5th Annual Ridgefield Independent Film Festival Announces Official 2020 Lineup for Live & Virtual Events
The Ridgefield Independent Film Festival announced today the official lineup for its 5th annual festival taking place October 14 – October 18, 2020 with in person screenings at the Ridgefield Theater Barn (37 Halpin Lane, Ridgefield CT), as well as an online program of both feature length and short films made available through a virtual event platform, allowing audience members the option of participating in the festival from their own homes.
Festival tickets & passes for live and virtual events available now at RIFFct.org
“We knew we would have to adapt the RIFF program due to the global pandemic this year. The good news is, we feel we’ve truly risen to the occasion by creating a fantastic hybrid program allowing for both live and virtual screening options. RIFF 2020 offers an array of exceptional films in various genres that we know will transport audiences to different worlds, and maybe even provide an escape from the actual world we’re currently living in,” says RIFF festival director Megan Smith-Harris.
RIFF has once again partnered with the Ridgefield Theatre Barn (RTB) and is working closely with them to create a safe, COVID-compliant live viewing experience for those who opt to attend screenings in person.
"The Barn is thrilled to be hosting RIFF again this year,” says RTB Executive Director Pamme Jones. “When the pandemic hit, one of the first calls we had was with Megan and we committed right then and there to making RIFF a reality in 2020. The festival brings world-class cinema and interaction with the filmmakers to Ridgefield and is a staple in the arts and culture scene here in town. We need the festival to go on!”
RIFF will also be embracing new technology to bring festival offerings to audience members at home through our Virtual Festival option.
OPENING NIGHT FILM: Kicking off the festival is the poignant and uplifting documentary Gay Chorus: Deep South, directed by David Charles. In response to a wave of discriminatory anti-LGBTQ laws in Southern states and the divisive 2016 election, the San Francisco Gay Man’s Chorus embarks on a tour of the American Deep South with expected and unexpected results, bringing a message of music, love, and acceptance to communities and individuals confronting intolerance.
(Wednesday, October 14 @ 6:30 pm, LIVE at RTB + Virtual Screening Option)
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Ever heard of a Sci-fi Documentary? Neither had we, until we screened I Am Human, directed by Taryn Southern and Elena Gaby. The film chronicles humanity’s quiet march down a new evolutionary path—where man and machine merge as one. How will this evolving technology change what it means to be human, and more importantly, are we ready? A mind-boggling, informative, and ultimately, hopeful film.
(Thursday, October 15 @ 7:30 pm, LIVE at RTB + Virtual Screening Option)
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: The Hoy Boys, directed by David Simonds, tells the remarkable story of working class twin brothers Tom and Frank Hoy, who worked their way up from copyboys to award-winning photojournalists for two major Washington DC newspapers—The Washington Post and The Evening Star. Their iconic work takes us back to the pre-digital era when American read actual newspapers and facts mattered.
Post screening Q&A with director David Simonds and Executive producers Betsy Shiverick (who appears in the film) and Paul Shiverick. SPOTLIGHT ON CT FILM
(Friday, October 16 @ 7:00 pm, LIVE at RTB + Virtual Screening Option)
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Stevenson: Lost and Found, a feature documentary by New Zealand filmmaker Sally Jean Williams, explores the life and stellar 67-year career of writer and artist James Stevenson, one of the New Yorker Magazine’s most prolific cartoonists and arguably the most beloved. Anyone who has ever laughed at a New Yorker cartoon owes it to themselves to see this wonderful documentary. Post screening Q&A with Stevenson’s widow, artist and producer Josie Merck. SPOTLIGHT ON CT Film
(Saturday, October 17 @ 6:30 pm, LIVE at RTB + Virtual Screening Option)
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: The Missing Girl directed by Connecticut’s A.D. Calvo, tells the story of Mort, the lonely and disillusioned owner of a comic book shop, and Ellen, the emotionally disruptive, aspiring graphic novelist he’s hired. The story involves the search for a girl who isn’t missing and the discovery that it’s never too late for late bloomers. Part comedy, part drama, part romance, part suspense, all parts add up to one engrossing film. SPOTLIGHT ON CT FILM
(Saturday, October 17 @ 6:30 pm, LIVE at RTB + Virtual Screening Option)
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Climbing Blind by UK adventure cinematographer and director Alastair Lee tells the extraordinary story of Jesse Sufton, who was born with 20% central vision and soon diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare disease that breaks down the rentina’s cells. By 30 his vision was reduced to just light perception with around one or two percent field of view. A life long rock climber, Jesse flies in the face of adversity and takes on bigger challenges attempting to be the first blind person to make a ‘non-sight’ lead of the iconic Old Man of Hoy sea stack in Scotland.
