2007 Film Festival Award Winners Announced
The Eleventh Annual Festival Concludes Attracting Record
Crowds and Critical Acclaim
 PROVIDENCE, RI (August 12, 2007). The 2007 Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) announced the winners in this year’s film competition at its annual Awards Ceremony held at the Federal Reserve, 60 Dorrance Street in Providence, RI. Steven Feinberg, Executive Director of the RI Film & Television Office, sponsored the event and welcomed over 150 attending filmmakers at the ceremony.
This year’s RIIFF ran August 7-12th and showcased 320 cinematic works submitted from over 70 countries, and 34 states in the United States. The 2007 RIIFF presented 125 World Premieres and 36 US Premieres. A total of 34 Narrative Features, 75 Documentaries, 33 Animations, 12 Experimental and 161 Short Films were screened. Following months of adjudication and review, Festival films were selected from 2,491 submissions.
Attendance levels were well above 2006 records with five sold-out screenings throughout the week. 227 filmmakers registered with the festival that included representation from Sweden, Belgium, Australia, Japan, Ireland, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Russia, and Mexico. Additionally, 25 students from the Tisch School at New York University came to document the Festival and interview the filmmakers.
 The Festival was not short on name actors who graced the screen with their work this year, or in some cases, behind the camera as director. These included: Bryce Dallas Howard, Minnie Driver, Lukas Haas, Neve Campbell, Kristin Kreuk, Alfred Molina, Brad Paisley, Jill Eikenberry, Seymour Cassel, Harry Groener, Michael Tucker, Alexa Vega, Vincent Pastore, Harrison Ford, Alan Cumming, Anne Heche, Carrie Fisher, David Boreanaz, Karen Black, Kevin Sorbo, Jennifer Tilly, Andie MacDowell, Russell Means, Colm Feore, Rupert Graves, Charles Dance, Joseph Mazzello, William Baldwin, Kathleen Quinlan, Harold Lloyd. Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Ian McKellen and Steve Coogan.
“You are the celebrities of this Festival. You are the stars,” said George T. Marshall, RIIFF Executive Director to over 150 filmmakers, producers, media representatives, and industry professionals attending the Awards ceremony. “We consider all of the filmmakers who played this year’s RIIFF to be winners and congratulate them for the excellence of their artistic achievement.
“The films that played at this year’s festival represented an amazing cross section of themes that resonated with our audiences,” he added.
“It was a truly exceptional year,” said Michael Drywa, RIIFF’s Board President. “RIIFF again finished strongly in the black financially and kudos go to the loyal staff and the more than 150 committed volunteers who worked for the past year to make the Festival such a well-organized success.
 “RIIFF is distinguished by the superb quality of its films, enthusiastic audiences and the support of sponsors like the City of Providence, the Providence Tourism Council, the Providence Department of Arts, Culture & Tourism, WJAR TV10, Motif magazine, Clear Channel Communications, Sony, SAG/INDIE, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Amtrak, the University of Rhode Island’s College of Arts and Sciences, URI's Feinstein College of Continuing Education, the URI Film Media Program, Rule Broadcast Systems, Radio Disney and contributions from members and community supporters.”
For the first time, the Festival’s opening night took place at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), the elegant and historic theater that started life in the 1920s as Loews Movie Palace. A record crowd of 1600 were in attendance. The theatre is located at 220 Weybosset Street in the heart of downtown Providence.
Honorary co-chairs for the 2006 edition of the Rhode Island International Film Festival are Governor Donald Carceiri; Providence Mayor David M. Cicilline; and US Senator Jack Reed. The Festival's 2007 design and look was created by Antonio Cortez.
The RIIFF Awards were presented by RIIFF Executive Director George T. Marshall, Adam Short, RIIFF Producing Director. Don Farias, RIIFF Managing Director and Phil Capobres, RIIFF Operational Director.
RIIFF Awards carry significance since the Festival is an official Academy Award qualifier for the short film category. Of over 3,000 festivals worldwide, only 61 share this distinction.
