RIIFF 2013 Team

Shawn Quirk

Programming Director

Shawn Quirk is an independent filmmaker who has directed a number of short films and short documentaries. After receiving his Bachelors of Science in Film Production from Boston University, he worked for two years as an English assistant in France at the Cité Scolaire Vauban in Givet. During his time abroad he became involved with a number of film productions in both Belgium and France, which included camera work for the two time Palme d'or winning Dardennes Brothers on their most recent film "The Kid with the Bike."

In addition to teaching English to both French high school and middle school students, Shawn also worked in collaboration with the regional English inspector, Christine Minetto, of the Champannes-Ardennes Academy to create a pilot cinema education program for high school seniors. As part of this program, Shawn worked with local film producer, Benoit Giorgini, to create a hands on film workshop in which students collaborated amongst each other to create a series of short documentaries that explored the livelihoods of local shopkeepers and café owners in the Ardennes community and their struggle in competing with large chain retailers.

After his time abroad, Shawn then went on to work as a teaching assistant at the New York Film Academy at Harvard University, where he taught both high school and college students the technical and theoretical aspects of 16mm and digital filmmaking. He also worked as a high school French substitute teacher, and freelance newspaper photographer.

Shawn became a part of the Flickers team in the Fall of 2011, and is now the Program Director for the Rhode Island International Film Festival and the Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival. As a filmmaker in his own right, Shawn's goal is to help discover the next generation of auteurs, the new voices of independent cinema.

To email Shawn: click here