The Film Festivals of New England, Part Two
Written by K. Correia | Posted by: NewEnglandFilm.com
Successful festivals are those supported by the community in which they take place and by the people they represent. In order to get a better understanding of these people and their festivals, let’s take a brief look at five of the festivals that make up New England.
NEW HAMPSHIRE FILM FESTIVAL – PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE
What started as a grassroots organization called the New Hampshire Film Expo has become one of the largest and nationally recognized film festivals in New England. Now in its 12th year, the New Hampshire Film Festival (NHFF) takes place each October after Columbus Day; this year, it will run from October 11th thru the 14th.
The NHFF prides itself on bringing together international, independent, and award-winning films, filmmakers, industry leaders, students, and film enthusiasts all in a single weekend. The films are hand selected and many are followed by question & answer sessions with the filmmaker and panel discussions. The NHFF also features a Young Filmmakers workshop for 14-18 year olds in which they learn about script writing and production. Their final film is then screened during the closing night ceremonies.
The Festival also features a screenwriting competition. The judge of this year’s screenwriting competition is New Hampshire native and novelist Joyce Maynard. In addition to the awards given to the participants, the Grand Prize winner will also receive an all-inclusive week long writer’s retreat at the Star Island Family Retreat and Conference Center located on Star Island in Gosport Harbor, New Hampshire.
Also scheduled to appear at this year’s festival is Boston born and New Hampshire raised actor & writer Mike O’Malley who is promoting his new film CERTAINTY, about a couple participating in a Pre Cana retreat before they marry in the Roman Catholic Church. The film will premier in New Hampshire on October 11th and is slated to open in New York at the end of November.
Director & actor Tommy Chong is also scheduled to be in attendance at the festival promoting his new film, CHEECH AND CHONG’S ANIMATED MOVIE. His daughter is actress Rae Dawn Chong, who is a NHFF board member.
Although it is one of the final festivals of the year, the New Hampshire Film Festival is not one to be missed. It is a prominent festival that brings together filmmakers and watchers from around the country. As indicated on their website, this festival is a “celebration.”
Want to know more? Visit their website, and check out their NewEnglandFilm.com Festival selections: Anywhere But Here, Dirty Night Clowns, In Danger of Being Discovered, and Thule (also a selection of the SNOB Film Festival).
MAINE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL — WATERVILLE, MAINE
The Maine International Film Festival (MIFF) has been an annual event in Waterville, Maine and venues reaching into Bangor for the last 15 years. The ten day festival, which takes place during the month of July, takes an active part in showcasing films made by Maine filmmakers and films that carry New England themes or settings. In addition to these, the MIFF also features a great number of independent and international films including documentaries, short films, and films for children.
However, the real story of the MIFF is behind the scenes of the festival. In 1978, the Railroad Square Cinema, the central theatre housing the MIFF, was born out of a rundown railroad warehouse and a community’s love of film. In the years that followed, the cinema grew in spectatorship, not only from Waterville, but from all over Maine, thanks to its blending of new and classic films.
When the theatre faced economic difficulty in the late 1980’s, the Maine Film Center, which at the time was called the Friends of Art and Film in Central Maine, stepped in with aid. The Friends of Art and Film was founded in 1986, by a community dedicated to the arts and film, as a non-profit organization. The organization held fundraisers and film showings to promote audience attendance at the Cinema. The organization also stepped in to help rebuild the Cinema after a devastating fire in 1994.
In 1998, the organization further solidified its commitment to film in Maine with the creation of the Maine International Film Festival. The festival is now considered one of the top festivals in New England and the Railroad Square Cinema has been named one of the top five cinemas in America according to Yankee Magazine.
What started out as a community’s love of film and a converted warehouse has evolved into Maine’s premier showcase of film. There is no question that community’s passion for film makes the Maine International Film Festival one of the best in New England and one likely to keep thriving.
Want to know more? Visit their website, and check out their NewEnglandFilm.com Festival selections: Stranded, Kids of the World, and Baby Blue.
RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL — PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND
The Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) also known as Flickers, for the Arts Collaborative that produces the festival, has been a major presence in the festival scene for the last ten years since it became a qualifying festival in the short film category for the Academy Awards. This means that if a short film wins at the RIIFF, it qualifies for an Academy Award nomination. The festival itself was originally started in 1997 by George T. Marshall, founder of the Flickers Arts Collaborative, and has grown extensively over the years.
