Ridgefield Independent Film Festival Returns With Best Shorts Show

RIDGEFIELD, CT — The Ridgefield Independent Film Festival will present Best of RIFF Shorts Fest on Aug. 21 at 2 p.m. at The Ridgefield Playhouse.

The 90-minute program will highlight the best short films from the festival’s seven-year history, including some new shorts submissions. Tickets are available from RIFF's website.

Best of RIFF Shorts marks the official return of RIFF Founder, Joanne Hudson, a local playwright and filmmaker who established the festival in 2015 and served as its director for the inaugural year in 2016. While she has remained involved in various capacities over the years, Hudson is now heading up the newly appointed board of directors for RIFF. Earlier this month, the new board met for the first time to elect officers and plan.

"I am so excited to be leading the festival that I founded and to reaffirm its mission to make the world a more compassionate place through the sharing of stories through cinema," Hudson said. "I’m grateful for the stewardship of Megan Smith Harris and Geoffrey Morris these past few years. Their expertise and dedication brought much attention to RIFF and we intend to build on the incredible community support they cultivated."

One of the main festival’s venues will be under construction this fall, and in an effort to raise more funds to put on a proper festival and reestablish the RIFF interns program, the board voted unanimously to move the main festival back to May. Tentative dates are May 18-21, according to a news release.