Statewide Screenings Focus on the Art of the Documentary

PROVIDENCE, RI (March 24, 2007)-- The Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) is proud to present its third annual Roving Eye Documentary Film Festival™. This month-long celebration of international documentaries will screen at locations across the state, including:  Westerly, Richmond, Providence, Warwick, Bristol, and Smithfield. A selection of short and feature documentaries will be shown and all screenings, unless otherwise noted, will be free of charge and open to the public.

“In keeping with the theme of this year’s film festival, the buzz word is ‘discovery’,” commented Adam Short, Roving Eye’s Producing Director. “We have films from across the globe, including a great series of award winning docs out of China’s prestigious Guangzhou Documentary Film Festival. Through film, our audiences will be exploring compelling ideas, new visions, and fresh perspectives.” 

The diverse lineup of films will feature two documentaries by Oscar nominated filmmakers Adrian and Roco Belic: “Beyond the Call” and “Genghis Blues”.  In collaboration with the Guangzhou Documentary Film Festival and the US-China Institute, Bryant University will host a series of Chinese documentaries covering topics about the environment, the Olympics, and Confucius’ legacy.

In addition to film, there will be several discussions on themes related to the documentary screenings. The Warwick Art Museum – on April 26th – will host a seminar on the restoration and preservation of historic houses. Audience members are encouraged to participate in the discussion, which will be filmed for possible inclusion in an upcoming documentary on the subject. On April 22nd at Bryant University, the US-China Institute and Department of Science and Technology will be organizing a panel discussion on the environment and China. For more details, please see the Programming Schedule below.

The Roving Eye Documentary Film Festival™ and its programs have been sponsored in part by grants and underwriting from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, the Flickers Arts Collaborative, and the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities; event partners include The US-China Institute at Bryant University, the Guangzhou Documentary Film Festival, Roger Williams University, the Providence Public Library, the Westerly Public Library, the Clark Memorial Library, and the Warwick Museum of Art; corporate support from WJAR TV 10, Clear Channel Communications, New England Entertainment Digest, Columbus Theatre Arts Center, and private contributions.

For more information about films, dates, and venues for the Roving Eye Documentary Film Festival™, please call 401-861-4445, email adams@film-festival.org, or visit www.rifilmfest.org.

ROVING EYE DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL

2008 PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2ND, 2008

4:00 pm – Roger Williams University, CAS157

One Old Ferry Road, Bristol; (401) 253-1040

GENGHIS BLUES

Directed by Roko Belic; USA/Mongolia (90 mins)

“Genghis Blues” tells the story of a Cape-Verdean American musician who journeys to Tannu Tuva, an obscure republic wedged between Mongolia and Siberia. There, nomadic people use unique vocal harmonies from deep within the throat to sing more than one note simultaneously.

As a bluesman, Paul Pena has devoted his life to music, having played with such greats as B. B. King and Bonnie Raitt. In the late 1980s, a recently widowed Pena stumbled across the sound of throat singing over a Radio Moscow shortwave program. Pena spent the next nine years perfecting the rare art form until, by chance, he was invited to the 1995 throat-singing symposium in Kyzyl. With support from the "Friends of Tuva," Pena makes the arduous journey to participate in the week-long, national throat singing competition.

In the deep, rumbling kargyraa style, Pena gives inspired vocal performances, composes songs in Tuvan, and washes his face in sacred rivers with his newfound friends. Academy Award Nominee and Winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s Audience Award, this is the story of a man whose struggle in life is not defined by limitations, but by an unquenchable curiosity and love of music.

This program is free to the general public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

SATURDAY, APRIL 5TH, 2008

3:00 pm – Bryant University, Janikie Auditorium

150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield; (401) 232-6000

Ghuangzhou Documentary Film Festival presents:

SHANGHAI QUEST

Directed by Kim Taylor; China (79 mins)

With the American Dream stood on its head, “Shanghai Quest” follows the aspirations of three individuals:  Tom, an English e-entrepreneur; Benji, a Mormon from Utah who sings Canto-pop; and Casey, a nightclub and rave-party organizer from LA, as they bump and grind their way to the top in Shanghai.  The Paris of the Orient in the 20s and 30s, Shanghai is now the New York of the Far East.  These three Westerners abandon their respective lands of opportunity to try and "make it" in China.  The film provides an open view of contemporary urban China and the astonishing rate at which the city has undergone a "lifestyle revolution" since the economic reforms of 1992.  “Shanghai Quest” takes a look at the transformed, modern Chinese economy from the inside, through the unique love-hate relationship of three outsiders with this scintillating city.  If they can make it there, they'll make it anywhere...