(Screens with KINDRED, an environmental short Sunday, October 18 @ 2:00 pm, LIVE at RTB + Virtual Screening Option)
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
The RIFF 2020 lineup showcases 60 short and feature-length films from around the world, including multiple premieres.
WORLD PREMIERES
Before Boys, the story of four thirteen-year-old girls who get in over their heads when they create a fake account on a dating app and decide to prank an older man written, directed, and produced by French first-time director Florence Faure. (Thursday, October 15 @ 9:30 pm)
Broke is the Reason directed by Barrington Vaxter and Benjamin Handler, tells the story of a single father who unexpectedly finds himself homeless and will do anything he can to keep what he hasn’t lost already. (It’s Complicated, Saturday, October 17 @ 4:00 pm)
Jam, by Irish director Brendan Canty, is a hilarious and irreverent film about one woman’s exceedingly awkward car trip when she drives her grandfather to a medical appointment. (Comedy Shorts, Sunday, October 18 @ 4:00 pm)
Unspoken by Ridgefield, CT writer/director/producer Alessandro Girolami follows the journey of a young boy who stops talking after experiencing a traumatic event. (Psych Night, Friday, October 16 @ 9:15 pm)
U.S. PREMIERE
Shift by British writer/director Josh Armstrong, is a short, supernatural thriller set on an ice-rink, where a nighttime security guard discovers he’s not alone. (Friday, October 16 @ 9:15 pm)
EAST COAST PREMIERES
Climbing Blind by accomplished UK-based adventure filmmaker Alastair Lee. The feature documentary chronicles the incredible story of the first blind lead rock climber of the Old Man of Hoy. (Sunday, October 18 @ 2:00 pm)
A Glimpse, by UK director Tom Turner, about a busy Londoner’s life that becomes sidetracked by an encounter with a spontaneous stranger. (It’s Complicated, Saturday, October 17 @4:00 pm)
Bee’s Knees by writer/director Alex Grossman is an amusing short about a struggling stand-up comedian who refuses to perform for the International Federation of Beekeepers. (Comedy Shorts, Sunday, October 18 @ 4:00 pm)
Il Vaccino, a historic drama by Italian director Edoardo Ferraro, set in a remote village in Italy, tells the story of a dying man in need of an immediate blood transfusion and the doctor who tries to save him. (International Shorts, Wednesday, October 14 @ 9:00 pm)
RIFF has a passion for short films and programs a robust selection of shorts from a diverse group of North American and international filmmakers. The work of first-time directors is seamlessly co-mingled with shorts by more experienced, award-winning filmmakers. The categories include: Animated Shorts, Comedy Shorts, Documentary Shorts, Human Relations Shorts, It’s Complicated Shorts, International Shorts, and a perennial favorite, Psych Night Shorts.
Animated Shorts include Carlotta’s Face by Valentin Riedl and Frederic Schuld; Daughter by Daria Kashceeva; Grown Up Man by Noemie Blondel; Maestro by ILLOGIC; Napo by Gustavo Ribeiro; One After Another by Nicolas Pegon; Out of Left Field by Owen Boyle; Robert the Robot by Jonathan Irwin; The Opposites Game by Anna Samo and Lisa La Bracio; The Procession by Pascal Blancet and Rodolphe Saint-Gelais; and Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days by Regina Pessoa. (Sunday, October 18 @ 6:00 PM LIVE at RTB + Virtual Screening Option)
Comedy Shorts include #PrincessProblems by Maritza Gomez; 40 Minutes Over Maui by Michael Feld and Josh Covitt; Age of Bryce by David Feagan and Brian Elliot; Bee’s Knees by Alex Grossman; Jam by Brendan Canty; One Actor Short by Yuval David; and Participant by John Piazza. (Sunday, October 18 @ 4:00 pm LIVE at RTB + Virtual Screening Option)
Documentary Shorts include Ghost Mountain by James Taing and Virginia Lynch Dean; Shannon Amen by Chris Dainty; The Physics of Sorrow by Theodore Ushev; and Watching the Earth Melt Away. (Friday, October 15 @ 9:00 pm LIVE at RTB + Virtual Screening Option)
