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RIIFF 2010 Team

AWARDS ADJUDICATION COMMITTEE:

Keith Brown • about

Keith Brown is a native Rhode Islander who first started making films as soon as he was old enough to borrow his parent's Super 8 camera. He holds an MFA in Film Production from Boston University. His film, Tough All Over, has screened at the Boston Cinema Census, the Antelope Valley International Film Festival, the Georgetown Indy Film Fest, the Syracuse International Film and Video Festival, Film Stock, and the Rhode Island International Film Festival. His previous film, Moving Pictures, was honored with First Place Student Experimental Film at the Columbus Ohio International Film and Video Festival, First Place Experimental Film at the University of Rhode Island Visualizations Film Festival and the Best of Festival Award at the University of Rhode Island Visualizations Film Festival. Keith developed a film studies course, Representation of Youth in Film, which he taught at Tufts University in 2006. He has also recently taught film production courses at Boston University and the University of Rhode Island.  He is currently the Creative Director for Pro-Change Behavior Systems, a health research company based in Kingston, Rhode Island and is also a freelance videographer.

Stephen L. Brown

Associate Publisher, Phoenix Media/Communications Group
Steve Brown has been the Associate Publisher of the Providence Phoenix, Rhode Island’s largest weeklynewspaper, since October of 1989. As Associate Publisher for the Providence Phoenix, he has seen the Boston-based Phoenix Media Communications Group grow immensely, adding: P2P Group, the largest provider of personal ads in the country; the Portland Phoenix, a weekly Steve helped to start in 1999 in Portland, Maine; Stuff magazine, a “Back Bay Boston” Nightlife/Lifestyle bi-weekly magazine; G8Wave, a text message/marketing company; and the expansion of WFNX Radio into New Hampshire and Portland. These new ventures are in addition to the Boston Phoenix, Mass Web Printing and the Providence Phoenix. Growth over the years has been significant, with staff increasing from from 75 to 350. Brown received his Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Vermont in 1976. From 1978-88, he created and then published his own weekly newspaper in Burlington, Vermont, The Vanguard Press, which was one of the first alternative weeklies in the country. Steve serves on the board of FirstWorks Providence, a non-profit arts organization. He lives in Jamestown with his wife Jean and their 15-year-old daughter Jessica.

Edward J. Delaney • about • Interview

Author, journalist, filmmaker and educator. Professor, Roger Williams University.

He is a recipient of a 2008 Literary Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a winner of the 2005 PEN/Winship Award for Fiction, and a past winner of an O.Henry Prize for short story writing. As a journalist he is a past winner of the National Education Reporting Award, and well as other national and regional awards. He was born in Fall River, Mass, and attended Fairfield University (B.S. Finance, 1979), and Boston University (M.S. Mass Communication, 1982). Delaney was a staff writer at The Denver Post and at the Colorado Springs Gazette, and has been a contributing writer for The Atlantic Monthly, The Chicago Tribune Magazine, The National,The Providence Journal Magazine and other publications. He has been a National Magazine Award finalist and his work has been anthologized in Best American Short Stories. Delaney is Assistant Editor of The Nieman Journalism Lab, at The Nieman Foundation, Harvard University. Delaney has been a faculty member at Roger Williams University since 1990. He is a Professor of Communications and Creative Writing. He has also taught at The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and Colorado State University, where he was the Gannett Foundation Professional-in-Residence. He has published two books of fiction, the novel "Warp & Weft" and the collection "The Drowning and Other Stories," and has published short stories in The Atlantic and other magazines and quarterlies. He is the co-author of "Born to Play," by Boston Red Sox second baseman and 2008 American League Most Valuable Player Dustin Pedroia. The book will be published in July 2009 by Simon Spotlight Entertainment, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. Delaney has directed and produced a documentary film, "The Times Were Never So Bad: The Life of Andre Dubus," which premiered in 2007. It received a first place at The Rhode Island International Film Festival.

Peter Facinelli

Peter Facinelli has established himself as one of Hollywood's most sought-after actors with distinctive and impressive performances.

Facinelli was recently seen starring as Dr. Carlisle Cullen, the altruistic patriarch of the Cullen clan, in the blockbuster feature films, Twilight and The Twilight Saga: New Moon for Summit Entertainment. The studio's Twilight film franchise is based on Stephenie Meyer's #1 New York Times bestselling series about a Romeo & Juliet- style romance between a mortal and a vampire. Both films broke multiple box office records. Twilight earned the 2nd biggest opening day for a non-sequel, behind only Spider-Man, and opened at #1 in 23 international territories. The Twilight Saga: New Moon shattered the records for opening day and midnight showings. In addition, with $142.8 million its opening weekend New Moon earned the third highest-grossing opening behind only The Dark Knight and Spider-Man 3 and the biggest of 2009. Facinelli will reprise his role in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third film based on the blockbuster book series. Directed by David Slade, the film was released on Wednesday, June 30, 2010.

