The partnership between Ridgefield's iconic movie theater and its very own film festival blossoms this May into the 10th Anniversary Edition of RIDGEFIELD INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL at The Prospector Theater. Tickets are on sale now on the Prospector’s website for what will be RIFF’s first accessible film festival May 15-18. RIFF will screen a curated selection of 31 independent films from around the world with nearly all screenings accessible to persons needing accommodations for hearing (closed captions) or vision (audio descriptions). Accommodations may be requested through the theater’s website or at the box office.
Opening Night, Thursday May 15th brings grammar guru Ellen Jovin and her husband, filmmaker Brandt Johnson to town with their documentary feature REBEL WITH A CLAUSE. One fall day in 2018, Ellen Jovin set up a folding table on a Manhattan sidewalk with a sign that said “Grammar Table.” Right away, passersby began excitedly asking questions, telling stories, and filing complaints. What happened next is the stuff of grammar legend. Ellen and her filmmaker husband, Brandt Johnson, took the table on the road, visiting all 50 US states as Brandt shot the grammar action. But this story transcends grammar. It’s the story of an epic quest to bring us all closer together. In a time of extreme social and political division, the Grammar Table is a place of unity and connection. The conversations at the table help answer the question “How can we all get along?” The evening begins with a 6pm reception in the Prospector’s Star Bar catered by The Benjamin followed by the screening, a filmmaker Q&A, and book signing hosted by Books on the Common. REBEL WITH A CLAUSE was recently profiled in the New York Times.
Friday Night, May 16th at the festival is PSYCH NIGHT! A RIFF tradition, PSYCH NIGHT! promises chills, thrills and comic relief. The PSYCH NIGHT! feature is THANKS FOR THE ROOM by Canadian filmmaking duo The Butler Brothers. The bros, Jason and Brett, made their RIFF debut last year with PURGATORY JACK and will be once again making the trip from Canada to be on hand for a post screening Q&A about their provocative film that follows Byron who takes a job as a midnight courier at a pandemic hotel for the unhoused, hoping to scrape together enough cash to keep his family afloat. But the gig quickly drags him into the underbelly of a broken system—where addiction, desperation, and survival blur into one.
The day continues next door at The Prospector with screenings of shorts and feature films throughout the day, concluding with the devastating UNDER THE VOLCANO A blended Ukrainian family spends the last day of their vacation in Tenerife, Spain. When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine strands them on the island, they must contend with isolation, duty, fear… and each other.
The festival concludes on Sunday May 18th 10am-12pm at Keeler Tavern Museum’s Garden House with RIFF’s 10 Annual Filmmakers Awards breakfast. After that we'll all head over to Ridgefield's first town party at the Ridgefield Playhouse for a truly great Ridgefield long weekend.