This program is free to the general public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

SUNDAY, APRIL 6TH, 2008

2:00 pm  - Providence Public Library

150 Empire Street, Providence; (401) 455-8000

INDESTRUCTIBLE

Directed by Ben Byer; USA (117 mins)

After being diagnosed with a fatal neurodegenerative disease, single father and filmmaker Ben Byer begins to document his life on camera. What begins as a series of video diaries grows into an epic journey spanning three years and six countries. From a monastery high atop the mountains of Northwest China to the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem, he scours the globe looking for answers - and a cure.  A cinematic adventure filled with extraordinary characters, breathtaking landscapes and abundant humor, Indestructible is beautifully shot by Academy Award™ nominee Roko Belic (Genghis Blues, Beyond the Call).  In his first feature film, Byer ignites the screen with a visually stunning global quest to survive.

This program is free to the general public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9TH, 2008

4:00 pm – Roger Williams University, CAS157

One Old Ferry Road, Bristol; (401) 253-1040

Ghuangzhou Documentary Film Festival presents:

SHANGHAI QUEST

(Please see SAT 4/5 for a film description)

This program is free to the general public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

FRIDAY, APRIL 11TH, 2008

8:00 pm – Columbus Theater Cinematheque

270 Broadway, Providence; (401) 621-9660

RIIFF08 Sneak Peek:

BEYOND THE CALL

Directed by Adrian Belic; USA (88 mins)

Ed Artis, James Laws and Walt Ratterman are three middle-aged men whose idea of adventure is taking desperately needed food and medicine to communities devastated by natural disasters and plagued by war.  In 1995, they formed Knightsbridge International, a unique humanitarian aid organization, whose motto is 'High Adventure and Service to Humanity.' Artis explains: 'We're not there to change anybody's politics, we're not in the God business, and we pay our own way.' As Laws tells it simply, “We do what we can, when we can, because we can.”

  These former soldiers and modern day knights travel the world delivering life saving humanitarian aid directly into the hands of civilians in some of the most dangerous yet beautiful places on Earth. Winner of thirty awards, this “Mother Teresa meets Indiana Jones” adventure has screened at over eighty film festivals on five continents.

$10 admission, $8 for members and seniors

THURSDAY, APRIL 17TH, 2008

7:00 pm – Clark Memorial Library

7 Pinehurst Drive, Carolina; (401) 364-6100

GENGHIS BLUES

(Please see WEDS 4/2 for a film description)

This program is free to the general public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

SATURDAY, APRIL 19TH, 2008

3:00 pm – Warwick Art Museum

3259 Post Road Apponaug Village, Warwick; (401) 737-0010

GLIMPSES OF HEAVEN

Directed by Michael Oved Dayan; Canada (67 mins)

As a small child, Peter Gary lay helpless while Nazis murdered his mother. Left to die in a desolate forest with only a handful of other survivors, Gary narrowly escaped his own extermination on Christmas Eve in 1941.  During the Japanese invasion of China, Wayne Ngan fled to Canada at the age of 13. Unable to speak the language and exposed to snow for the first time, Ngan lived with alcoholic grandparents who mirrored the environment's icy welcome.  George Littlechild was separated from his family as a baby when the Canadian government determined that indigenous people were incapable of providing for themselves. As a result, his youth is marked by painful memories of physical and mental abuse at the hands of white foster families assigned to care for him.  Michael Oved Dayan's award winning, directorial debut is starkly shot and told directly from the source, weaving three profoundly personal journeys into one intimate narrative of survival. Glimpses of Heaven chronicles the heroic journey from past suffering to create beauty and harmony in the present.

Suggested donation of $10 is requested.

SATURDAY, APRIL 22ND, 2008

6:30 pm – Bryant University, Bello Grand Hall

150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield; (401) 232-6000

Ghuangzhou Documentary Film Festival presents:

LIVE WITH SHAME

Directed by Jin Huaqing; China (26 mins)

There is a small town that has a twenty-year history of dismantling and decomposing metal scraps.  More than 50,000 migrant workers are the driving force of the industry.  They make money that would otherwise be impossible to realize during their lifetime in their hometown; but the hazardous work has taken a heavy toll from them. 

“Live with Shame” will be shown with the feature-length fictional narrative “Still Life” by Jia Zhangke (China, winner of the Grand Prize at the 2006 Venice Film Festival).

