Rhode Island International Film Festival

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The Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) takes place every year in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island as well as satellite locations throughout the state. Started in 1997, the Festival is produced by the Flickers Arts Collaborative, a 501(c)(3) non-profit created in 1982. RIIFF has been a qualifying festival for the Academy Awards since 2002.^[1] In 1998, it hosted the world premiere of the Farrelly brothers film, There's Something About Mary.^[2]^[3] The Festival draws over 24,000 people along with a strong filmmaker presence to its events each August. In 2007, the Festival screened 320 films; many were world and US premieres.^[4]

The festival often attracts major industry talent and celebrities who attend to participate in conversations about varied aspects of filmmaking. Attending filmmakers in the past have included actor Andrew McCarthy, who premiered his directorial debut, News for the Church; Michael Showalter discussing his feature film The Baxter, and actors Seymour Cassel and Kim Chan who received Festival Lifetime Achievement Awards. Director Blake Edwards received a Festival Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001, which was accepted by his wife, actress/singer, Julie Andrews.

Sidebar events for the Festival include the KidsEye Filmmaking Camp, the RI International Horror Film Festival, the Vortex Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival, the Roving Eye Documentary Film Festival, the Providence Underground Film Festival and the First Look Series. Each summer the Festival hosts a season long series called "Stars Under the Stars" which are outdoor screenings that screen award-winning RIFF films free to the general public.

The Rhode Island International Film Festival accepts submissions from around the world for its film and screenplay competitions.

The Festival is berthed at the historic Columbus Theater (1926) on Broadway in Providence.