2016 WHITE RIVER INDIE FESTIVAL FEATURES “LOCAL HEROES”
Local talent has a strong presence at the 2016 White River Indie Festival (WRIF) that runs from May 13-16 in the new Barrette Center for the Arts in downtown White River Junction.
One of the real highlights of the Festival promises to be the Opening Night Gala that features a film fresh from the festival circuit. Coming Through the Rye is about a sensitive young man, obsessed with Holden Caulfield, who runs away from his prep school in search of J.D. Salinger. It’s the Upper Valley premiere for the film by Woodstock, VT, director James Sadwith, whose TV movies, mini-series and drama series have won or been nominated for more than thirty-five Emmy Awards and Golden Globes.
Twenty films by “local heroes” comprise the Regional Filmmaker Showcase–shorts and features– including Winter Light by Upper Valley native Julian Higgins, who won the gold medal in 2011 Student Academy Awards. Others include Sabra about artist Sabra Field by Dartmouth Film Studies professor Bill Phillips and Zephyr, a tale about “a gang of outlaws-turned-pop-stars,” by Vermont filmmaker Liam O’Connor-Generaux. Saturday night will feature the premiere of Parmalee, a web series based on life in the Upper Valley and featuring Emmy Award winner Gordon Clapp (NYPD Blue).
This year showcases three films about the Deaf world. Deaf Jam is a documentary about a poetry performance workshop for Deaf youth. Deaf Club is a fictional film made by Deaf actors and filmmakers about a Deaf club threatened with extinction. The Tribe is a celebrated fictional film about a boarding school for Deaf youngsters. There will be panel discussions after Deaf Jam and The Tribe with representatives from the Deaf community.
Other features being screened this year explore topics ranging from Cuban car culture, gun safety and drones to migration and fitness culture. The ever-popular CATV/WRIF Film Slam contest returns for the fourth year with a record 24 teams competing for more than $2,000 in prize money, and the winners of the second “Freedom & Unity TV” youth filmmaking contest will be announced at WRIF again this year.
The big wrap-up event for this year’s festival will feature the documentary Zydeco Crossroads, which documents concerts by zydeco artists and explores the Creole culture of Southwest Louisiana. The film will be followed by a Q & A with director Robert Mugge and Diana Zelman. The night will conclude with a musical dance concert performance by Planet Zydeco.
To see the complete schedule and information on tickets, go to: www.wrif.org