RI Film Fest Descends Upon Newport

The Rhode Island International Film Festival is testing out her sea legs and heading to the island on Saturday for an afternoon of screenings.

Fitting, as the highlight film is about one of Newport's own, Eileen Slocum. "Behind the Hedgerow: Eileen Slocum and the Meaning of Newport Society" is a film that chronicles the evolution of Newport's elite through one of its most esteemed members. Slocum, who died in 2008, is often considered one of the last of the great dames in our city by the sea. A descendant of the Brown family (as in Brown University), Slocum led an extremely wealthy and privileged life—her 459 Bellevue Avenue home was the location of many a lavish party and ball. Through Slocum's diaries, Director David Bettencourt and writer G. Wayne Miller present the story of her life in a daringly intimate way. For us commoners who will never experience the lavishness of such extreme wealth, the next best thing is to absorb it by any means possible, in this case, film."Behind the Hedgerow" will be shown at at Bazarsky Hall on the Salve Regina University campus. Tickets are $30, and include the post-screening reception "High Tea with the Slocums." The screening begins at 2 p.m., starting off with the short films One Shoe Blues (5 minutes), Pedaco de Papel (17 minutes) and Two Hours in the Dark (35 minutes).

Also on the screening list this Saturday are a series of films being shown at the Opera House Theatre. The afternoon there begins at 4 p.m. with the 26 minute-long film "Reunited," which chronicles the journey of a rumpled novelist as he works on writing his memoir. Next up is "PianoMania" (92 minutes), a German/Austrian film about the life of Stefan Knupfer, a Steinway technician who works with some of the world's most famous pianists.

The 7 p.m. hour starts with the 15 minute short "Flat Love," which tells the tale of a man who thinks the world is flat and falls in love with a two dimensional woman at the Museum of Modern Art, followed by "Waking Sleeping Beauty" (86 minutes), a behind the scenes documentary about the Disney animators who changed the face of animated film.

If you stick around for the 9 p.m. hour, get ready for RIFF Around the World: Shorts That Matter. This series of short tales chronicles stories from the U.S., Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, the UK and India. Admission to all the shows at the Opera House is $10.

If these films aren't enough for you, and you dare leave the island on such a lovely weekend, then check out the other selection of RIFF screenings taking place in Providence and Barrington. For a full schedule of films, go here.