2021 Background & Mission Statement

Discovering the New Voices of Independent Film

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• Contact • Awards • Staff & Advisory Board • RIIFF Sponsors • Scholarships: The Patricia Neal Fund ~ The Joseph & Viola M. Marshall Fund ~ Winifred E. Brownell Scholarship Fund ~ The Mary Rommel Scholarship ~ James Seavor Scholarship Fund ~ Drywa/Feinberg Scholarship Fund ~ Make a Donation • Academy Accreditation • Internships • Annual Fund • Hot Links • RIIFF Judges • FLICKERS Pictures • FLICKERS Podcasts • History of Film In RI • Jump Cut! Stories of Film and Media Arts • What is Flickers? • Users Guide to FLICKERS: RIIFF • Flickers North Country Film Festival • 7 Day PSA Compettion • Youth Jury Association • New England Film Festival Alliance (NEFFA)

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"One of the top 10 Short Film Festivals and Top 10 International Film Festivals in the United States. The RIIFF provides the kind of intimate festival experience that will change your life. Don’t miss it. "
- Chris Gore, author of The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide, 2nd edition

Now in its 25th year, the Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival™ (RIIFF) will take place August 9-15, 2021. The Festival has become a leading juried competition showcase for international independent filmmakers and their work. In 2021, the Festival will feature an expanded focus with seminars, expanded walks and tours, dinner and a movie options, screenwriting retreats, history and much much more.

In 2020, Flickers screened 340 cinematic works in six days to large and appreciative virtual audience, surpassing expectations.

The films screened came from 54 countries, and 34 states in the United States. During the 2020 Festival, there were 84 World and US/North American Premieres. Following months of adjudication and review, Festival films were selected from over 6,900 submissions.

Festival Facts at a Glance:

• 2020 Fact Sheet (TBD) • 2019 Fact Sheet (TBD)

• 2018 Fact Sheet • 2017 Fact Sheet

• 2016 Fact Sheet • 2015 Fact Sheet

• 2014 Fact Sheet • 2013 Fact Sheet

• 2012 Fact Sheet • 2011 Fact Sheet

• 2010 Fact Sheet • 2009 Fact Sheet

• 2008 Fact Sheet • 2007 Fact Sheet

• 2006 Fact Sheet • 2005 Fact Sheet

• 2004 Fact Sheet

What sets Flickers apart is that the Festival is one of only a handful of broadly focused, independent festivals in New England accepting works of any type (dramatic, documentary, experimental, animation), on any subject matter, and in any genre. In 2002, Flickers was notified by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) that it had elected to recognize the Rhode Island International Film Festival as a qualifying festival for the Short Films category, and in 2013 it was notified that it was a qualifying festival in the documentary short category. In 2015, it was notified that it would also be a qualifying festival for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

With more than 7,000 film festivals worldwide, only 10 have this dual recognition. In 2009, Flickers was notified by the Academy that it would be the official Rhode Island host for Oscar Night® America which it has hosted annually. Now known as the Red Carpet Experience: Providence, it has become a signature Winter event in Rhode Island. (Save the date for Sunday, February 27, 2022 for the next Red Carpet Experience: Providence, now in its 13th season).

The Flickers' Mission:

Flickers offers an artistic exchange as well as opportunities for the global creative community that are not available in the established entertainment industry. It is designed to foster contact among film directors, artists, producers, distributors, backers and audiences. Filmmakers will have an opportunity to share new film product, test-market films in development, and share the film-making process with industry peers, students, and the general public.

The Festival's goal is to recognize achievement and innovation in a variety of filmmaking and storytelling disciplines while providing an opportunity to secure wider distribution. The Festival also actively supports and encourages film preservation and its restoration, thus ensuring future generations of this unique artistic medium.

Thanks to the strong and visionary support of its lead sponsors, the Festival has been able to expand its offerings and include a broad range of film-related programming such as KidsEye™; a highly respected international Screenwriting competition called ScriptBIz™; a Master Class on Filmmaking (Take 1-2-3: Filmmaking with the Pros), the Rhode Island Film Forum; and the late morning forums, "Between Takes," the Youth Film Jury and, et al.

Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival, takes place in the historic city of Providence as well as satellite locations throughout the state, these include Bristol, Narragansett, Jamestown, Bristol, Woonsocket, Barrington, East Providence, Tiverton. Cranston, Warwick and Westerly. RIIFF provides programming to children's hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and community youth organizatiions. The dynamic nature of Rhode Island offers excellent screening facilities, strong community support, and unlimited growth potential. Perhaps, one of the most unique elements of the Festival comes from its geographic location and cultural-heritage linkages.

The proximity of Rhode Island to Canada and the state's large French-Canadian population has led the Festival to establish as one of its chief aims the encouragement an artistic exchange between filmmakers from the New England region and the Canadian provinces. This was clearly realized in 2019 with the entry of 243 films from Canada, representing six Provinces. Tourisme Québec has been one of the Festival's major sponsors and has helped to nurture the Festival's Canadian outreach. The presence of Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, Roger Williams University, Johnson & Wales University, Bryant University, Providence College, other institutions of higher education, and Rhode Island's proximity to New York and Boston, give the Festival a film-literate audience, and provide an ideal forum for filmmakers to show their work in a high-visibility environment.

The ongoing growth in regional film and television production have given the state international prominence. The continuing revitalization of the capital city of Providence has brought access to excellent dining, recreation and arts experiences. The size of the state is a chief asset since, within an hour's drive, you can experience first-class beaches, inland lakes, or protected woodlands. Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival, represents an ideal opportunity to test-market new film product in an area with demographics that represent a microcosm of the film going public: a unique mix of cultural,ethnic and educational backgrounds exist in a relatively concentrated area.Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival, now in its 25th year.

Michael Drywa, Esq. is the RIIFF Board President.

39 Years of Arts & Educational Programming:

Flickers began life in November of 1981 and was formalized as "The Newport Film Society." Its first film screenings officially took place in January 1983 at the historic Van Alen Casino Theatre (now called the Stanford White Casino Theatre) in Newport, R.I. During its first five years exhibiting film, Flickers screened more than 475 titles, of which many were state and regional premieres. Encouraging the celebration of film as an important part of our culture, the Society sponsored specialized film series, documentaries, classes, lectures and forums. For example: Cheslaw Kyanka, founder of the Polish Solidarity Union, spoke at a society screening of "Man of Iron"; Newport's first International Film Festival took place through Flickers in 1983; and the Society presented the first R.I. Japanese Film Festival in 1984.

Festival Structure

The structure for the 2021 Festival will include multiple screenings of digital media work over a seven-day period in a hybrid approach (in-person and virtually). Filmmakers will be available for discussion and commentary at an Opening Night Celebration and Soirée, Awards Brunch, A Conversation With..., Closing Night Gala, film forums, et. al.

The Festival includes ScriptBiz™, a hands-on screenplay pitch seminar (Friday, August 13, 2021) and the KidsEye™ Summer Filmmaking Camp (July 5-9, 2021).

Filmmakers may enter their films either in competition or out of competition. Films in competition will be judged by a jury of distinguished industry professionals. Whether in or out of competition, all films will be eligible for the Viola M. Marshall Audience Choice Awards.

Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival™

Mailing Address: PO Box 162 • Newport, RI 02840 (United States)
Street Address: 36 Rhode Island Avenue • Newport, RI 02840

Office: 83 Park Street, Suite 5, Providence, RI 02903
Tel/Fax: (401) 861-4445 / 490-6735

email: info@film-festival.org

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