The Rome International Film Festival

History

Atlanta filmmaker and Turner Broadcasting System employee, Barry Norman founded a film festival in Dahlonega, Georgia, based on the long-running festival in Figuera da Foz, Portugal. Figuera da Foz, a small, coastal time just south of Oporto, utilized film-screening venues in the center of town, within walking distance of many cafes and restaurants which caused a mini village-like atmosphere during the festival. Norman chose Dahlonega as it had a similar feel - the classic community movie house, The Holly Theater, and lots of local cafes in the circular town square. After a three-year run, Norman moved the festival to Rome, Georgia, due to a lack of sponsorship and local town support. Rome Georgia had the classic, art deco theater, the DeSoto as its anchor venue, and also lots of restaurants and lodging in which to host visitors and filmmakers. Helped by Rome Area Council for the Arts Executive Director, Allen Bell, Norman and Bell relaunched the new festival in 2004. A lot of the initial success was based on the incorrect assumption that the festival was being headed up by British film critic Barry Norman, not an insignificant member of the staff at Turner. Whatever the reason it gave it a jump start, and was able to grow by leaps and bounds once Norman turned over the reigns. The Rome International Film Festival has become one of the premier film festivals in the United States. The RIFF is currently headed by Executive Director Harry Musselwhite, who served as Program Director under Norman in 2005 - 2006.

Rome International Film Festival Awards & Prizes

The programming and award categories have changed little since the festival began in 2003, the RIFF awards films for best Animation, American Documentary, Experimental, Narrative Feature, Narrative Short, and an Audience Award.

2009 Rome International Film Festival

Animation: El Salon Mexico (Dirs. Paul Glickman, Tamarind King)

International Documentary: Sledhead (Canada) (Dir. David Mcllvride)

American Documentary: Mythic Journeys (Dirs. Steven Boe, Whitney Boe)

Experimental: Cycle Break

Narrative Feature: Pound Cake (Dir. Rafael Monserrate)

Narrative Short: Half Kenneth (Dir. Ken Ochiai)

2010 Rome International Film Festival

Animation:

The Astronomer’s Sun (UK) (Dirs. Simon Cartwright, Jessica Ami Cope)*

Father and Sister (South Korea) (Dir. Soyeon Kim)

Staubkaskade (Germany) (Dir. Stefan Pautze)

Sleeping with Charlie Kaufman (Dir. J Roland Kelly)

The Girl, The City, The Magi (a bedtime story) (Dir. Greg Brehm)

Skylight (Canada) (Dir. David Baas)

After Hours (Canada) (Dir. Marshall Fels Elliott)

Sneeze Me Away (Australia) (Dir. Ryan Grobins)

American Documentary:

Primal Twang: The Legacy of the Guitar (Dir. Anthony Adams)*

Do No Harm (Dir. Rebecca Schanberg)

Pass It On (Dir. Wilson Weldon)

Speakers’ Corner-You Have the Right to Remain Vocal (Dir. Gavin White)

Take My Hair (Dir. Cat Del Buono)

From Wood to Singing Guitar (Dir. Shawn Lind)

Torch (Dir. Robert Clay)

Lunch (Dir. Avis Richards)

International Documentary:

Warrior Champions (China) (Dir. Craig Renaud)

Keras and Manis (The Way of Bali) ( Canada) (Dir. William Maranda)

Experimental:

Sunday (Dir. Kris Daw)*

Dessicator [sic] (Netherlands) (Dir. Wijnand Geraerts)

Fragments of the World (Dir. Munefusa Shimohara)

Hortum (Netherlands) (Dir. Ayse Altinok)

Un Occhio Non Dimentica (Italy) (Dir. Giuseppe Chiesa)

Kapsis (Dir. Yen-Ting Cho)

Cafe (Dir. Norman Magden)

Narrative Feature:

Earthwork (Dir. Chris Ordal)*

Fog (Wu) (Hong Kong) (Dir. Kit Hui)

Tobruk (2008 film) (Czech Republic) (Dir. Václav Marhou)

Earthwork (Dir. Chris Ordal)

Heterosexuals (Dir. Robert McCaskill)

Disrupt/Dismantle (Dir. Jack Lucarelli)

A Marine Story (Dir. Ned Farr)

Sister’s Keeper (Dir. Kent Faulcon)

Rambling Rose (film) (Dir. Martha Coolidge)

Narrative Short - US:

The Man in the Glass Case (Dir. Maxwel Addae)*

Unconditionally (Dir. Nelson Cragg)

King of the Road (Dir. Monica Surrena)

Friend of the Devil (Dir. Eric H. Heisner)

Shadows of Sepulveda (Dir. David Joseph)

Elevator (Dir. Nicole Kemper)

Through Sames of Am (Dir. Robert Costello)

The Car Wash (Dir. James Kicklighter)

Karma - A Very Twisted Love Story (Dir. Kevin Foong)

Birthday (Dir. Hans Stiritz)

Recession Santa (Dir. The Woodcreek Faction)

The Tedious Existence of Terrell B. Howell (Dir. David Silverman)

Echoes (Dir. Giulio Musi)

Stones (Dir. Giulio Musi Wennergren)

Telefone (Dir. Jeffrey Bliss)

The Brotherhood of Men (Dir. Tristan Griffin)

Bunny Skates (Dir. The Woodcreek Faction)

She is Beautiful (Dir. Hyun Hee Kim)

The Man in the Glass Case (Dir. Maxwell Addae)

The Desperate (Dir. Ben Hur Sepehr)

The Cycle (Dir. Roy Clovis)

The Prize (Dir. Tantri Wija)

Wrong Tree Wrong Time (Dir. The Woodcreek Faction)

Dead Hearts (UK) (Dir. Simon Caira)

Think Tank (Dir. Peter Callaway)

Wynyouk (Dir. Tantri Wija)

Narrative Short - International:

Sofia (Canada) (Dir. Shervin Kermani)*

Bonfire (Australia) (Dir. Melissa Anastasi)

The Day I Thought I Died (Canada) (Dir. David McCallum)

Toxic Oranges - A Wall Street Fairy Tale (Canada) (Dir. Stephan Littger)

Voice-Over (Canada) (Dir. Eric Warwaruk)

Mamánek (Czech Republic) (Dir. Jesse Baldwin)

Whales (Hong Kong) (Dir. Thomas Barnes)

Aiuto (Italy) (Dir. Frenki Skull)

Mannen med kulorna (Sweden) (Dir. Hans Montelius)

Svarttaxi (Sweden) (Dir. Mak Omanovic)

Chrysalis (United Kingdom) (Dir. Tony Clark)

Wednesday Afternoons (United Kingdom) (Dir. Nora Alsharif)

Copelia (United Kingdom) (Dir. Nic Benns)

Audience Award:

Earthwork (Dir. Chris Ordal)*

2014 Rome International Film Festival

The awards given at the 2014 Rome International Film Festival were as follows.

Festival Award - Best Narrative Short: 2 films recognized:
Intervention: Francesca Murdoch (writer/director)
Tobacco Burn: Justin Liberman, Alvaro R. Valente

R.I.F.F. Jury Award - Best Narrative Feature Film: Movement and Location: Alexis Boling (Harmonium Films)

Audience Award - Best Feature: Movement and Location: Alexis Boling (Harmonium Films)

Gladiator Award: B.F.E.: Shawn Telford (writer/director)

Shepherd Award: No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie: Liz Tannebaum (producer), Douglas Matejka (producer), John Maucere (actor), Taly Ravid (writer)