The screening will be preceded by an afternoon symposium Earth Day 2008 at Bryant: China and the Environment.  Presented by The U.S.-China Institute, The Confucius Institute, and The Department of Science and Technology of Bryant University.  For more information or to reserve a place at the symposium, please R.S.V.P. via email at china@bryant.edu by April 17.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23RD, 2008

6:30 pm – Westerly Public Library

44 Broad Street, Westerly; (401) 596-2877

GENGHIS BLUES

(Please see WED 4/2 for a film description)

This program is free to the general public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

SATURDAY, APRIL 26TH, 2008

3:00 pm – Bryant University, Janikie Auditorium

150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield; (401) 232-6000

Ghuangzhou Documentary Film Festival presents:

LADY CONFUCIUS

Directed by Zhao Liang; China (45 mins)

The family tomb of Confucius is one of the oldest in the China.  Nestled in tranquil surroundings lie the bodies of the man regarded by the Chinese as the "Greatest Sage" and his male descendants.  But, the peace of this sacred resting place is about to be broken by Confucius’ 76th generation daughter, Kong Linghe, fighting for her place in a cemetery that only accepts the male descendants of Confucius and their wives.  Her quest has set an 84-year-old woman against the centuries-old traditions of China’s most important family.

This program is free to the general public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

SATURDAY, APRIL 26TH, 2008

7:00 pm – Warwick Art Museum

3259 Post Road Apponaug Village, Warwick; (401) 737-0010

Preview screening and discussion:

OLD HOUSE SOUL

Directed by Don Manley and Michel Schtakleff, USA (7 mins)

Don Manley and Michel Schtakleff will present a seven minute video clip of their documentary entitled “Old House Soul”.  They are researching the local history of architectural preservation with a focus on preservation architect Steve Tyson. Tyson and his firm, Architectural Preservation Group, have been fixtures of the Apponaug community for decades.  Steve’s work in Apponaug includes the Harrison house on Post Road south, the Caleb Gorton House on Greenwich Avenue, his shop on Meadow Street, and the Arnold house previously located near the Four Corners, which he saved from demolition by moving it to Buttonwoods.  He was also involved in the formation of the Apponaug Historic District and on Warwick’s Historic District Commission. After screening the trailer, Don and Michel, will welcome the audience’s input related to historic architectural preservation.  Audience commentary may be included in the final version of the film.

Additionally Don will speak of his experience moving an 1840s  house from Scituate to its current location in Foster. He also relocated the 19th century Bennett barn to the same property. The presentation is accompanied by a slide and video show.

$5 Suggested Admission (additional donations accepted).  All proceeds to benefit the Old House Soul Film Project

Seating limited & reservations required: Call George Shuster or Stephanie Van Patten to reserve your place, 737-1278

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30TH, 2008

6:30 pm – Westerly Public Library

44 Broad Street, Westerly; (401) 596-2877

RIIFF08 Sneak Peek:

ESCAPE FROM LUANDA

Directed by Phil Grabsky; UK/Africa (72 mins)

In the first and only school of its kind, within one of the world’s poorest and most dangerous places, three music students practice for a year-end concert. The Music School in Angola is home to some eighty students, most of whom are desperately poor. Many face disapproval and outright rejection from families who do not understand. A future in music seems impossible within a country ravaged by twenty-seven years of civil war.

But Joanna believes that “art is life!” She and the other students know this only too well. Music seems to be the only reason to move forward from heartbreaking memories and emotional trauma. To each of the students, music seems to offer a new life, a hope for the future, and a reason to dream.

This program is free to the general public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

ABOUT THE RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL:

The Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) discovers and empowers filmmakers.  Held in Providence, and locations throughout the state of Rhode Island, RIIFF is one of only a handful of festivals worldwide that is a qualifying event for the Academy Awards (i.e. “Oscars”).  RIIFF incorporates gala celebrations, premiere screenings, VIP guests, industry seminars, educational programs, and award ceremonies into a week long extravaganza.  Cited as one of the "Best International and Short Film Festivals in the United States," RIIFF is New England’s largest film festival, screening a record 300 films.  Its innovative programming, cultivated industry ties, and loyal audiences have made the Festival a strategic and desirable platform for film premieres, drawing hundreds of independent filmmakers from around the globe.  This year’s film festival will take place August 5 – 10th.  For more info or to order tickets, please visit us on the web at <www.RIFilmFest.org>.