Readying, and hoping, for this year's RI International Film Festival

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We have been big fans and supporters of the Rhode Island International Film Festival for as long as we can remember.

Every August (Aug. 4-9 this year) we sit in dark, air conditioned theatres at RISD, Vets and other locations around the state, watching literally hundreds of independent short and feature films from around the world.

Hopefully, things will be back to normal by then, and the festival will go on as planned.

In the meantime, Joyce and I have been filling our afternoons judging over 200 short film entries on our computer. This is the first round for the films as they compete for a coveted spot in the festival.

The films run in length from under 10 minutes to around 30 minutes, Some are absolutely fantastic, many are good, and a few are a challenge to sit through.

Rhode Island is the only festival in New England that qualifies films for the Academy Award competitions, and our little state has had more than its share of winners over the years.

We were most impressed by a short film “Chumback,” submitted by former Cranstonian James Simmons.

NETFLIX, ET AL

We have just subscribed to Netflix and finally saw the terrific film “The Two Popes,” starring Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Price, which never played locally. We recommend it.

Unfortunately, the other subscription channels are still carrying movies that we have already seen and reviewed. Hopefully, Netflix will provide us with some review opportunities in the future.

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