The RIIFF Awards 2007:
BEST SHORT
SPONSORED BY TOON BOOM STORYBOARD SOFTWARE
Grand Prize:
“Tanghi Argenti” (Guys Thys, Director; Anja Daelemas & Dries Phlypo, Producers) BELGIUM
First Place:
“Moi” (Yan England, Director/Producer) CANADA
Second Place:
“Partus” (Mikkel Munch-Fals, Director; Meta Louise Foldager, Producer) DENMARK
DIRECTORIAL DISCOVERY AWARD
“Matters of Life and Death” (Joseph Mazzello, Director; JJM Productions, Producer) USA
BEST ACTING AWARD
“Partus” (Bodil Jørgensen, Actor; Mikkel Munch-Fals, Director) DENMARK
INTERNATIONAL DISCOVERY AWARD
“Darkness of Truth” (Alicia Vikander, Actor; Kristian A Söderström, Director/Producer) SWEDEN
BEST FEATURE
Grand Prize:
“Just Like the Son” (Morgan J. Freeman, Director; Gill Holland, Jamin O'Brien and Matt Parker Producers) USA
First Place:
“The Man from Earth” (Richard Schenkman, Director; Emerson Bixby, Executive Producer; Eric D. Wilkinson & Richard Schenkman, Producers) USA
Second Place:
“Last Stop for Paul” (Neill Mandt, Director; Marc Carter & Neill Mandt, Producers) USA
BEST ANIMATION
SPONSORED BY TOON BOOM STUDIO
Grand Prize:
“For the Love of God” (Joe Tucker, Director; Raphael Warner, Producer) UNITED KINGDOM
First Place:
“Everything Will Be OK” (Don Hertzfeldt, Director/Producer) USA
Second Place:(TIE)
“Mirage” (Youngwoong Jang, Director/Producer) USA
“Voodoo Bayou” (Javier Gutierrez, Director; Susana Jacques, Producer) MEXICO
BEST COMEDY SHORT
Grand Prize:
“The Happiest Day of His Life” (Ursula Burton, Director; Five Sisters Productions, Producer) USA
First Place:
“Shrinks” (Gregg Brown, Director/Producer) USA
Second Place:
“The Blacksmith and the Carpenter” (Chris Redish, Director; Aaron Kes, Producer) USA
BEST EDITING
Grand Prize:
“The Union: The Business Behind Getting High” (Stephen Green, Editor; Brett Harvey, Director; Adam Scorgie, Kieran MaGuire, Stephen Green, Producers) CANADA
First Place:
“Moi” (Philippe Gagnon, Editor; Yan England, Director/Producer) CANADA
Second Place: (TIE)
“Wednesday” (Leo King, Editior; Rob Sorrenti, Director) UNITED KINGDOM
“The 5:22” (John Farbrother, Editor; Bernadette Demisay, Director) USA
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Grand Prize:
“Vanaja” (Milton Kam, Cinematographer; Rajnesh Domalpalli, Director; Latha R. Domalapalli & Andrew Lund, Producers) INDIA
First Place:
“Pismo” (The Letter) (Roger Singh, Cinematographer; Matvei Zhivov, Director; Andrei Fedulov, Producer) RUSSIA
Second Place:
“Last Day of December” - Bogdan George Apetri, Cinematographer; Bogdan George Apetri, Director/Producer) ROMANIA
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Grand Prize:
“Soldiers of Conscience” (Gary Weimberg & Catherine Ryan, Directors/Producers) USA
First Place:
“Been Down that Muddy Road” (Carol Carimi Acutt, Director; Robin Acutt, Producer; Rebekah Fry and Aaron Fuchs-Co-Producers) USA
Second Place: (TIE)
“The Wonder of It All” (Jeffrey Roth, Director; Stephen Beck, Gregory Schwartz, Paul Basta, & Jeffrey Roth, Producers) USA
“The Dhamma Brothers” (Andrew Kukura, Jenny Phillips & Anne Marie Stein, Directors; Freedom Behind Bars Productions & Northern Light Productions, Producers) USA
RIIFF ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS AWARD
Grand Prize:
“Escape from Suburbia” (Gregory Greene, Director) CANADA
BEST EXPERIMENTAL
Grand Prize:
“Twee Dromen” (Arend Steenbergen, Director/Producer) NETHERLANDS
First Place:
