in this year's festival. Cory has many passions including directing, designing, acting & writing for both theatre and film. He is a founding member of SPEAKproductions, the production company behind the award-winning short musical film, Fairies (co-produced and designed by Cory) and the current RIFF film Were the World Mine. As an actor, Cory has appeared on stage in shows including The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin & Big River with Apple Tree Theatre, Side Show with Northlight Theatre, Bye Bye Birdie with the Marriott Theatre, Crazy Mary with New Tuners and the world premiere of William Finn and James Lapine's Muscle. Cory has toured nationally with Schoolhouse Rock Live!, Nebraska Theatre Caravan, Chamber Repertory Theatre of Boston and Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. On film, he can be seen in Road to Perdition (most prominently in the deleted scenes) and in  Peter Weir’s Master & Commander.  Directing credits include Othello for New Tuners and assisting Director Joe Leonardo on the national tour of Kiss Me Kate and Northlight Theatre’s production of At Wits End. Cory is currently writing a handful of screenplays, including SPEAKproductions next project - Mariachi Gringo. Cory has a BFA from the Professional Actor Training Studio at the University of Illinois, and is a member of Actor's Equity Association.

Eric Latek, Director. Born in Providence, RI, Latek graduated from Emerson College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Film Concentration, Visual and Media Arts/Mass Communication from Emerson College in 1998. Latek produced short film “A Life In The Day of Ringo Vings”. After graduating, Latek expanded the short piece into a feature. In 2001, the underground film went on to win various awards such as “Best International Director”, AFMA International Film Festival, “People's Choice Award”, Adobe Digital Cinema, and “WOW” Award, Tampa International Education. & Time Warner Film Festival.

“Maintain No Control!” was Latek's theory while documenting reality. The Art of Directing, which controlled the structure of the epic story, would fall into place in the editing room. “Sweet Dreams”, like the subjects involved, began on one road and ended on completely different one. Recently appointed Director of Hoss Dream Machine and also in pre-productions of several new Docudrama's that are scheduled to be filmed world wide, IIE is honored to be working with such a talented and passionate filmmaker. Latek is also founder and President of Phantazma Pictures.

Justin Lerner's film, The Replacement Child, is in this year's festival. Born in State College, Pennsylvania in 1980, Justin attended Quaker school for five years before living in Michigan, Berlin, and Northern California.

In the fall of 1998 Justin went to Cornell University, where he studied Theatre Arts and Film. There, he directed stage productions of Much Ado About Nothing, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Fitting Rooms, and the world premiere of Ernestine Shuswap Gets Her Trout. In May 2002, Justin graduated cum laude for the completion of his honors thesis, Towards a Spiritual Cinema: The Films and Philosophy of Andrei Tarkovsky.

In November 2002 Justin left the country to teach English as a foreign language in Galicia, Spain. He returned in the fall of 2003 to attend UCLA's graduate film school. His first film at UCLA, SOLO, was named an official selection at the 2004 Newport Beach Film Festival, 2004 Desert Reel Film Festival, and 2004 L.A. Shorts Fest. His second film, ECHOSTOP, was an official selection at the 2005 Newport Beach Film Festival. In May 2005, Justin was awarded by UCLA with the George Burns & Gracie Allen Fellowship in Comedy Directing for his film SOLO.

Justin is an advisor to Voice Films Institute, an LA-based outreach program devoted to teaching high school students filmmaking. His third UCLA short film, Maggie's Not Here, was recently an official selection at the 2006 Tribeca Underground Film Festival and the 2006 L.A. Shorts Fest.

Andrew Lund's film, Finders Keepers, is screening at this year's festival. Andrew Lund is an Adjunct Professor in the Film Studies Department at UNC-Wilmington and an Assistant Professor in film production in the Film & Media Department at Hunter College, CUNY. He also serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Graduate Film Division of Columbia University, where he received a law degree in 1989 and an M.F.A. in screenwriting and directing in 1998. Professor Lund is Executive Producer of the feature films “Confess,” and “Vanaja,” as well as “Big in the Mind,” a documentary about a street basketball legend which was featured nationally on ESPN. His short films have won numerous awards, including Best Dramatic Short at Houston Worldfest and the Motion Pictures Enterprises Award for Excellence. His films have appeared in film festivals around the world and have been broadcast on PBS, ABC and on major networks in Europe and Japan. With over ten years of experience as an entertainment lawyer in New York, Professor Lund advises clients on legal and business aspects of filmmaking, and he provides transactional, intellectual property and litigation services to entertainment clients in theater, television, publishing, music and fine arts.

Stu Maddux, is a multi-award winning documentary filmmaker based in Los Angeles, California. He freelances as a director, cinematographer, writer and editor while working on his own projects.

