INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL CELEBRATED 15TH YEAR IN COLLABORATION WITH ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY AND CURATED BY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
BRISTOL, RI • Awards for the top films screened at the 15th Annual Roving Eye International Film Festival have been announced.
The Festival created by the Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) in partnership with Roger Williams University kicked off April 27th and ran through the May 3, 2020. This year’s programming featured over 60 films from across the world including numerous World and US Premieres; virtual panel discussions/symposia; Filmmaker Q&A’s on Facebook, and student film showcases. The Festival theme this year was “Heighten Your Perception,” and celebrated the power of art and culture in affecting positive change.
Virtual guests at this year’s event were curated from interviews undertaken by Steven Feinberg, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Film and Television Office, for the television series, “doubleFEATURE,” produced by Flickers on Rhode Island PBS.
This year’s guests include: Screenwriter, Chris Sparling; director, Kevin Lima; actor, Robert Capron; costume designer, Deborah Newhall; director/cinematographer, Eric Latek; and actor, Duncan Putney. Additionally, live Facebook conversations throughout the week took place with director, Tommy DeNucci; creator of newenglandfilm.com, Michele Meek; and producer/editor Tony Bennis.
2020 was the first year that the Roving Eye International Film Festival took place exclusively online. All events and programming were free, and reached over 3,000 viewers during the course of its seven-day run. The Vimeo feeds alone had 3,195 impressions, and 1,625 views from across the globe with the most views by city originating from Tel Aviv, Israel. Devices used were phone, desktop and tablet. Facebook Live interviews with filmmakers and members of the industry had a total of 1,752 views. In all, viewers to the Festival came from 54 countries.
The event concluded with the Spring 2020 Soforenko Foundation Film Series On The Jewish Experience.
Students at the University, with the guidance of Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, create the Roving Eye International Film Festival through the Film Minor senior-level course, Curation and Film Festival Production. Flickers’ Executive Director and RWU Professor, George T. Marshall, teaches the class.
This year, 23 students spent the first part of the spring semester reviewing more than 800 films provided by Flickers and from there went on to create the entire Roving Eye Festival. The students developed active marketing and PR strategies, including the planning for events throughout the week.
With the emergence of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, plans shifted quickly to ensure that the Festival took place. Students met numerous times weekly on Zoom to plan out the Festival, reach out to filmmakers, and work on marketing and promotional collateral, including a new logo design, posters and PSA. They also worked extensively with RIIFF Program Director, Shawn M. Quirk to realize the online Festival portal.
Students in the Curation and Film Production Class included: Elias Bakas, Samuel Bartoes, Owen Bearer, Cameron Bortolussi, Luke Brennan, Sarah Coleman, Benjamin, Crawley, Matthew Fernandes, Williams Guido, Jordan Hawkes, Robert Libertini, Chloe Noyes, Gavin Okun, Molly Ortiz, Sara Osborne, Tyler Porter, Mariah Richards, Makenzie Rose, Paul Schnadig, Leia Stone, Jordan Sweenie, Angeli Tillet and Cullen Zurcher.
The 2020 Roving Eye International Film Festival is sponsored by The RI Film & the Television Office; Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival; WSBE Rhode Island PBS; Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, Edge Media Network, the Edwin S. Soforenko Foundation, RWU School of Humanities, Arts and Education, Dean Cynthia Scheinberg, RWU Department of Communication, Graphic Design and Web Development, Dr. Robert Cole, Department Chair, RWU Hillel, THE RWU HAWK’S HERALD, and WQRI Radio at Roger Williams University.
THE 2020 AWARD WINNERS:
HEARTS, MINDS, SOULS AWARD
Celebrating Films that Reflect the Jewish Experience.
Grand Prize:
“Fine” directed by Maya Yadlin
First Prize:
“Young Polacas” directed by Alex Levy-Heller
BEST OF FESTIVAL
Grand Prize:
“Road to Zion” directed by Andrew Reid
First Prize:
“Something to Live For” directed by Adva Reichman
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY:
Grand Prize:
“Carlotta’s Face” directed by Valentin Riedl, Frédéric Schuld
First Prize:
“Hoan Alone” directed by Aaron Johnson
BEST DOCUMENTARY:
Grand Prize:
“Ever, Rêve” directed by Oliver Morel
First Prize:
“17 Seconds” directed by Alon Marom
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT FILM:
Grand Prize:
“Locals Only” directed by Brent Harris
First Prize:
“Melanie” directed by Jacinta Agten
BEST ANIMATION:
Grand Prize:
“The Bird & The Whale” directed by Carol Freeman
First Prize:
“They Hunt” directed by Rhys Byfield
To see a listing of this year’s programming and to learn more about the Roving Eye Festival, go to: