The Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) is proud to partner with Roger Williams University (RWU) and present its Spring Edition of the Annual Roving
Eye International Film Festival™. The popular and acclaimed festival celebrating global cinema and artists, announces its 2017 sidebar program on the RWU Jewish Experience Series through short films, documentary, media and a guest speaker.
The event takes place April 18, 20 & 23rd, 2017. Through film and scholarship, the series tells the stories of the Jewish experience globally—stories of joy and sorrow, faith, diasporas, rich culture, fear and hope—stories that must be told again and again. The series is hosted by the Rev. Nancy Hamlin Soukup, University Multifaith Chaplain, RWU.
All programming is free of charge and open to the public and screened on the campus of Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI.
TUESDAY, April 18th:
5:00 p.m.
Location: Global Heritage Hall, Room 01
Hosted by Rev. Nancy Hamlin Soukup, University Multifaith Chaplain, RWU
STORIES FROM THE HEART: IMMUTABLE MEMORIES
Documentary & Short Film Screenings
Hosted by Alice Cross, Adjunct Professor, Communications and the Rev. Nancy Soukup, RWU Multifaith Chaplain
Oded, a worn-out drug dealer who goes for a routine exchange of packages on the Israeli border, realizes that the person across the fence is a frustrated soccer player, who can’t manage to pass him his package.
EVA |Directed by: Peter Hegedus | 8 min. Australia, 2015
A Holocaust survivor’s passionate perspective on the refugee crisis in Europe.
IRVING | Directed by: Rebecca Feldman | 27 min. USA, 2016
A curmudgeon from Brooklyn receives a surprise visit from a British gentleman claiming to be his son.
MUNICH '72 AND BEYOND | Directed by: Stephen Crisman | 29 min. Germany, Israel, USA, 2016
On September 5, 1972, Palestinian extremists infiltrated the athletes’ dorms at the Munich Summer Olympics to take 11 Israeli athletes hostage and eventually murdered them all before being killed or captured by the German police. Award-winning filmmaker Stephen Crisman revisits that tragic day in chilling detail through new interviews with both Israelis and Palestinians, as well as family members, eyewitnesses, Olympic authorities and government officials. An intensely emotional account of the first act of modern terrorism viewed worldwide as it unfolded, Munich ’72 and Beyond exposes shocking new information about the tragic events and their devastating aftermath, as well as chronicling the four-decade-long struggle to create a public memorial to the victims of the massacre.
THURSDAY, April 20th:
5:00 p.m.
Location: Global Heritage Hall, Room 01
MEMORIES NEVER DIE
Documentary Screenings and Discussion
Hosted by Rev. Nancy Soukup, Multifaith Chaplain
WHEN A FLAME STANDS STILL | Directed by: Michael Mike Canon | 18 min. Germany, USA, 2015
In the midst of the Holocaust, the young couple hides in two claustrophobic bunkers that are only a wall apart. Unable to see, hear, or TOUCH one another--and with only a lamp to soften their darkness--they reminisce about their love story of the past, from when they first met, to the time they separated. As their love grows, the hatred during the Holocaust rises...and as their touch gets closer, so does the Gestapo.
THE MARGARET LAMBERT FILM | Directed by: Nina Horowitz | 25 min. Germany, USA, 2016
The world’s eyes were locked on Berlin for the 1936 Summer Olympiad, allowing an opportunity for Hitler to create an image of Germany for its international guests that championed Aryan superiority. Adolf Hitler was determined to show off the true might of his regime and to this effect, would create tragedy for those he targeted. This documentary tells the story of one athlete, in particular, that was disenfranchised by Hitler’s “Propaganda Games”- Gretel Bergman
Although her Olympic career was over on that fateful day in 1936, her story was far from finished. Today, in Queens, New York at the age of 102, she tells her story with the help from members of the international sports community who were all an integral part of Margaret’s story.Her story and proves that against all odds, courage can triumph.
THE TWINNING REACTION | Directed by: Lori Shinseki | 54 min. USA, 2016
The Twinning Reaction is a feature-length documentary film about a tragically failed human research experiment from the 1960s, a case involving identical twins who were separated in infancy and secretly studied by psychologists for many years. The film provides an inside look at the dangers of medical arrogance, the inadequacy of laws protecting human research subjects, and the strong bonds of twinship.
Our story begins in 1960, when two prominent psychotherapists, Drs. Peter Neubauer and Viola Bernard, began a secret study involving orphaned babies from a New York City adoption agency. The doctors separated at least five sets of twins and triplets, never telling the adoptive parents their child had an “other.” Researchers tested, filmed and interviewed some of the children and families for years, under the pretense of conducting an “adoption study.” In truth, it was a nature versus nurture study of twins (and triplets) separated in infancy.
The Twinning Reaction tells the stories of four sets of identical twins and triplets who were separated by the Louise Wise Services adoption agency. The primary focus of the film is a pair of reunited twins, Doug and Howard, in their quest for answers about the twin study and its findings. With the help of several attorneys, the twins obtain access their own secret study files, which are sealed at the Yale University Archives. Cameras are rolling as Doug and Howard open the Pandora’s Box of information about their past.
SUNDAY, April 23rd:
2:00 p.m.
Location: Global Heritage Hall, Room 01
THE STORIES WE TELL
Documentary Screening and Director's Discussion
Hosted by Rev. Nancy Soukup, Multifaith Chaplain
FACING THE WALL | Directed by: Alamork Marsha | 27 min. Israel, 2016
Surni, 14, wakes up to her first morning in an Israeli absorption center. She keeps her eyes and
ears closed. She won’t leave her bed. She does everything she can to shut out her new reality
and pretend she never left Ethiopia. As the hours pass, and the light of day fades, Surni's mother,
at first blind to her daughter's suffering, finds a way to reach out and help Surni say goodbye to
the world they left behind.
THE MUTE’S HOUSE | Tamar Kay, Director | 31 min. Israel, 2015
A building in Israeli Hebron, which has been deserted by its Palestinian occupants, is called 'The
Mute's House' by the Israeli soldiers stationed there and by the tour guides who pass by daily. The
building's only occupants are a deaf woman, Sahar, and her 8-year-old son, Yousef. The family's
unique story, in the midst of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, unfolds through the eyes of the young
and charismatic Yousef, as he goes through his daily routine on both sides of the torn city.
NOAM | Adi Shinar, Director | 23 min. Israel, 2016
Noam, 16, an artistic introvert, can’t stand being her mother’s psychologist. She wants to go out
for a chance to meet a boy on whom she has a crush from afar, but is forced to stay home and
meet with her mother’s demands. When she's had enough, Noam leaves, attempting to find
somewhere else to spend the night.
FRAMED – THE ADVENTURES OF ZION MAN | Brenda Lee Lau, Director | 16 min. USA, 2016
At first young Walter was impressed by the Nazi uniforms and the powerful, handsome men who
wore them, he even wanted to be them but soon learned looks are deceiving. 1933 Germany
was a confusing time for a Jewish boy, coming of age in an era when nothing made sense. Why
was he being bullied just because of who he was? How does a young boy survive this type of
persecution? By drawing comic book heroes Walter creates a universe where he can defeat
these evil predators who invaded his real world. Using both live action and animation we bring
this young boys fantasy to life.
4:00 p.m.
Location: Global Heritage Hall, Room 01
TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES
Introduced by the Rev. Nancy Hamlin Soukup, University Multifaith Chaplain with Guest Speaker, Andrew Lund, Associate Professor and Director of the Integrated Media Arts MFA Program in the
Film & Media Department at Hunter College of the City University of New York.
MORDECHAI | Directed by: Benjamin Bee | 13 min. United Kingdom, 2016
Daniel, an ultra orthodox Jew, hasn’t seen his identical twin brother Mordechai in years;
Mordechai’s ‘life choices’ were a bit too much for the family to handle. But today is the day of
their father’s funeral…
Mordechai is a funny and touching fable about family, faith and the roles we play.
This short film is set around a traditional ultra orthodox Jewish family in the northeast of England. It
was made with help and support of the ultra orthodox community here. The film stars members of
the Orthodox community acting on film for the very first time.
