Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the United States, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t going big on film.
More than 300 films screened at the 42nd Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, which took place in Providence from Aug. 6 to 11: a diverse slate of narrative features, documentaries and short films represented 51 countries across the globe. The festival — one of 10 international fests that serve as official qualifiers for the Academy Awards ’ live-action, animated and documentary short categories — received over 7,000 submissions this year.
For executive director Shawn M. Quirk, who has been with the festival for 13 years, RIIFF has a two-pronged approach to serving filmmakers both in Rhode Island and beyond its borders. “It’s really about building this global community, as well as helping our local filmmakers who need that access,” Quirk tells THR .
“I love the idea of us being a global film [destination],” adds Quirk. “Rhode Island, when it was founded as a colony, saw itself as a little country — they were always trying to be a little independent from everyone else.”