 His films include the critically-acclaimed Bob and Jack’s 52-Year Adventure. His most recent documentary, Trip To Hell And Back, is about a famous horse rider who reveals for the first time his secret life as a high-stakes crystal-methamphetamine dealer.

His work has been televised internationally and screened at more than 30 film festivals worldwide winning top honors at a handful of those.

He has a B.J. from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and speaks frequently on story writing and documentary filmmaking. 

Michael McDonald
Mr. McDonald created 88, which will be appearing in the festival.

Michelle LaMura Meek's film, The Red Sneakers, is showing at the RI Film Festival. Ms. Meek pioneered the development of NewEnglandFilm.com, the premiere magazine and resource for indie filmmaking in the northeast in 1997 and founded BuyIndies.com, an international community for buying and selling films. She is now the publisher and a board member at Independent Media Publications. She has written extensively on film and travel in leading publications such as MovieMaker Magazine, the Independent Film & Video Monthly, WHERE Magazine, Bonjour Paris and indieWIRE.

She received the Duprey Screenwriting Award for her short script One More Shot at Emerson College where she earned her MFA in writing. She co-produced the movie version and won 1996 Best Video Award at the Temecula Valley Film Festival. She has completed the feature script The Loves of Rocco Santora.

She received the 2005 Baldwin Award for Alumni Recognition in Film & Video by Boston College and the 2000 Image Award for Vision and Excellence by Women in Film & Video New England. She has spoken on numerous panels including the National Alliance for Media Arts & Culture, Convergence at Tribeca, Global Entertainment Network Summit.

Rhonda Moskowitz is an independent documentary filmmaker and the founder and principal of SHINING LIGHT PRODUCTIONS in Boston. She is currently in production on a film about modern-day Jewish prisoners and has filmed inside four prisons, including Sing Sing, one of the world's most infamous prisons, and Death Row in Florida. She has written several blogs and articles, including DISTRIBUTING YOUR SHORT FILM IN THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE for NEWENGLANDFILM.COM. She is also the founding member of CONNECT THE DOCS, a group of independent documentary filmmakers that meets monthly at THE COOLIDGE CORNER THEATRE in Brookline, MA. Last December the BOSTON SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS honored her with a SPECIAL COMMENDATION for running the film salons, now in their fourth year.

Doug Olear's film Hold On will be appearing in this year's festival. A former Golden Gloves boxing champion, he fought for Emanuel Steward and the Kronk Boxing team. Doug gave up a professional boxing career to study acting at The Stella Adler Studio in NYC and furthered his studies at The Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC. Performing in dozens of Off and Off-Off Broadway productions, he made his Off- Broadway debut in Conflict of Interest with Al Freeman, Jr., and acted in over 500 performances of Shear Madness at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC and San Fransisco.

His many TV roles include:  Law and Order (NBC), Law and Order: Criminal Intent, (NBC) The Day Lincoln Was Shot, ( TNT) As the World Turns, ( CBS) Something the Lord Made, (HBO) (2004 Emmy Award for best TV movie) and FBI Special Agent, Terry "Fitz" Fitzhugh, who he portrayed for five seasons on the critically acclaimed HBO series, The Wire. He made his feature film debut in The Replacements with Keanu Reeves. He Co-founded Do Not Panic Productions, LLC with Jackie Julio in 2007

Michael Phillips, Principal Product Designer for Avid Technology, Inc. Michael has been at Avid for over 18 years as a Product Designer and currently serves as Solutions Manager for Content Production. Michael also continues to produce and edit feature films and has just completed with his Miledia Films partner “Jack in the Box”, a PG-13 thriller/horror feature. Michael has authored a book on Digital Nonlinear filmmaking, owns and operates www.24p.com. Michael also has 10 patents in 24 frame, interactive, and surround sound technologies as well as an Emmy and Academy Award for Science & Technical Achievement. www.avid.com

Ofer Prag's film, Harozhim Shebynynu, is being shown in this year's film festival. He was born in 1961, and earned his Bachelor's and MFA at Tel Aviv University. He is an avid photographer.

Mr. Prag has won the Best Screenplay Award at the Calgary Fringe Film Festival in 2007, and his work has been shown in festivals across the world. He has created seven mid-to-feature-length films.

Kalani Queypo had humble beginnings as a noted theater actor in New York City before moving to Hollywood and acting in coveted projects like the Oscar Nominated Terrence Malick film, THE NEW WORLD.

This past fall, Kalani’s short script, ANCESTOR EYES, was awarded with a $10,000 production grant, initiating his directorial debut. His eloquent short film showcases gripping performances, rich visual imagery and a noteworthy original soundtrack.