Human Relations include Alina by Rami Kodeih; Before Boys by Florence Faure; Cool for Five Seconds by Dani Wieder; Encounter by Ivan Lowenberg, On the Whistle by TJ Noel-Sullivan. (Thursday, October 15 @ 9:30 pm LIVE at RTB + Virtual Screening Option)
It’s Complicated include A Glimpse by Tom Turner; Broke is the Reason by Barrington Vaxter and Benjamin Handler; How to Fall in Love in a Pandemic by Michael David McKernan; Intermedium by Erik Bloomquist; Ruby by Michael Creagh; and The Neighbour’s Window by Marshall Curry. (Saturday, October 17 @ 4:00 pm LIVE at RTB + Virtual Screening Option)
International Shorts include Anna by Dekel Berenson; Ashmina by Dekel Berenson; Azadeh by Mirabbas Khosravinezhad; Golden Minutes by Saulius Baradinskas; Il Vaccino by Edoardo Ferraro; Maradona’s Legs by Firas Khoury and Pizza Boy by Gianluca Zonta (Wednesday, October 14 @ 9:00 pm LIVE at RTB + Virtual Screening Option)
Psych Night Shorts include 1971 by Magnus Hall; Abe’s Story by Adam H. Stewart; Bakemono by Sumire Takamatus and Jorge Lucas; Bottleneck by Mans Berthas; Canal by Piers Hunt and Michael Jinks; Choker by Orson Cornick; Deadme by Paul Hart-Wilden; Our Boy by Kyle Sims; Per Tutta La Vita by Roberto Catani; Shift by Josh Armstrong; The Ooze by Emma Keating; and Unspoken by Alessandro Girolami
(Friday, October 16 @ 9:15 pm LIVE at RTB + Virtual Screening Options)
SPOTLIGHT ON CT FILMS + SCENE IN CT Screenplay Winner
We take our commitment to nurturing Connecticut screenwriters and filmmakers very seriously. With the generous sponsorship of the CT Office of Film, Television & Digital Media, we are proud to showcase the work of 10 Connecticut filmmakers along with the winner of our SCENE IN CT Screenplay Competition.
SCENE IN CT Award Winner
Saving Mark Twain by Staton Rabin, is an historical dramedy inspired in part by the true story of Twain’s unexpected friendship with a young journalist and aspiring author, Rudyard Kipling. RIFF judges found the script to be “playful,” “exciting,” “witty” and felt that Staton managed to bring a brief chapter of history alive in an engaging manner while “driving the story forward with non-stop action.”
SPOTLIGHT ON CT FILMS
Stevenson: Lost and Found by Sally Jean Williams
The Hoy Boys by David Simonds
The Missing Girl by A.D. Clavo
Ghost Mountain by James Taing and Virginia Lynch Dean
Participant by John Piazza
Intermedium by Erik Bloomquist
On the Whistle by TJ Noel-Sullivan
Out of Left Field by Owen Boyle
The Ooze by Emma Keating
Unspoken by Alessandro Girolami
FULL LINEUP
40 MINUTES OVER MAUI (Comedy Shorts)
USA - Narrative Short (13:00)
Directed by Michael Feld, Josh Covitt
1971 (Psych Night Shorts)
Sweden - Narrative Short (7:21)
Directed by Magnus Hall
A GLIMPSE (It’s Complicated Shorts)
UK - Narrative Short (10:00)
Directed by Tom Turner
ABE’S STORY (Psych Night Shorts)
Ireland - Narrative Short, Animated (12:20)
Directed by Adam H. Stewart
AGE OF BRYCE (Comedy Shorts)
USA - Family Friendly Short (9:50)
Directed by David Feagan, Brian Elliot
ALINA (Human Relations Shorts)
USA - Narrative Short (24:51)
Directed by Rami Kodeih
ANNA (International Shorts)
UK - Narrative Short (14:59)
Directed by Dekel Berenson
ASHMINA (International Shorts)
UK - Narrative Short (14:59)
Directed by Dekel Berenson
AZADEH (International Shorts)
Iran, Islamic Republic of - Narrative Short (9:30)
Directed by Mirabbas Khosravinezhad
BAKEMONO (Psych Night Shorts)
USA - Supernatural Short (10:00)
Directed by Sumire Takamatsu, Jorge Lucas
BEE’S KNEES (Comedy Shorts)
USA - Narrative Short (3:39)
Directed by Alex Grossman
BEFORE BOYS (Human Relations Shorts)
France - Narrative Short (21:53)
Directed by Florence Faure
BOTTLENECK (Psych Night Shorts)
Sweden - Narrative Short (8:00)
Directed by Mans Berthas
BROKE IS THE REASON (It’s Complicated Shorts)
