There’s Something About Rhody

Flickers art by artist Jillian Lauren. @JillianLauren.Art on Instagram.

The Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) left a positive impression on all who came out. From star studded appearances on the red carpet to budding filmmakers showcasing their work, RIIFF brought Hollywood’s glitzy-glam influence to the smallest state. Read on to see how festival director Shawn Quirk and Director of Community Engagement and Development Ericka Atwell-Cardona helped RIIFF make its impression on filmmakers, press and audience members, and how this year solidified RIIFF as being up there with the festival greats.

The festival kicked off on Aug. 5 at the Providence Performing Arts Center where eight short films premiered to an almost sold-out crowd. Guests enjoyed light bites and beverages, provided by Iggy’s Doughboys & Chowder House, The Elliot, and Casa Azul. Big Nazo “crashed” the prescreening reception, allowing attendees to take photos with the iconic giant puppets. PPAC’S artistic charm made it the perfect venue to roll out the red carpet, mingle and watch the independent films. Steven Feinberg, Executive Director of the RI Film and Television office, attended and watched the night unfold and praised the minds who made it all happen.

“It’s such a prestigious film festival and you’re really not going to find better screening venues. Tonight, we’re here at opening night at PPAC, which is like a palace,” says Feinberg. “Shawn Quirk does an amazing job at curating the films and Ericka Atwell-Cardona has brought in some great people to elevate the festival. It’s the best of the best at this festival this year.”

(Left to right) Alan Chile, Steve Feinberg, Ericka Atwell-Cardona and Shawn Quirk at opening night. Photo Courtesy of the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

Atwell-Cardona and her production company EJOYA Productions connected with legendary Hollywood entertainment industry names to be involved in the festival’s daily panels. Each day saw different panels offering something for everyone. Discussions included an actors and directors panel, casting directors panel, and sales, strategy and packaging panel, among others. Atwell-Cardona’s more than ten years in Hollywood prepped her to take on the role of booking panelists through the connections she made on the West Coast.

 “This year at RIIFF showcased the culmination of years building in Hollywood, bringing top industry leaders—from Wayfarer Studios, AGBO, and Sony etc. to casting legends like Deb Aquila—right to Rhode Island. Through EJOYA Productions’ partnership and sponsorship, we hosted panels that pulled back the curtain on the business of film and emphasized the power of community,” says Atwell-Cardona. “True leadership means putting the ladder down, and the industry we brought here did just that—uplifting and empowering talent while leaving a lasting impact and building strong industry ties for the future.”

Coffee Talk’s Scout Lyons with The Roaring Game cast Vanessa Angel, Darin Brooks and Antwon Tanner.

Each day of the festival started bright and early with Coffee Talk, a live video interview series featuring prominent personalities in the industry joining for a deep dive into their work. RIIFF’s social media team consisting of Scout Lyons and Zack Koehler along with RIIFF staff member Grey Simmons, produced the morning show, with Lyons conducting majority of the interviews. Koehler and Simmons made sure everything went smoothly on the backend. Koehler and Lyons handled all social media marketing this year, generating buzz surrounding the festival and ensuring as many eyes as possible saw the creative, promotional posts.

“This year we wanted to make sure we showcased all of the exciting new additions to the festival and that what we posted represented the nature of what RIIF is,” says Lyons. “This is one of the most amazing weeks of the year here in Rhode Island and it was our job to convey that and make the festival look as enticing as possible.”

Ericka Atwell-Cardona talking with Richard Arlook, founder of The Arlook Group. Photo Courtesy of the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

Wednesday morning is when the actors’ and directors’ panel took place, which included actors Justin Russo and Gabriel Sousa and directors Tom DeNucci and Manya Glassman. DeNucci has been a key figure in the Rhode Island film scene for years, working frequently with Verdi Productions to direct films such as Vault starring Theo Rossi, and Johnny and Clyde starring Megan Fox. For DeNucci, there’s no place like Lil Rhody to bring his scripts and ideas to life.

“The truth is, I don’t like to drive more than fifteen minutes and the nice thing about Rhode Island is, you can really get to anywhere in the state in fifteen to twenty minutes,” says DeNucci.“So, for my agoraphobia and a million other reasons, I love Rhode Island filmmaking and I hope the filmmakers who traveled to this festival get to see how special our state is for filmmaking.”

Tom DeNucci with Vanessa Angel at opening night. Photo courtesy of The Rhode Island International Film Festival.