Kalani is currently in production with his first feature length documentary film, OUR VOICES, OUR STORIES.

Daniel Ragussis was born and raised in Washington DC, where he received his BA in English from Georgetown University, graduating summa cum laude.  He has been writing and directing short films since childhood, and recently completed his MFA at Columbia University, where he was a Film Division Fellow.  

His most recent film is HABER, a 34-minute narrative short about the life of chemist Fritz Haber, for which he won a Sloan Production Grant, a Jerome Foundation Grant, and was a finalist for the Roy Dean Grant.  HABER is world premiering at the Rhode Island International Film Festival in 2008, and has already been featured in The New York Times, Chemical & Engineering News, the German magazine Biografie, Chemical Heritage (the news magazine of the Chemical Heritage Foundation), and the German radio program Deutschlandfunk, among others.  Ragussis has also been invited to speak on panels at the New York Academy of Sciences and the New York Premiere of Vern Thiessen’s play Einstein’s Gift (about Haber and Einstein); he was also invited as the key guest speaker at the National Research Council’s Committee on Chemical Demilitarization.

Chris Renzi has been involved in content management and video streaming technology for the past eight years.  As a founding member of the Screenwriters Community, he managed several online contests that worked to connect independent filmmakers with talented screenwriters.  Currently he is Director of Operations at netfilm.com.  Netfilm is striving to provide independent filmmakers the recognition and exposure they deserve by being a premiere web site for the serious filmmaker.

Peter Rosen, has produced and directed over 100 full-length films and television programs which have been distributed world-wide and have won awards at the major film festivals. He has worked directly with some of the most important figures in the arts such as Leonard Bernstein, Yo-Yo Ma, Beverly Sills, Sherrill Milnes, Stephen Sondheim, Alexander Godunov, Midori, Leonard Slatkin, Martha Graham, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Van Cliburn, Skitch Henderson, Claudio Arrau, I. M. Pei, and Garrison Keillor.

He won the prestigious Directors Guild of America Award for his production "Here to Make Music: The Eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition." This Award is given to only one documentary program a year. The show also won a national prime-time Emmy Award and was called "enriching and inspiring" by the New York Daily News. He was again nominated for the DGA Award for his film, “First Person Singular: I. M. Pei”. He won the Peabody Award for "Playing on the Edge: The Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition".

In production for broadcast in 2008 are several exciting new projects. "Garrison Keillor" (wt) is a feature-length documentary that will follow the popular radio host of "Prairie Home Companion" as he tours America and comments on the people and country he knows so well. This will be an ITVS presentation broadcast on PBS American Masters. "Shadows in Paradise" is a film about the German and Austrian composers and writers who fled Hitler and ended up in Hollywood California. Commissioned by and broadcast on ARTE. "Gordon Getty" (wt) is a portrait of the respected contemporary composer who also happens to be the son of one of the richest men in the world, J. Paul Getty.

Peter Rosen Productions, Inc. is one of the most respected and experienced film and television production companies in the United States. Founded in the 1970's by producer/director Peter Rosen, the company has made over 100 documentary films and television programs on a wide variety of subjects. Five of these productions have won Emmys, and many others have been awarded the top prizes and honors at film festivals and competitions throughout the world. In addition to national broadcasts on networks such as CBS, ABC, PBS, A&E, Bravo, and others, many of the programs produced by the company have been distributed internationally to virtually every foreign market, and have been released in the home video market world-wide by major distributors such as Sony, Polygram, BMG, Philips, and PBS.

Peter Rosen, president of PRP, Inc., has won the prestigious Directors Guild of America Award, and has been a leader in the film and television industry for over 20 years.

Dale Rood's film, Raccoon and Crawfish, is showing at this year's festival. He is the Executive Liaison and Studio Operations Director of the Oneida Indian Nation Men's Council.

