Ridgefield Independent Film Festival​'s Founder Is Back In The Saddle

RIDGEFIELD, CT — Most people who want to learn how to shoot a movie will take a class, read a book or watch some videos on YouTube.

Joanne Hudson started her own film festival.

"I wanted to learn how to make short films, learn the craft, but I didn't really have the guts to do it myself. So I put on a film festival," she told Patch.

Hudson makes the launch of the Ridgefield Independent Film Festival seven years ago sound simple, but admitted it was no walk in Ballard Park. She's "not that social of a person," she said, and it takes a lot for her to pick up the phone.

Although she had plenty of creative contacts, dating from time spent taking film and playwriting classes at Columbia University, her list of community contacts was a blank page. She said she filled that by just showing up, making a point to attend meetings of civic organizations like the Rotary Club, where she could meet all of Ridgefield's key players.

Getting the town on board, finding a way to weave it into the cloth of her festival, would be crucial.

"I saw Ridgefield as a stage," Hudson said. "And I was putting on a show. I still see it that way."

The annual Ridgefield Independent Film Festival began with a splash in May 2016, screening 72 films from 26 countries across 10 venues throughout the town. Although successful, the effort was also "kind of overwhelming" and the number of venues was scaled back in subsequent years. Hudson scaled back her involvement as well, handing off the festival director reins first to Jill Mango and Sean Murphy, and then to Megan Smith-Harris and executive director Geoffrey Morris, who eventually talked her back into the game.

Now she's back pressing flesh and picking up phones again, and "everybody's very warm and welcoming. So far."

Everybody's also now hard at work watching the films that will eventually make their way onto RIFF's many marquees in May. The reels submitted for consideration by the festival are all first screened and selected by Ridgefield residents, who log their comments and ratings online. Once the films pass that gauntlet, Hudson and her team make the final cuts based upon criteria which include genre and length. From there, the films are reviewed by jurors — all industry professionals — who will honor some of them with awards at a ceremony on the final night of the festival.

In May 2021, the Connecticut Office of the Arts designated Ridgefield as Connecticut's first Cultural District. Hudson believes RIFF played no small role in that. The festival was designed to not only bring independent films and filmmakers to Ridgefield, but introduce Ridgefield to the filmmaking community, Hudson said. That effort has been very successful, with moviemakers coming to town from as far as away as China.

"I want to get that community spirit going," Hudson said. "Our mission is to make the world a more compassionate place through the sharing of stories through cinema. And I just want to get that collective collaborative spirit happening again. And I think, after the COVID, lockdown and everything, that people are feeling a need to come together."

The Festival will open Thursday night, May 18 at The Ridgefield Playhouse with a feature film to be announced and will continue on Friday afternoon, May 19, at The Ridgefield Library, and evening at The Prospector Theater. Friday late-night the festival travels to The Ridgefield Theater Barn for Psych Night, a popular offering that showcases "weird and wonderful" shorts. On Saturday, RIFF will have screenings running all day and evening at the Theater Barn and Keeler Tavern Museum, followed by a closing night party at a location still to be determined. Sunday will be devoted to an awards ceremony at Keeler Tavern Museum. From May 2-21, selected film posters will be displayed at Ridgefield Library's art gallery.

"I think it's important to see films in the theater, where our hearts are beating at the same rate, where you're having this similar experience together at the same time," Hudson said. "I just think that's really important for society, and connection."