The Southeast New England (SENE) Film, Music & Arts Festival is pleased to announce its 2009 feature film lineup. In addition to eight music performances, seven exhibiting artists and five parties, SENE will offer 60 feature films and short films including some World, U.S. and New England premieres. The first annual SENE Film, Music & Arts Festival runs April 2-5, 2009 in downtown Providence.
In addition to the festival's $1,000 cash award for Best Feature Film, cash awards will also be presented to the winners of Best Short Film and Best Animated Film. An independent panel of film industry professionals and film enthusiasts from around the world will server as jurors.
The 2009 film lineup includes the following feature length films:
NARRATIVE FEATURES
"Alone (Issaz Adam)"(Turkey, 2008, 113 min.)Director: Cagan Irmak Cast: Cemal Hunal, Melis Birkan, Yildiz KulturUS Premiere
Friday, April 3, 7:00 PMCable Car Cinema
Thirty-something Alper is a talented chef who runs his own restaurant. He may have achieved success in business, but the same cannot be said of his personal life. While caught in the triangle of his gastronomic creations, one-night stands and escort girls, he suddenly finds his life take a new turn when he walks into a second-hand bookshop in the back streets of Beyoglu to buy an old record he has been looking for.
"Audie & the Wolf"(USA, 2008, 80 min.)Director: B. Scott O'MalleyCast: Tara Price, Christa Campbell, Rance Howard, Richard RiehleNew England Premiere
Saturday, April 4, 9:30 PMRISD Auditorium
This dark comedy/horror film offers a topsy-turvy take on the classic werewolf legend. Hit by a beautiful actress' car, a wolf is brought back to a mansion in the Hollywood Hills, where by the light of the full moon he turns into a savage, bloodthirsty MAN and goes on a killing spree. Not remembering who he is, why he's killing, or how he got there, this John Doe enlists the help of a punk rock grocery delivery girl named Audie Bantam, who tries to help John with his amnesia, and they quickly fall in love. But John soon discovers that those he killed have come back as zombies, and he must fight them as they escape from the basement, as well as fight his wolf urges to kill and eat Audie, if he wants to set things right and get the girl in the end.
"Between Something & Nothing"(USA, 2008, 105 min.)Director: Todd Verow Cast: Tim Swain, Gil Bar-Sela, Julia FreyNew England Premiere
Sunday, April 5, 7:00 PMRISD AuditoriumDirector Todd Verow and cast members will be in attendance
After being accepted into a prestigious New England art school, sexy small-town Joe and townie mastermind Jennifer quickly join forces. Both are forced into work-study jobs to satisfy their tuition responsibilities - but soon discover more profitable ways to supplement their scholarships through Creative Shoplifting 101 and Remedial Male Prostitution. When Joe eventually falls for enigmatic hustler Ramon, and Jennifer gets mistakenly caught up in a bad drug deal, their little world starts to spin too fast for them to continue to control.
"The Other Side of the Tracks"(USA, 2008, 93 min.)Director: A.D. Calvo Cast: Brendan Fehr, Chad Lindberg, Tania Raymonde, Beatrice Rosen, Natassia Malthe, Sam Robards, Stephnie Weir, Shirley Knight
Saturday, April 4, 7:00 PMRISD AuditoriumDirector A.D. Calvo will be in attendance
Still living at home and working at a local pizza parlor, Josh is numbed by the haunting memories of his high school girlfriend, killed 10 years ago in a train-car accident. His old friend Rusty tries to rouse Josh from his stalled life, but when Josh meets a spirited young waitress, who looks suspiciously like his high school girlfriend, Josh begins to feel pulled in opposite directions. Is she real or a ghost from his haunted past? Who is really looking out for Josh, the girl, or his best friend?
"Ranchero"(USA, 2008, 95 min.)Director: Richard KaponasCast: Brian Johnson, Christina Woods, Danny Trejo, Ruth Livier, Jade GordonEast Coast Premiere
Friday, April 3, 9:30 PMCable Car Cinema
"Ranchero" is the fish-out-of-water story of Jesse Torres (Roger Gutierrez), a small town cattle rancher with 50's sensibilities. Now in his late 30's, Jesse proudly wears his idol, Buddy Holly, inked on his bicep. Coupled with a love for photography, Jesse doesn't quite fit the mold of his peers, and dreams of a more diverse environment. The son of poor, uneducated, Mexican immigrants, he was born into the life of a ranch hand. Resentful of his forced station in society, Jesse packs his bags, cuffs his jeans, and leaves his country home for the bright lights of the city. Moving next door to his childhood friend Tom (Brian Eric Johnson) in a seedy Hollywood apartment, Jesse is thrilled to be stepping out into the world. Unfortunately, the honeymoon soon ends when Jesse is challenged by local hustler Capone (Danny Trejo) and comes face to face with the realities of drug addiction and street violence.
