RHODE ISLAND FILM FORUM HONORS LOCAL FILMMAKERS & FEATURES CONVERSATION WITH PRODUCERS OF UPCOMING $16M PAZ MOVIE
Programming heads from Tribeca and Montreal Nouveau Cinema share Festival secrets
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Providence, RI – July 31, 2013—Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) will offer members of the local filmmaking community an opportunity to meet and ask questions of some true stars of the Rhode Island film industry at its RI Film Forum, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013. Aspiring filmmakers and those already in the business can network with the most prolific filmmakers in the State, find out how to be a part of their movie-making magic, and learn about new aspects of the industry.
The Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF), in conjunction with the Rhode Island Film & Television Office and The Harrington School of Communication and Media at URI, will host this year’s Film Forum in the Providence Biltmore Hotel Ballroom on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013, beginning with registration at 8:30 a.m., followed by a buffet breakfast and networking at 9 a.m. and panels from 10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.Dr. J. Scott Oberacker, RIIFF Educational Outreach Director, will serve as the event emcee.
The Film Forum is a region-wide educational workshop focused on bringing film production to the Ocean State and creating a constructive dialogue about the future of the film industry. The Forum will consist of three panels: Steven FeinbergPresents Conversations with Rhode Island Filmmakers Chad A. Verdi and Tom DeNucci; New Technology and Transmedia; and Road to the Academy: Programming a Festival.
Panelists include Gary Glassman of Providence Pictures; filmmaker Patricia Chica;Sharon Badal of Tribeca Film Festival; Nicolas Girard Deltruc of Festival du Nouveau Cinema; producer/director, Andrew Lund, Canadian filmmaker, Joseph Procopio,filmmaker Jonathan Friesem, and RIIFF Program Director, Shawn Quirk.
At the conclusion of the first panel, Film Office Executive Director Steven Feinbergwill present the RHODE ISLAND “PRODUCER OF THE YEAR” AWARD to Chad A. Verdi. The RI Producer of the Year Award was created this year to recognize someone who really knows what it means to produce—in both quantity and quality—in the Ocean State. Mr. Verdi’s homegrown East Greenwich company, Verdi Productions/Woodhaven
Production Company, has produced six feature films in Rhode Island over the past four years. His most ambitious project to date, “Bleed For This,” is the story of Vinny Paz, and will begin principal photography in Rhode Island this fall with Oscar winnersMartin Scorcese as Executive Producer and Bruce Cohen as Producer.
Mr. Verdi’s two most recent productions, “A Bet’s A Bet” and “Army Of The Damned,” have just wrapped. His two previous films, “Infected” and “Self Storage,” are being released through Screen Media and each will reach over 100,000,000 homes through Universal’s VOD platform.
Mr. Verdi has worked with talent including Kristen Chenoweth, Mena Suvari, Jonathan Silverman, Kenan Thompson, Eric Roberts, Robert Englund, William Forsythe and many others, while maintaining a commitment to developing and nurturing the talents of local actors and filmmakers in Rhode Island and building an industry right here in the Ocean State.
Steven Feinberg stated, “Over the past four years, Chad and his talented team have consistently invested in Rhode Island, putting hundreds of citizens to work, utilizing local resources and building a filmmaking foundation. He has created an amazing infrastructure by mentoring students and helping local crew learn the business from the ground up.” He added, “Chad has one of the most aggressive production schedules we have ever seen. He plans to produce six feature films locally over the next twenty-four months. With his proven track record, we know he will succeed. We could not be more proud of him for making so many dreams come true for so many Rhode Islanders in our beautiful Ocean State.”
The ROBERT ALDRICH “NEW DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR” AWARD will be presented to Tom DeNucci. Robert Burgess Aldrich, of Cranston, RI, was a successful director of many feature films and utilized a variety of genres to tell his stories. His films included “The Longest Yard,” “The Dirty Dozen,” “Flight of the Phoenix,” “Hush,” and countless others. Robert Aldrich began his career in Cranston, RI, and ultimately rose in the Hollywood ranks to be the President of the Directors Guild of America, serving from 1975-1979. This Award is presented to a director who has begun his career in Rhode Island and is following in the footsteps of Robert Aldrich, preparing to make a lasting mark on the industry.
“Tom is one of the brightest new creative forces with his work in front of the camera, as well as behind the camera,” said Feinberg. “Most recently, Tom has written and directed the genre films “Self Storage” and “Army Of The Damned,” and executive produced “A Bet’s A Bet.” A true professional who always remembers his roots, Tom continues to mentor young filmmakers and actors while his career launches into the moviemaking stratosphere.”
The Forum is free to all filmmakers with films in the Festival and $25.00 for the general public. Additional information about the 2013 Rhode Island Film Forum can be found online at www.RIFilmFest.org
ABOUT THE RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL:
The FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF), has secured its place in the global community as the portal for the best in international independent cinema, earning the respect of domestic and foreign filmmakers, filmgoers and trend watchers. This confluence of art and commerce brought together world-class celebrities, award- winning filmmakers, new talent and audience members in record numbers last year. Ranked as one of the top 12 Festivals in the United States, RIIFF is also a qualifying festival for the Short Film Academy Award through its affiliation with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Only 75 film festivals worldwide share this distinction and RIIFF is the sole festival in New England to have this honor. The Festival takes place every August. For more information about the festival, please visitwww.rifilmfest.org.
