“Signing Tony Raymond” will open this year’s Rome International Film Festival (RIFF) on Nov. 6.
The festival will take place from Nov. 6-9 in historic downtown Rome. This is the 22nd iteration of the film festival, which has hosted the likes of Ethan Hawke and Tim Blake Nelson in years past.
According to a press release, “Signing Tony Raymond” comes from filmmaker Glen Owen. The film, which was shot in Georgia, is set in the modern day college football recruiting era and stars Michael Mosley, Mira Sorvino, and Rob Morgan. The festival also announced that it will host a screening of “Lone Samurai,” Josh C. Waller’s film about a Japanese warrior marooned on a desert island. That film will screen on Nov. 8.
“This year RIFF is presenting a special focus on Georgia productions while continuing to showcase independent film voices from around the world,” said RIFF Creative Director Seth Ingram in the release.
This year’s Flannery O’Connor Award for Storytelling will go to Jerusha Hess, the co-writer and executive producer of 2004’s “Napoleon Dynamite” and co-writer of “Nacho Libre.” Tim Blake Nelson, last year’s recipient of the award, will present her with the honor on Nov. 7. Her collaborator and husband Jared Hess, who directed both films, is also scheduled to appear.
RIFF also announced a partnership with the Cinema South Festival in Southern Israel to show student films from Sapir University. In response to the war in Gaza, many Hollywood figures have signed a pledge to boycott Israeli film institutions, including festivals, that are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.” Michel Gondry, best known for films like “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” recently pulled his new film, “Maya, Give Me a Title,” from the upcoming Cinema South Festival, according to an article in the Times of Israel. Gondry did not issue a statement, but festival organizers said other international films have withdrawn amid a growing cultural boycott against Israel. An independent commission set up by the UN Human Rights Council said recently that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Ingram said RIFF does not want to punish filmmakers based on where they’re from.
“The events in Gaza and Israel weigh heavily on our hearts, but we believe cinema has the power to build bridges across cultures and borders,” he said in a statement. “Filmmakers – no matter where they’re from – should not be punished for political circumstances beyond their control. At the Rome International Film Festival, we value peace through art”
The festival includes films from 18 nations, including Italy and the Bahamas. There will be other special events and panels, including a Latin Voices panel on Nov. 8. Georgia made films such as “Fried Chicken Day,” “Remote,” “American Deadbolt,” and “We’re So Dead” are expected to play the festival.
Festival passes are available online. The full schedule will be released online at a later date.