SEVEN MINUTES | Directed by: Assaf Machnes 14 min. Israel, 2016
In order to go home for the weekend with the rest of the platoon, a fresh IDF soldier has to
complete one final task.
MEMORY SONGS | Directed by: Lucy Kaye | 12 min. United Kingdom, 2016
When your memory fades, your grip on reality becomes fragile and the sense of self slowly slips
away. In a synagogue hall in North West London, a group of elderly people gather to find
release. Using music and song they try to reconnect with themselves. Through the poetic use of
poignant personal photographs and carefully assembled voiced-over memories, this film takes
us into the emotional heart of these people, coping with the onset of Dementia.
VIOLINS OF HOPE - STRINGS OF THE HOLOCAUST | Directed by: Lance Shultz | 57 min. USA/Israel,
2016
Narrated by Academy Award winning actor Adrien Brody, VIOLINS OF HOPE Strings of the
Holocaust, is a 60-minute documentary featuring Israeli master violinmaker Amnon Weinstein
and his efforts to restore violins recovered from the Holocaust. Some were played by Jewish
prisoners in concentration camps; others belonged to the Klezmer musical culture, which was all
but destroyed by the Nazis. From their amazing stories and Weinstein’s mission to collect and
restore the instruments comes the inspiration for this film.
About our Guest Speaker:
Andrew Lund, a filmmaker and entertainment lawyer, Andrew is an Associate Professor and Director of the Integrated Media Arts MFA Program in the Film & Media Department at Hunter College of the City University of New York and a Faculty Associate at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute; he is also a faculty member of the Film Studies Department at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and has taught in the Graduate Film Division of Columbia University, where he received J.D., M.F.A. and B.A. degrees. Brief Reunion, a feature film that Andrew produced and co-edited, won the top prize for narrative filmmaking at the 2011 UFVA conference and the Audience Award for Best Film at New York’s 2011 Gotham International Film Festival. My Last Day Without You, on which Andrew served as executive producer, recently won the top producing honors at the 2011 Brooklyn International Film Festival and will be released theatrically in Europe this fall. Andrew is the Executive Producer of nine feature films, including The Hungry Ghosts, written and directed by Michael Imperioli; Vanaja, named by Roger Ebert as one of the top five foreign films of 2007, and Arranged, an international hit that Variety called “a pure pleasure to watch” Andrew has also written and directed five award winning short films. In addition to worldwide festival screenings and television broadcasts, his shorts are included in film textbooks, DVD compilations, and distributed theatrically and non-theatrically. Andrew founded and curates CinemaTalks, the independent film screening and discussion series, and he created the Short Film Repository, which houses educational extras that support short filmmaking. Andrew’s writing on film includes an essay, “What’s a Short Film, Really?” in “Swimming Upstream: A Lifesaving Guide to Short Film Distribution” by Sharon Badal, numerous book reviews for the journal, Film International, and two books on independent filmmaking in the works for Peter Lang Publishers.
Join as we conclude our celebration of the 12th Anniversary of the Roving Eye International Film Festival, a unique collaboration between Roger Williams University and Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival, and we announce the winners of this year’s Roving Eye Awards.
Location: Global Heritage Hall, Atrium
A Reception Sponsored by RWU Spiritual Life Office will take place during the intermission.
All programming for the Festival has been produced by students in the Curation and Film
Production Class that includes: Hadi Alyami, Alison Cellana, Reagan Cronin, Gabriela Dinobile,
Gabrielle Dougherty, Taylor Flaherty, Jacob Johnson, Alissa Livingston, Tyler McCoy, Zachary
Mobrice, Brett Pollina, Kelsey Rogers, Bradley Ross, Benjamin Scheff, Elliot Sirchio and Nicholas
Stanglewicz. Special support from Alex Campbell, Alanna Hammond and Francis Ferdinand.