Rhode Island-raised Ron Truppa shared his wisdom on Saturday morning during the master film finance class. Truppa, who now resides in Los Angeles and is the co-founder of the Catalina Film Festival, aims to make the journey back to his home state for the festival whenever he can. This year though, Truppa was ecstatic to see the facelift the festival had undergone.

“I love what they’re doing. I think the way that Shawn and Ericka have taken the gauntlet and run with it is really special. There’s a new energy where everyone’s just coming together to make this beautiful experience that Rhode Island deserves,” says Truppa. “Our state has to be shown a certain way to the rest of the world, so they know how amazing it is. It’s these types of events that give you that opportunity to shine light not only on just the culture and the art and the beautiful films that you can discover but on our beautiful state too, so hats off to them because they’re really doing it.”

The cast of The Roaring Game at the premiere. Photo courtesy of the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

Chad Verdi Jr., Steve Feinberg and Chad Verdi Sr. at the premiere of The Roaring Game. Photo courtesy of the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

The Veterans Memorial Auditorium was bustling Saturday night, as director Tom DeNucci’s first ever comedy premiered to a packed house as part of the festivals fourth day. Produced by Verdi Productions, the film had a heavy hitter cast with big names like Mickey Rourke, Rob Gronkowski, Vanessa Angel and Justin Chatwin all appearing in the curling flick. Angel, who has worked on numerous movies with DeNucci and the Verdi’s, praised the festival and our small state.

“When I say this, I’m being really genuine, I love it here. It’s to the point where I might move here. I’ve grown to love Verdi Productions, and it feels like an extended family,” says Angel. “I love Rhode Island, and I love Providence. We actually had the premiere of Kingpin in Newport almost thirty years ago now. So, I feel like it’s just the right frequency place for me to be.”

Filmmaker Eden Kennedy and festival intern Maya Kelly at the Rooftop at the Providence G after party. Photo courtesy of the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

Every night, once the last film finished screening, an after party took place at various stellar party spots around Providence. Medici was the setting for opening night’s after party, where the Providence Drum Troupe put on an interactive performance, pulling audience members on stage to hula hoop and pound on drums. Wednesday’s after party invited attendees to dance the night away while sipping on drinks provided by sponsors Heineken and Bulleit Bourbon at Sport and Leisure. Thursday night’s party was at Black Sheep, where Ketel One and Casamigos tastings were offered. The mingling continued Friday night at Rooftop at the Providence G, inviting attendees to take the cityscape. Saturday’s after party was at blu violet roof bar at the Aloft Hotel, where attendees overlooked the full WaterFire lighting taking place below. RIIFF’s event planner Tara Williams set up all the locations and coordinated special offerings at each.

The festival came to a close Sunday with a breakfast awards ceremony, screenings throughout the day and one final after party at Bayberry Garden to give filmmakers and the festival a proper send off. Manya Glassman, who has premiered her films at the festival for over a decade now, and screened her Spike Lee-executive produced film at RIIFF this year, won The Marlyn Mason Award for new voices, new perspectives by women in film at the awards ceremony. Glassman has always loved the genuine nature of the festival, noting how the audiences at RIIFF are all movie lovers looking to find their next favorite film.

“It’s real audience members that want to watch movies that are not necessarily in the film world per se, which is so incredibly valuable as a filmmaker to have people who are real humans reacting to the films,” says Glassman. “I got incredible responses from people about how my film basically touched them and related to their lives in so many ways. People were coming up to me and telling me these incredibly intimate and moving moments in their lives that resonated with the film, so I feel incredibly lucky to have screened at RIIFF and be fulfilled as a filmmaker.”

Winners in attendance at this years breakfast awards ceremony. Photo courtesy of the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

Coming from the smallest state in the country, how can the accomplishments of the RIIFF team be ignored? There’s something to be said about Rhode Islanders and their go-getter mentality. Give us a Pride event and we’ll make it the second largest in the country. Give us a folk festival and we’ll turn it into one of the most iconic in the world. Give us a chance to prove ourselves to the film community, and we’ll blow it out of the water. This festival proved a lot this year, but one thing is for sure, never underestimate what the people of Little Rhody can do.

“With over 300 filmmakers attending in person, coupled with an impressive list of VIP industry guests/panelists, this year’s festival has left a profound impact on the independent film world,” says Quirk. “I look forward to seeing how our amazing team continues to develop things further as we head into Flickers’ forty-fourth season.”

For more about the festival and to see the full list of winners, visit their website here.