“Happily Ever After” (Lidia Sheinin, Director; Gary Cohen & Lidia Sheinin Producer) USA
Second Place: (TIE)
“Arthur’s Paradise” (Luc Beauchamp, Director; Producer) CANADA
“Arrivals” (Naomi Jaye, Director; Jennifer St. John, Producer) CANADA
BEST SCORE
Grand Prize:
“Half-Life: A Journey to Chernobyl” (Dmitri Tchamovouf, Composer; David Bickerstaff, Sound Design; David Bickerstaff and Phil Grabsky, Directors; Phil Grabsky, Seventh Art Productions, Producer) UNITED KINGDOM
First Place:
“Voodoo Bayou” (Rodrigo Barbera, Composer; Javier Gutierrez, Director; Susana Jacques, Producer) MEXICO
Second Place:
“Secondhand” (Pepe) (Luke Fischbeck, Composer; Hanna Shell & Vanessa Bertozzi Directors; Hanna Shell, Producer) CANADA
ALTERNATIVE SPIRIT
Grand Prize:
“Back Soon” “Rob Williams, Director; Rob Williams, Rodney Johnson, & Matthew Montgomery, Producers) USA
First Place:
"Gódir Gestir" (Family Reunion) (Isold Uggadottir, Writer/Director; Stephanie Perdomo and Fura Johannesdottir, Producers) ICELAND
Second Place:
“Red Without Blue” (Benita Sills, Brooke Sebold, Todd Sills, Directors/Producers) USA
BEST SCREENPLAY (Top Prize winner receives Final Draft Software)
Grand Prize:
“Man from Earth” (Jerome Bixby, Screenwriter; Richard Schenkman, Director; Emerson Bixby, Executive Producer; Eric D. Wilkinson & Richard Schenkman, Producers) USA
First Place:
“Personal Spectator” (Carol Frechette & Emmanuel Jespers, Screenwriters; Emannuel Jespers, Director/Producer) BELGIUM
Second Place:
“One Last Drink Before Morning” (Paolo Giuseppe Cabrielli & David McDonagh, Screenwriters; JD Kelleher, Director/Producer) UNITED KINGDOM
KIDSEYE™ INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL [Films Made BY Kids]
(TIE)
SPONSORED BY TOON BOOM STUDIO
Grand Prize:
“Project Kick Talk” (Aaron Kohn, Director/Producer) USA
“Western Spaghetti” (Joe Procopio, Director/Producer) CANADA
KIDSEYE™ INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL [Films Made FOR Kids]
Grand Prize:
“Mondmann (Moonman)” (Fritz Bohm, Director) GERMANY
First Place:
“Her Best Move” (Norm Hunter, Director) USA
Second Place:
“Chinese Dumplings” (Michelle Hung, Director) USA
New England Student Competition
Grand Prize:
“Brandon” (Rachel Israel, Director/Producer) USA
First Place:
“Tuesday Morning” (Brian Singele, Director/Producer) USA
Second Place:
“Little White Flowers” (Christopher Messing, Director/Producer) USA
PROVIDENCE FILM FESTIVAL (for local filmmakers of Rhode Island)
Grand Prize:
“Strongest Ever” (Jacqueline Willemsen, Christopher Lavigne, Ben Crane, Colleen Evans, Producers) USA
First Place:
“The Times Were Never So Bad: The Life of Andre Dubus” (Edward J. Delaney, Director/Producer) USA
Second Place:
“The Strange Case of Marie France” (Till Newmann, Director; Vin Fraioli, Frank Miele & Adam McClelland, Producers) USA
Viola M. Marshall Audience Choice Awards
Best Documentary
Grand Prize:
"From the 50 Yard Line" (Doug Lantz, Director) USA
1st Place:
"Italian Americans and Federal Hill" (Jon Raben, Director) USA
Best Feature
Grand Prize:
"Body/Antibody" (Kerry Douglas Dye, Jordan Hoffman, Directors) USA
First Place:
“Her Best Move” (Norm Hunter, Director) USA
Best Short
Grand Prize:
"Driftwood" (Michelle Steffes, Director) USA
1st Place:
“The Strange Case of Marie France” (Till Newmann, Director; Vin Fraioli, Frank Miele & Adam McClelland, Producers) USA
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