For more information, contact the Spiritual Life Program at Roger Williams University, email nsoukup@rwu.edu. Directions to Roger Williams University can be found at www.rwu.edu
ABOUT ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY:
Roger Williams University located in Bristol, R.I. is a leading independent, coeducational university with programs in the liberal arts and the professions, where students become community- and globally-minded citizens. With 42 academic majors, an array of co-curricular activities and study abroad opportunities on six continents, RWU is an opencommunity dedicated to the success of students, commitment to a set of corevalues and providing a world-class education above all else. In the last decade, the University has achieved unprecedented successes including recognition as one of the best colleges in the nation by Forbes, a College of Distinction by Student Horizons, Inc. and as both a best college in the Northeast and one of the nation’s greenest universities by The Princeton Review. For more information, go to: www.rwu.edu.
ABOUT FLICKERS' RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL:
The Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF), has secured its place in the global community as the portal for the best in international independent cinema, earning the respect of domestic and foreign filmmakers, filmgoers and trend watchers. Ranked as one of the top 10 Festivals in the United States, RIIFF is a qualifying festival for the Live Action, Documentary and Animation Short Academy Awards through its affiliation with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Canadian Screen Awards, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). There are only 6 film festivals worldwide that share this distinction and RIIFF is the only festival in New England. The Festival takes place every August.
For more information about the Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival, running Aug. 8-13, 2017 at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) and The Vets (formerly Veterans Memorial Auditorium), please visit call 401.861.4445.
RWU PARKING INFORMATION:From Providence: Take Routes 136 South or 114 S passing campus on the left. Take a left at the traffic light just before the Mount Hope Bridge, onto Old Ferry Road. Take the first right into the parking lot.
From Newport: Take 114N over the Mount Hope Bridge and take the first right off the bridge onto Old Ferry Road. Take the first right into the parking lot.
Guests should enter through the main entrance at the fountain. they will be able to obtain a guest parking pass. Lot 24a will be blocked off for guests of the festival. Proceed through the main entrance through to the lot 24a on left. This event will take place in the Mary Tefft White Cultural Center and the Global Heritage Hall.
The 2017 Roving Eye International Film Festival is sponsored by The RI Film & the Television Office; Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival; Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, Edge Media Network, the Edwin S. Soforenko Foundation; the Helene and Bertram Bernhardt Foundation; Roger Williams University Office of the Provost; the RWU Department of Communication and Graphic Design, Dean Robert Cole, RWU Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Roberta Adams, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; the RWU Film Production Collaborative, the RWU Screenwriter’s Guild, RWU Hillel, and the Spiritual Life Office.
Andrew Lund, a filmmaker and entertainment lawyer, Andrew is an Associate Professor and Director of the Integrated Media Arts MFA Program in the Film & Media Department at Hunter College of the City University of New York and a Faculty Associate at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute; he is also a faculty member of the Film Studies Department at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and has taught in the Graduate Film Division of Columbia University, where he received J.D., M.F.A. and B.A. degrees. Brief Reunion, a feature film that Andrew produced and co-edited, won the top prize for narrative filmmaking at the 2011 UFVA conference and the Audience Award for Best Film at New York’s 2011 Gotham International Film Festival. My Last Day Without You, on which Andrew served as executive producer, recently won the top producing honors at the 2011 Brooklyn International Film Festival and will be released theatrically in Europe this fall. Andrew is the Executive Producer of nine feature films, including The Hungry Ghosts, written and directed by Michael Imperioli; Vanaja, named by Roger Ebert as one of the top five foreign films of 2007, and Arranged, an international hit that Variety called “a pure pleasure to watch” Andrew has also written and directed five award winning short films. In addition to worldwide festival screenings and television broadcasts, his shorts are included in film textbooks, DVD compilations, and distributed theatrically and non-theatrically. Andrew founded and curates CinemaTalks, the independent film screening and discussion series, and he created the Short Film Repository, which houses educational extras that support short filmmaking. Andrew’s writing on film includes an essay, “What’s a Short Film, Really?” in “Swimming Upstream: A Lifesaving Guide to Short Film Distribution” by Sharon Badal, numerous book reviews for the journal, Film International, and two books on independent filmmaking in the works for Peter Lang Publishers.