Galia Shiloach, is a seasoned professional with a body of work that iincludes the following titles: 2007 – "More than two", commissioned by Ministry of Education, 25 mins. Documentary; 1999 – "The Battle at  the Valley of Baca"(The Weeping Valley) - The story of "Yom kippur War" at the Golan Heights, Scriptwriter & Designer, Visitors Center, Multi-screen, 20 mins. Drama; 1998 – "Olin – The Dolphin Legend", , Scriptwriter, commissioned by Noga Communications, Broadcast on Channel 8,  "Premi al Millor Documental" (first prize) - Documania Gava' Festival International de Cinema del Media Ambient, Spain, 1999. 50 mins. Documentary; 1996 – "The Life Line" – The Jewish Underground's story during the Holocaust in Budapest, , Scriptwriter & Director, broadcast on channel 2, Israel, Yad Vashem Museum, Masuot Itzhak Museum,  50 mins. Documentary; 1994 – "With the Power of Themselves" –  First Arab feminists women in Israel, Scriptwriter & Director, Commissioned and broadcasted by Israeli First TV Channel, 50 mins. Documentary; 1989-1993  - "A Great leaders in Jewish History"– A Documentary Film Series about: David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, Pinchas Sapir, Arthur Rupin, Haim Gvati. Scriptwriter &  Director (part of the films), broadcast on Israeli Channel 2 TV, 50 mins. each chapter. Documentary; 1991 – "Franz Kafka – The Hunger Artist", Scriptwriter & Second director; Co-production of Czechoslovak First TV Channel & Israeli  First TV Channel, 50 mins. Documentary; 1990 – "The Velvet Revolution" -  Piter Freisshtadt is Back to Prague, Scriptwriter & Editing Director, 50 mins. Documentary; 1986 – "Widows Don't Give a Shift  Work", Scriptwriter & Director, "The Best Acterres Award" & "Possitive Mark" in Israeli Mugrabi Fund 1986, "The best script Award" - The Ministry of  Commerce & Industry 1987, Screened in Tel-Aviv Cinemateq, Haifa Film Festival 1988, Tel-Aviv Museum –Celebration of 40 years to Israel, Israeli first and second TV Channels, 53 mins. Drama.

Kevin Sheridan, a USC graduate, Kevin Sheridan began acting professionally at the age of fourteen.

While still attending high school, Kevin starred opposite Dan Aykroyd in ABC's SOUL MAN. He has had recurring characters on such shows as AMERICAN DREAMS and VERONICA MARS. Some of his other notable credits include BOSTON PUBLIC, JUDGING AMY, WITHOUT A TRACE, JUSTICE, and THE CLOSER. LEAVING BARSTOW is Kevin's first feature film as a writer and producer. He recently sold a pilot to Fox and has a feature film in development with writing partners Anthony Szpak and Jessica Jill Turner.

Mariella Sosa: Venezuelan born Photographer/ Director Mariella Sosa has been called “a miracle worker” of the lens. She has photographed personalities such as Gloria Estefan, Emilio Estefan, Andy Garcia, Selena, and Juan Gabriel.

She was the sole photographer for a 1995 Guatanamo, Cuba concert, orchestrated by Emilio and Gloria Estefan,  that sought to spread awareness of the plight of the Cuban refugees. Mariella has also been one of South Beach's artistic forerunners as its renaissance took place.  She has shot album covers and directed music videos for Sony Music, Universal Music, EMI, BMG, Fonovisa, live concerts,  LATV, Mega TV, and an Urban Latino Entertainment show, "Da Klick."  

Mariella just produced and directed her first feature documentary "La Clave," filmed in New York and Puerto Rico, based on the similarities between the two musical genres Salsa and Reggaeton. The film will be shown in this year's festival.

Dan Trezise has always loved movies, especially ones that transport the audience to far away places or other times. His interest in seeing these imaginative worlds fully realized on film fuels his passion for learning and using the latest techniques in filmmaking. After finishing film school at RIT he began working in visual effects. Over the years he has worked on more that 25 feature films. ranging from "Adaptation" and "The Life Aquatic" to big blockbusters such as "Matrix Revolutions", "The Golden Compass", "The Hulk", “Fun With Dick and Jane”, “Spiderman”, and “Starship Troopers.” His directorial debut, "Outsource", is a 12 minute science fiction where he stunningly implements many of the same skills and techniques he employs on big Hollywood movies.

Rita Walsh completed a Bachelor of Creative Arts at The University of Melbourne in 2002 and began her working life at film and television production company Ruby Entertainment where she worked as a Producer’s Assistant on a projects that included the feature film Crackerjack and telemovies The Murray Whelan Series. Over the last five years Rita has worked in the production office and art departments on many Australian film and TV projects that include Noise (premiered at Sundance 2007), Snake Tales (childrens' TV series), Directions (RIIFF 2008) and the worldwide comedy hit Kath and Kim.

She formed Standing There Productions with writer/director Lorin Clarke in 2003 and together they produced the stage play People Watching (2003), the short film I Could Be Anybody and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival plays For We Are Young And Free (2007 Golden Gibbo Nominee - Best Independent Production), and Greatness Thrust Upon Them (2008). 

Rita also produced the short films Hollow Bones (2006) and the Autralian Film Commission financed Hugo (RIIFF 2008, Palm Springs Shortsfest 2008 and Australian Writers Guild Award Nominee 2008).

Rita is currently completing a Producers Attachment with Australian Producer Jan Chapman (The Piano, Lantana and others) on Bright Star, the new film by Jane Campion. Rita is also developing a number of film and TV projects with the creative teams behind Hugo and Standing There Productions.

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