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  • City will host R.I. film fest

    Pawtucket Times, RI
    Aug 9 2004

    City will host R.I. film fest

    Joel Furfari 08/09/2004




    PAWTUCKET -- For the first time since its inception, the Rhode Island
    International Film Festival is coming to Pawtucket.

    The 100-seat theater inside the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center,
    175 Main St., will host a series of screenings this week as the city
    plays host to the festival for the first time.

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    Herb Weiss, the city's cultural affairs officer, said officials want
    to bring more films into the theater.

    "It's underutilized right now and we're in discussion with some
    groups to see if we can begin bringing in more screenings to the
    theater," he said.

    Film buffs will be in for a treat this week: The theater will host
    screenings on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. The film festival's
    gala opening is Tuesday.

    At 8 p.m. on Wednesday, the film "Parallel Lines" will be screened in
    Pawtucket. The documentary, directed by Nina Davenport, covers a road
    trip across the United States in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist
    attacks. There will also be a screening of Bruce Dellis' short
    filmLincoln: A Life Embellished," a satirical take on the Civil War
    president's life.

    On Thursday, the documentary "Germany and the Secret Genocide" will
    be screened at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Providence Jewish Film
    Festival. The film recounts the Armenian genocide and the complicity
    of the German government in the abuses of the Ottoman Turkish
    government.

    The final screening will be Sunday at 2:30 p.m., when the festival
    brings "First Israeli in Space: Ilan Ramon." This documentary film,
    directed by Neil Weisbrod of Israel's Channel One, chronicles the
    life of Israeli astronaut who died in last year's space shuttle
    Columbia disaster.

    A short film called "Indecision," directed by Mary DeBarry, will also
    be screened. The comedy is about a young woman who can't make up her
    mind.

    Weiss said the film festival is especially exciting because it serves
    as a prelude to the upcoming Pawtucket Arts Festival.

    "We're very excited about this new relationship between the two
    festivals," he said.

    The film festival, in its eight year, will feature screenings of 265
    films from across the United States and more than 60 countries.
    Organizers are expecting 20,000 movie fans to attend screenings.

    Actor Andrew McCarthy, of "Pretty in Pink"fame, is making his
    directorial debut at the festival, and actor Zach Braff, who plays a
    doctor on NBC's "Scrubs," is receiving an award.

    George Marshall, executive director and chief executive of the
    festival, said the event attracts a lot of filmmakers because it's
    the only one in New England where a film can qualify for an Academy
    Award. He said five films screened at the festival in the past seven
    years have been nominated for Oscars, and two have won.

    Eva Saks, a director from New York, will be showing three of her
    films this year, including "Date."Saks has attended the festival six
    times, and hopes to shoot one of her upcoming films in the area. She
    said she keeps returning to Rhode Island because she's drawn to the
    neighborhood feeling and loves the architecture.

    "I'm kind of crazy into this festival, into this town,"she said. " I
    dig it."

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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