USA - Narrative Short (8:18)
Directed by Barrington Vaxter, Benjamin Handler
CANAL (Psych Night Shorts)
UK - Narrative Short, Suspense (17:00)
Directed by Piers Hunt, Michael Jinks
CARLOTTA’S FACE (Animated Shorts)
Germany - Animated Short, Documentary (5:00)
Directed by Valentin Riedl, Frederic Schuld
CHOKER (Psych Night Shorts)
UK - Narrative Short, Environmental (4:07)
Directed by Orson Cornick
CLIMBING BLIND
UK - Documentary Feature (57:00)
Directed by Alastair Lee
COOL FOR FIVE SECONDS (Human Relations Shorts)
USA - Narrative Short (12:00)
Directed by Dani Wieder
DAUGHTER
Czech Republic - Animated Short (14:50)
Directed by Daria Kashcheeva
Animated Shorts
DEADME (Psych Night Shorts)
USA - Sci Fi/Horror Short (12:00)
Directed by Paul Hart-Wilden
ENCOUNTER (Human Relations Shorts)
Mexico - Narrative Short (18:00)
Directed by Ivan Lowenber
GAY CHORUS: DEEP SOUTH
USA - Documentary Feature (97 min)
Directed by David Charles
GHOST MOUNTAIN (Documentary Shorts)
Spotlight on CT Film
USA - Documentary Short (40:00)
Directed by James Taing, Virginia Lynch Dean
GOLDEN MINUTES (International Shorts)
Lithuania - Narrative Short (10:00)
Directed by Saulius Baradinskas
GROWN UP MAN (Animated Shorts)
France - Animated Short (1:36)
Diretor - Noemie Blondel
HOW TO FALL IN LOVE IN A PANDEMIC (It’s Complicated Shorts)
Ireland - Documentary Short (10:23)
Directed by Michael David McKernan
I AM HUMAN
USA - Documentary Feature (87 min)
Directed by Taryn Southern, Elena Gaby
IL VACCINO (International Shorts)
Italy - Narrative Short (15:00)
Directed by Edoardo Ferraro
INTERMEDIUM (It’s Complicated Shorts)
Spotlight on CT Film
USA – Narrative Short (20:00)
Directed by Erik Bloomquist
JAM (Comedy Shorts)
Ireland - Narrative Short (9:20)
Directed by Brendan Canty
KINDRED (shown before CLIMBING BLIND)
US - Documentary short (6:38)
Directed by Ben Moscona, Jason Edelstein
MAESTRO (Animated Shorts)
France - Animated Short (1:34)
Directed by ILLOGIC
MARADONA’S LEGS (International Shorts)
Germany - Narrative Short (20:00)
Directed by Firas Khoury
NAPO (Animated Shorts)
Brazil - Animated Short (16:28)
Directed by Gustavo Ribeiro
ON THE WHISTLE (Human Relations Shorts)
Spotlight on CT Film
USA - Narrative Short (20:00)
Directed by TJ Noel-Sullivan
ONE ACTOR SHORT (Comedy Shorts)
USA - Narrative Short (9:25)
Directed by Yuval David
ONE AFTER ANOTHER (Animated Shorts)
France - Animated Short (12:56)
Directed by Nicolas Pegon
OUR BOY (Psych Night Shorts)
USA - Narrative Short, student (13:22)
Directed by Kyle Sims
OUT OF LEFT FIELD (Animated Shorts)
Spotlight on CT Film
USA - Animated Short, Student (1:59)
Directed by Owen Boyle
PARTICIPANT (Comedy Shorts)
Spotlight on CT Film
USA - Narrative Short (7:19)
PER TUTTA LA VITA (Psych Night Shorts)
Italy - Animated Short (5:20)
Directed by Roberto Catani
PIZZA BOY (International Shorts)
Italy - Narrative Short (15:00)
Directed by Gianluca Zonta
#PRINCESSPROBLEMS (Comedy Shorts)
USA - Narrative Short (18:43)
Directed by Maritza Gomez
ROBERT THE ROBOT (Animated Shorts)
UK - Family Friendly Animated Short (4:00)
Directed by Jonathan Irwin
RUBY (It’s Complicated Shorts)
Ireland - Narrative Short (20:00)
Directed by Michael Creagh
SHANNON AMEN (Documentary Shorts)
Canada - Documentary Short (15:00)
Directed by Chris Dainty
SHIFT (Psych Night Shorts)
UK – Supernatural Thriller (10:00)
Directed by Josh Armstrong
STEVENSON: LOST AND FOUND
Spotlight on CT Film +Q&A with Josie Merck
USA - Narrative Feature (76 min)
Directed by Sally Jean Williams
THE HOY BOYS
Spotlight on CT Film + Filmmaker Q&A
USA - Documentary Feature (73 min)
Directed by Dave Simonds
THE MISSING GIRL
Spotlight on CT Film + Filmmaker Q&A
USA - Narrative Feature (89 min)
Directed by A.D. Calvo
THE NEIGHBOUR’S WINDOW (It’s Complicated Shorts)
USA - Narrative Short (20:37)
Directed by Marshall Curry
THE OOZE
Festival tickets & passes for live and virtual events available now at RIFFct.org