Local Filmmakers Share Spotlight with Foreign Film Fare

The Rhode Island International Film Festival, based in Providence, will showcase filmmakers from around the world when it premieres its 11th season. Growing in popularity and notoriety each year, the festival - known as RIIFF - will screen 320 films out of nearly 2500 submitted.

It is exhilarating, informative and fun to view films from Argentina to Zambia. But it is also important to the festival's Executive Director, George Marshall, and his staff to give equal time to showcasing the talents of filmmakers from New England, particularly Rhode Island.

What drives local filmmakers to be so highly focused on their art? Are there common denominators? There is no promise, after all, in the milieu of the independent filmmaker, of any reward. The best most "indie" filmmakers can hope for is to share their passion on screen with an audience. I recently asked a few of the filmmakers those questions.

Mary Healy Jamiel's documentary "Ticks/Hidden in the Leaves" screens Saturday, August 11 at 4pm. Jamiel was horrified when she discovered that 717,000 Rhode Islanders are at risk for being exposed to Lyme disease through ticks - in their own backyards. Lyme disease still often goes undiagnosed and can lead to grave debilitation if left untreated. Working from an altruistic point of view, Jamiel exposes important, often taboo subjects in her work for the good of all. Her documentary footage is dramatic, including aerial shots from a helicopter. Jamiel believes that viewing a particular film can be not only entertaining and informative, "but an utterly transformative experience".

For documentary filmmaker Jon Raben it is the utter joy of research and discovery that drives him. His film, "Italian Americans and Federal Hill" will screen on Saturday, August 11 at 6pm. Raben spent many years in the world of academia and has served as a research consultant. He has the critical skills necessary for research, data accumulation, and understanding of cultural and social issues, and the ability to synthesize a mountain of information into a logical (and entertaining) sequence. In Raben's own quest to know and understand, he has paid tribute to the people who have made Providence what it is today.

Filmmaker Leigh Medeiros once saw a movie log line that read "hilarious drama and heartbreaking comedy". That, Medeiros says, is everything she looks for in a movie. So she enjoys making comedies based on quirky characters, often with plots taken from her own experiences. Her film titled "Go...No Go" (so named for a tool used by parts inspectors) screens Saturday, August 11 at 2pm.

The story grew out of Medeiros's own experience working in her family's factory over the years. But it is obvious that Medeiros takes her comedies seriously, spending a great deal of time in pre-production, meetings, set walk-throughs, and choreographing every shot before the cameras roll. Medeiros considers herself first and foremost a screenwriter, but did enjoy the experience of directing and would welcome it again.

Most filmmakers enjoy the group atmosphere and collaborative experience of filmmaking. Edward J. Delaney prefers to work alone. This is not unusual for Delaney, though. Well established as a newspaper, magazine, and fiction writer, Dealney has had success in these solitary pursuits. Now, however, he has ventured into digital video.

For Delaney, it is the story telling that is most important. Looking for a new experience, Delaney wanted to explore filmmaking as a different form of story telling. Delaney's film "Times Were Never So Bad: The Life of Andre Dubus" screens on August 11 at 2pm. Andre Dubus is a troubled writer chased by his own demons as he writes stories about human impulses. An accident at the age of 49 forced him to re-examine his writing and his life.

Paige Kane is involved on many levels of filmmaking with local artists. She helps others get their films made through her non-profit organization and script-writing contest. She also enjoys showcasing Newport as a beautiful location. Kane's own preferred genre is short dramas, focusing on the struggles of everyday life. Being emotionally invested in the story line is paramount to Kane. Her RIIFF accepted film, "Home on the Harbor" screens on Saturday August 11 at 2pm. It highlights the beauty of Newport but true to her dramatic intent, an unhappily married couple inhabits the film.

For more information about these and all of the other local, national and international films that will be part of the 2007 Rhode Island International Film Festival please go to the festival website or call 401-861-4445.