Facinelli also stars opposite Edie Falco in Showtime's critically acclaimed new comedy series "Nurse Jackie". Facinelli appears as Dr. Cooper, a handsome golden boy afflicted with a quirky variation of Tourette's Syndrome. "Nurse Jackie" was recently named one of the American Film Institute's Top Ten TV Shows of 2009 and was also recently nominated for a 2010 Writers Guild Award in the "New Series" category.

Facnielli was also recently seen starring opposite Matthew Broderick and Brittany Snow in the dramedy, Finding Amanda, which premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

His portrayal in The Big Kahuna as a Bob Walker, a devout Baptist whose strong religious beliefs bring him into sharp conflict with his older and more cynical colleagues, earned Facinelli rave reviews. Also starring Kevin Spacey and Danny De Vito, the film premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival and was also accepted at the Toronto Film Festival that year. His additional feature film credits include The Scorpion King opposite Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Penny Marshall's Riding in Cars with Boys opposite Drew Barrymore, a starring role in Walter Hills' sci-fi thriller Supernova with James Spader and Angela Bassett, Can't Hardly Wait opposite Jennifer Love Hewitt, Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 with Breckin Meyer, and Foxfire opposite Angelina Jolie.

Facinelli was recently seen in a recurring role on "Damages", FX's award winning legal thriller starring Glenn Close. The show's first season finds Patty Hewes (Close) attempting to win a class-action lawsuit against the former CEO of a corporation (Ted Danson). Her entire case hinged on the concealed testimony of Gregory Malina, portrayed by Facinelli. His additional television credits include a starring role in McG's sexy one-hour drama "Fastlane" and a recurring role as a promising art student and love interest for Lauren Ambrose's character in the award winning HBO Series "Six Feet Under." Facinelli shared the cast's 2005 nomination for the SAG Award for Best Ensemble in a Drama.

Facinelli was born and raised in New York, and attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and three daughters.

Carson Grant • about • website

Carson Grant (Actor, Artist, and Director) studied acting during the 1970’s with Lee Strasberg and has created character roles in over 300 films. His recent films include “The Hollow Tree”, “Sneakers and Soul”, “They Say Fiasco”, “Bordenia”, “The House Is Burning” (Cannes Film Festival), “God Bless America” (won the GIAA Heritage award), “Dear J”, “Spiker”, “Should Heaven Fall”, “The Crackdown”, “The Closet”, and “LogJam”.  Among his most fortunate moments is his romantic kiss with Christina Ricci in Woody Allen's “Anything Else” as Ron Keller, the acting teacher. A native Rhode Islander, he is proud to participate in the RIIFF

Deborah A. Hoch • website

Emmy Award winning PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR-Screen Actors Guild member  Deborah A. Hoch has been involved in producing and writing for over 15 years. She continues to produce shows of Human Interest and Life issues. With over 25 years experience of fundraising for non-profit organizations, Deborah is now taking her talent to create educational material that will provide information for the betterment of everyday life. Her work has been seen on PBS, premiered at the Rhode Island International Film Festival and in programs nationwide.

Mary Healey Jamiel • about

Assistant Professor at the University of Rhode Island.

She serves jointly in Film Media and Communication Studies. She arrived at the University in 1996 and has developed documentary and film courses for Communication Studies and the Film Media program. In 2008 she served on the National Screening Committee convened by the Institute of International Education to select Fulbright scholars. Mary Healey Jamiel produced and directed a variety of nationally launched projects, including animations, PSAs for commercial television, music videos and interactive multimedia projects for the National Institute of Health, in conjunction with the Cancer Prevention Research Center at the University of Rhode Island. Much of her work and passion concerns the study of influence, persuasion, and public health and policy issues. Her documentary film Holy Water-Gate received a 2004 CINE Golden Eagle Award for excellence in investigative journalism, and Best Documentary at the 2005 Rhode Island International Film Festival. Holy Water-Gate broadcast in 2005 on SHOWTIME NETWORKS, CBC Canada, SBS Australia, TVE Spain, DR DENMARK and SSR/TSI - Swiss Italian Television. Her film Hidden in the Leaves - broadcast in 2008 on RIPBS and examines the factors that led to the emergence of Lyme disease and related infections and why, despite awareness of these risks, the impact of tick-transmitted diseases on society continue to expand at an alarming rate.

In the Fall of 2008 Professor Healey Jamiel filmed, directed and edited a series of short films called Reel Bites—a companion series for the 2008 honors colloquium website. In the series, ten URI scientists discuss the impacts of climate change on Rhode Island ecosystems.

Bob Leddy •

Film Historian

Retired in Nov. 2001 after 38 years at the Providence Journal, including two decades covering high school sports. He majored in journalism at URI Extension Division. For the past 41 years he has also been a contributor to the Journal-Bulletin's editorial pages, beginning with the former "In Perspective'' columns in both papers. His columns and unsigned editorials have focused on film history and criticism. Over the years, he has written numerous book reviews for the paper on film-related topics, and was a frequent lecturer on film history at Lenox (Mass.) High School, and Barrington (R.I.) High. Both schools at the time offered classes in film studies, at which he was invited to speak. He would arrange video screenings of movies, and devote classes to subjects such as film noir (both past and neo), cinematography, directing, story content, acting, etc.