"Yesterday Was a Lie"(USA, 2008, 89 min.)Director: James Kerwin Cast: Chase Masterson, John Newton, Mik Scriba, Nathan Mobley, Warren Davis, Megan Henning, Jennifer Slimko, Peter Mayhew, Robert SiegelNew England Premiere
Sunday, April 5, 7:00 PMCable Car Cinema
A groundbreaking new noir film, "Yesterday Was a Lie" combines the thrills of a classic detective mystery with the imagination of science fantasy. Hoyle -- a girl with a sharp mind and a weakness for bourbon -- is investigating introverted artist/archaeologist John Dudas. But her work takes an unforeseen twist as she begins to experience events around her in a mysterious, disjointed manner. With the assistance of her loyal partner and a cute young lounge singer, Hoyle uncovers a plot to unravel earth-shattering cosmological secrets, smuggled out of 1930s Germany by a Nazi defector.
FAMILY FEATURE (recommended for ages 12 and up)
"Pendragon, Sword of His Father"(USA, 2008, 112 min.)Director: Chad Burns Cast: Aaron Burns, Nick Burns, Marilyn Burns, Erik Dewar, Andy BurnsEast Coast Premiere
Friday, April 3, 7:00 PMRISD Auditorium
A Christian epic adventure film set in 411 AD, Pendragon, Sword of His Father tells the story of young Artos who is raised to believe that God has a purpose for each day. When his family is killed and he is taken into slavery by the Saxons, Artos questions his God. Advancing through the military ranks, Artos begins to understand that his father's vision was not based on the strength of man, but on the plan of God. Further betrayal by his friends forces Artos to decide between following God's plan unto certain death or abandoning God to save his own life.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
"America's Lost Band'Special Guests: The Remains will perform (unplugged) after the screening(USA, 2008, 65 min.)Director: Michael Stich
Friday, April 3, 9:30 PMRISD AuditoriumThe Remains band members Barry Tashian, Vern Miller, Bill Briggs and Chip Damiani will answer audience questions before their performance.
'Had these Boston bad boys stuck it out beyond their 1966 debut, we might today be calling them--and not the Stones--the World's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band. As it is, The Remains most certainly are America's greatest lost band.' Mark Kemp, June 2007 Paste Magazine. The Remains appeared on Ed Sullivan, opened for the Beatles, and then broke up on the brink of fame. "America's Lost Band" is a documentary of The Remains' return to Los Angeles for the first time in 40 years, since opening for the Beatles, a film that follows a group of 60-year-old musicians back together pursuing their passion.
"Courthouse Girls of Farmland"(USA, 2008, 52 min.)Director: Norman KleinNew England Premiere
Saturday, April 4, 2:00 PMCable Car CinemaThe "Courthouse Girls" will be in attendance
"Courthouse Girls of Farmland" is a story about a small Indiana town and seven senior women who got up from their bridge club table to make a bold statement about historic preservation. Upset about plans to destroy the 130-year-old courthouse, the women threw caution -- and their clothes -- to the wind by posing for a fundraising calendar that created a firestorm of controversy.
"They Came to Play"(USA, 2008, 91 min.)Director: Alex RotaruNew England Premiere
Sunday, April 5, 2:00 PMCable Car Cinema
"They Came to Play" is an uplifting feature-length documentary chronicling the passion, pressure and potential surrounding The International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs hosted by The Van Cliburn Foundation, a prestigious event which reunites seventy-five of the world's best amateur pianists with their dreams, if only for a brief time. Players from all over the world, ranging from self-taught to classically-trained, aged thirty-five to almost eighty, convene for a week of intense competition, music and camaraderie.
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About the first annual SENE Film, Music & Arts Festival
The Southeast New England (SENE) Film, Music & Arts Festival takes place April 2-5 in Providence, RI. This unique new festival will include 60 films, 8 bands/musicians, 7 artists and 5 parties over 4 days. Film, music and art venues include RISD Auditorium, Cable Car Cinema, Avon Cinema, The Spot on Thayer, Everyman Bistro, Gallery DEMI and the Artists' Exchange.
Tickets for most screenings are $8 ($5 for students, seniors and members). Tickets for the opening night film at the Avon Cinema and the "America's Lost Band"/The Remains special event at the RISD Auditorium are $10 ($5 for students, seniors and members).
The festival is produced by Southeast New England Film, Music and Arts, a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization and is sponsored in part by Fidelity Investments, Cardi's Furniture, NBC 10, Motif Magazine, Marriott Courtyard, Chelo's, B-Side, the Artists' Exchange, Breaking Branches Pictures and Two Sisters' Productions.
To view complete schedule information or to find out more about the festival, please visit
www.senefilm.org or call 401-603-0252.
This is not an RIFC Production**
Labels: screenings, sene