The Ridgefield Independent Film Festival announces the lineup for the Best of RIFF Shorts Fest - celebrating 7 years of RIFF on Sunday, August 21st at 2pm at The Ridgefield Playhouse.
The 103-minute program, underwritten by a grant from Connecticut Humanities, will center on the theme: Are The Kids All Right - Raising Resilient Children in Cinema and will highlight the best short films from the festival’s seven-year history.
The screenings will be followed by a panel discussion with film critic, Joe Meyers and filmmakers (in person and via Zoom) on the history and language of youth in cinema, from Francios Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows,” to Nicholas Ray’s “Rebel Without a Cause” to Netflix’s “Stranger Things.”
RIFF’s Emerging Filmmaker Award will be granted to Ridgefield resident, Nicholas Burns for his film, “Nothing Is Going to Change.”
An after-party will take place in the new lobby of The Ridgefield Playhouse with gourmet hot dogs provided by Ridgefield’s Chez Lenard and beer provided by Ridgefield’s Nod Hill Brewery. This project is being underwritten by Connecticut Humanities, who have generously supported the project with a project grant, and with support from The Ridgefield Playhouse.
Please visit RIFF’s website here for more information.
Tickets may be purchased online at The Ridgefield Playhouse website by clicking HERE.
Part One
"Girls Don't Cry Wolf" by John Chigas, Anna Eva Kotyza - USA - RIFF 2016
"The Other Side" by Griselda San Martin - Spain - RIFF 2017
"Koreatown Ghost Story" by Minsun Park & Teddy Tenenbaum - USA - RIFF 2021
"Make It Easy" - by Ridgefield native, Ellie Gravitte - USA - RIFF 2021 Emerging Filmmaker Award
"Garden Party" by Florian Babikian, Vincent Bayoux, Victor Caire, Théophile Dufresne, Gabriel Grapperon, Lucas Navarro - France - RIFF 2018 - Academy Award Nominee for Best Animated Short 2019
Intermission
Part Two
"The Opposites Game" by Anna Samo, Lisa LaBracio - USA - RIFF 2020
"Maradona's Legs" by Firas Khoury - Germany/Palestine - RIFF 2020
"How To Fall In Love in a Pandemic" by Michael-David McKernan - Ireland - RIFF 2020
"Nothing Is Going to Change" by Ridgefield Resident, Nicholas Burns - USA - RIFF 2022
Emerging Filmmaker Award
Panel Discussion
After Party/Reception
Ridgefield Independent Film Festival was founded in 2015 by local playwright and filmmaker, Joanne Hudson and presented its first iteration in May of 2016 at seven venues throughout Ridgefield, CT; screening 72 films from 26 countries. Since then (under Festival Directors: Megan Smith-Harris, Jill Mango and Sean Murphy, and from 2018-2021 Executive Director, Geoffrey Morris), the festival has attracted the likes of celebrities Allison Williams, Paul Dano and Jeffrey Tambor, as well as talented local and international filmmakers. This revamped festival will be an intimate and highly curated festival with the same independent spirit in which it began: in the hopes of making the world a more compassionate place through the sharing of stories through cinema.