Ray Lepre •

He earned B.A. Degree from RI College in Film Studies (1989). For the past 15 years he has worked for Cox Communications as a producer and Operations Manager and currently oversee Operations for Cox Sports. Co-Directed “An Uzi at the Alamo” (Scarredheel productions) 2005. Served as Director of Photography for narrative short: “Balance” (Scarredheel productions) 2006.

Ed Mastriano • about

Ed Mastriano is a marketing manager at Cox Communications. In his position, Mastriano leads client-driven promotions and marketing services. He is responsible for developing the Cox Media brand, driving new product launches and building partnerships with customers and cable programmers. He has a B.A. from Franklin Pierce College.

Michele LaMura Meek • about

Michele Meek pioneered the development of NewEnglandFilm.com, the premiere magazine and resource for indie filmmaking in the northeast in 1997. She also founded Little Plum Pictures and directed Red Sneakers, which premiered at the Woods Hole Film Festival in 2008 and received second place in the children's category at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. Currently she is publisher and board member of the nonprofit Independent Media Publications which has relaunched AIVF's The Independent film magazine. Respected as a young entrepreneur and champion of independent film, 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.

Dana Neugent • about

Dana Neugent is the Media Supervisor at the URI/Feinstein Providence Campus and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the URI Film Media Studies Program. Dana has been in the film/video business for over 25 years working at ABC, CBS, Colony Communications and various production companies and cable systems throughout New England. He has worked on commercials, marketing videos, educational videos, documentaries, news stories and short and feature length films. Dana is currently on the Board of Directors for the Rhode Island Film Collaborative and was recently awarded the 2009 Metcalf Diversity in Media Award by Rhode Island Community for Social Justice

Philip Palumbo • about

Associate Professor, Department of Communications, Rhode Island College

Philip Palombo is a longtime New England based Media Artist teaching Undergraduate Media production courses in Communication and Graduate Media Studies in Art at RI College in Providence. He has an extensive music background and studied at Berklee College of Music and earned an MFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Media [Studio Interrelated Media]. He specializes in producing music centric DVDs and documentaries.

Kamille Gentles-Peart • about

Assistant Professor of Communication at Roger Williams University teaching international communications.  A first-generation immigrant, born and raised in Jamaica, W.I.  she received a B.A. in Mass Communication, with a focus on multicultural journalism, from Lehman College of the City University of New York. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  Her general research interests include the symbiotic relationship between media and the cultural settings in which they are produced.  More precisely, her scholarship addresses how the cultural identities of media audiences inform how they interpret media messages, and how media in turn shape the identities of their audiences.  Her current research explores how West Indian immigrant women in the U.S. interpret mainstream U.S. media content, and how it informs the construction of their identity. 

Duncan B. Putney • about
Actor/Screenwriter/Historical Consultant/History Casting

Duncan is a professional actor and award-winning screenwriter residing in Providence, Rhode Island while working in the New York and New England markets. Duncan is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he studied both accounting and theatre. He went on to make his career in acting in stage, film, and television, as well as an associate producer in film and theatre. He has performed stand up and improv., as well as being a published poet and historian. He has served as an officer/delegate for both SAG and AFTRA. Duncan is creative producer and co-founder of OCD Associates (Original Concept Development) and is also the creator of the History Casting division of LDI Casting, finding historic reenactors extras and historic consultants for film and television productions. Recent projects have been shown at the Smithsonian Institution's Ocean Hall and on NBC television, winning two Gold Screen Awards. A public service campaign titled "Canisters" penned by Duncan won a 2009 Emmy Award.

Jim Seavor • about

Lifelong Rhode Island resident and nearly a lifelong resident of theater seats. For many years he was a reviewer and entertainment writer for the Providence Journal. He now writes for Motif and Options.

Ron Tippe • about

Producer at IMAGI Animation Studios

Ron Tippe has worked in the entertainment business for the last 36 years.  In that period, he has directed 52 stage plays, 100 commercials and dozens of education and business related films.   In addition he has spent the last 15 years as a Feature Animation Producer for DreamWorks Animation (SHREK – Pre-Production), WB Feature Animation (SPACE JAM), George Lucas’s Industrial Light and Magic  (FRANENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN – Pre-Production), Walt Disney Feature Animation (RUNAWAY BRAIN – Oscar nominated short), IDT Feature Animation (EVERYONE’S HERO) and most recently,  Imagi Entertainment’s  (GATCHAMAN – Pre-Production).  Ron has also produced record albums in addition to being an accomplished musician and the owner of QT Music (Ascap)and Barn Boy Music (Ascap) publishing companies.  

In 2008, Ron branched out and became a certified creative empowerment coach.  Ron was a Visiting Professor of Communications at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI in 2008 and currenly teaches at Emerson University in Boston.  

He is married to Hollywood Costume Designer, Molly Maginnis. They have two children, Annie and Sam Tippe.

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