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'Varja Sky Over Tibet'
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RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL: NEWPORT SCHEDULE
Jane Pickens Theater, 49 Touro St., Newport, 846-5252
Admission $10 general; $8 RIIFF members
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 9
1 p.m.
"KAREN BLIXEN - OUT OF THIS WORLD" (58 mins.) Dir. Marcus Mandal. From Denmark, a documentary explores the incredible life of Danish author Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), told by people close to her. Blixen herself contributes through old footage. Among those taking part is Meryl Streep.
"LEMONADE STORIES" (47 mins.) Dir. Mary Mazzio. A film chronicles the impact mothers have had on igniting the entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking. Virgin founder, Richard Branson and his sense of risk-taking, for example, emerged from the life and example of his mother, Eve, a pilot and WWII veteran. Arthur Blank's vision for The Home Depot was inspired by his mother, a widow with no business experience, who took over and ran a family business with enormous success.
3 p.m.
"LASSIE" (100 mins.) Dir. Charles Sturridge. Cast: Peter O'Toole, Samantha Morton, John Lynch, Steve Pemberton, Jonathan Mason, and Peter Dinklage From U.K. A heartwarming and moving adventure of the indefatigable collie set - as was the original novel - on the eve of World War II in a Yorkshire mining town.
5 p.m.
"SCARED NEW WORLD" (81 mins.) Dir. Chris Brown. Cast: Fanny Ara-Herms, Harriet Schiffer-Scott, Josh Millican, Lena Zee & Zachary Schramm. The story of three lives, separate but intertwined, trying to find balance in unstable times. Alma, a pot-dealing single mother, coasts through each day with little care and motivation until she meets a cancer patient in need of medical marijuana. Vargas, her roommate, works intensely in his room on a literary project that no one has seen and that in his words will "change literature as we know it." Moving into their Oakland apartment is Penny, a 19-year-old French foreign exchange student on her own for the first time who explores her sexuality through two separate relationships - one with a man, the other with a woman.
7 p.m.
"THREE WOMEN AND A CHATEAU" (80 mins.) Dirs. Catherine Ryan & Gary Weimberg. A documentary explores three generations of owners of Chateau Carolands, a 100-room mansion in Hillsborough, Calif., and provides an insider's look at the struggles and desires of the ultra-rich in America, where even limitless money cannot guarantee that dreams come true.
9:15 p.m.
"LIBERTY STREET: ALIVE AT GROUND ZERO" (118 mins.) Dir. Peter Josyph. 114 Liberty Street stands a few yards from the World Trade Center on one of the oldest streets in the nation. This small residential building escaped demolition when the twin towers were put up, and narrowly escaped it when they were knocked down. The evacuated building offers astonishing views of the recovery and the removal at Ground Zero and the people who were proud - and cursed - to call it home.
THURSDAY, AUG. 10
1-2:30 p.m.
"THE COLE NOBODY KNOWS" (21 mins.) Dir. Clay Walker. Documentary on Chicago native Freddy Cole, younger brother of Nat "King" Cole.
"SHIPWRECKED" (10 mins.) Dir. Devon Bolton. From Canada, the story of a lonely 10-year-old boy who discovers a miniature shipwreck on an isolated beach with dozens of tiny footprints leading away.
"A LIFE AMONG WHALES" (56 mins.) Dir. Bill Haney. From U.S. & Netherlands. A fascinating exploration into the life and work of whale biologist and activist Roger Payne, whose controversial discovery in the early 1970s that whales sing helped ignite the modern-day environmental movement.
3-4:30 p.m.
"FLYING DOWNHILL: BODE MILLER" (124 mins.) Dir. W.C. Rogers. This film chronicles Miller's meteoric rise in the realm of the Alpine ski race - a path beset with major injuries and alternative training methods - en route to the top of World Championship and Olympic competition and his wild, untamed childhood near Franconia, N.H.
5-6:45 p.m.
"EARS OPEN, EYEBALLS, CLICK" (95 mins.) Dir. Canaan Brumley. The first half of Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" brought to reality following the recruits of Platoon 1141 of the U.S. Marines in their 12 weeks of basic training. Directed by a former Marine in pure cinéma vérité.
7-8:30 p.m.
"BRATS: OUR JOURNEY HOME" (98 mins.) Dir. Donna Musil. Air Force brat Kris Kristofferson leads a heartfelt journey into the strange but interesting life of an American military "brat." Based on poignant and provocative interviews with adult brats of all ethnicities, including General H. Norman Schwarzkpof.
9-11 p.m.
"KATRINA'S WAKE" (20 mins.) Dir. Kathilynn Phillips. Cast: Jocelyn Amos, LaVita Brooks, De'Ja Imani Evans & Jonathan H. Jackson. A fictional story of a family who sought refuge in their attic from the rising flood waters of Hurricane Katrina. No food. No water. No escape.
"VARJA SKY OVER TIBET" (97 mins.) Dir. John Bush. From U.S. & Tibet. A documentary feature and a cinematic pilgrimage to some of the most revered venues and festivals still surviving in Tibet. Responding to the denial of the human right to practice one's religion without interference, Tibetans visit these legendary sites with a defiant ardor and overt displays of devotion.
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