The festival receives films from across the country and from around the world and accepts films of any type and genre. The option to submit a film for competition or not in competition is also available. The festival’s goal, according to their website is “to recognize achievement and innovation in a variety of filmmaking storytelling disciplines while providing an opportunity to secure wider distribution.” It is a festival about creating opportunities, whether it be making or re-solidifying connections in the industry, having your work promoted, or even putting you on the road for an Academy Award.
However, these opportunities are not only for the filmmaker, both also for those aspiring to be filmmakers or be in some part of the industry. The KidsEye Summer Filmmaking Camp, which is sponsored by the RIIFF, is one such event allowing children ages 8 – 16 the opportunity to learn the different aspects of the three phases of production from trained filmmakers. The finished film is then premiered during the RIIFF in August.
The RIIFF is already accepting entries for the 2013 festival. As the only festival in New England designated a qualifying event for short film category of the Academy Awards, it is an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed and a festival that is certainly worth being a part of.
Want to know more? Visit their website, and check out their NewEnglandFilm.com Festival selections: It Is What It Is and The Life Smugglers.
SOMEWHAT NORTH OF BOSTON FILM FESTIVAL — CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Somewhat North Of Boston Film Festival, affectionately known by its acronym SNOB, has been a staple in the New England Film Festival scene since 2002. Scheduled to take place during the month of November this year, SNOB’s self-described mission is to “showcase and support independent filmmaking in the region. All proceeds from the fest are used to support the arts.” In addition to regional films, SNOB also accepts short films, feature length films, documentary films, animated films, and trailers.
As well as the standard submitted films, SNOB also holds a Filmmakers Challenge in which filmmakers are given the task to come up with a quick film on a topic of the festival’s choosing. The selected films are then shown at the festival during the previews. This year, the challenge is to develop a 30 second film on the courtesy of silencing your cellphone before the start of a film.
The Festival also hosts KNOB, Kids North Of Boston film session, a program that gives young filmmakers the opportunity to see their film in a theatre and in front of an audience. Giving filmmakers, regardless of their age, an opportunity to showcase their work in a meaningful way, is what SNOB is all about, making the filmmaker feel like a filmmaker.
The festival is being held this year at the Red Rivers Theatre in downtown Concord. The theatre, like the festival, is a non-profit community supported establishment. A non-profit theatre and a Festival made up of volunteers that can still come up with thoughtful and quality programing is one that cannot be missed. Don’t be a Snob, go to SNOB.
Want to know more? Visit their website, and check out their NewEnglandFilm.com Festival selections: Buddy Love, Running the Rockpile, and Thule (also a selection of the New Hampshire Film Festival).
WAM! BOSTON FILM FESTIVAL — CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
Celebrating its 3rd festival this coming March, the Women, Action, and the Media or WAM! Boston Film Festival is dedicated to promoting women filmmakers. The two day festival, to be held at the Brattle Theatre, seeks to challenge the “status quo by showcasing the latest films by up-and-coming female filmmakers,” according to the festival’s website.
The Festival accepts both short and feature length films in all genres with the prerequisite that the film must be either directed or produced by a female-identifying or genderqueer filmmaker and the topic of the film should feature women and or genderqueer people. The film must also have been released in 2010 or later. The festival pays particular attention to films whose filmmakers who can attend the festival to discuss their work.
The Boston chapter of WAM! itself was originally started in 2004 in an effort to support gender justice in media. Since then, the organization has worked to advance women’s media participation and representation. A recent article in The Wrap TV referred to a study done by San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, where it was concluded that only 26% of the top behind the scenes jobs on television were held by women.
WAM! works to foster the collaboration between individuals and groups in hopes to educate the public with regards to the inadequate representation of women and minority groups. The goal is to increase that percentage of jobs held by women to a more balanced number. It is a challenge not only relevant to WAM!, but one we should all reflect on and pursue.
Want to know more? Visit their website, and check out their NewEnglandFilm.com Festival selections: What Do You Know?, The Passenger, and Birthmarkings.
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Festival Spotlight: Kids of the World
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The Film Festivals of New England, Part One
