All online orders placed after May 5th will be available for pick up only at the RHFIFF box office under "will call."
SPoT Coffee is located at 200 East Avenue. The box office will be open daily from noon until 9 pm through May 18.
2009 RHFIFF Announces Special Public Events
The 2009 Rochester High Falls International Film Festival will hold a "Saturday Night Special... Party at the Falls" on Saturday, May 16th at the new Max at High Falls Event Center (formerly the Centers at High Falls) from 9 pm to 1 am. This marks the grand opening of Tony Gullace's latest in his successful Max enterprises, and will feature delicious food, open bar for beer and wine, live music from Different Every Time and Nate Coffey and the New Brew, an auction hosted by Beck, of Kimberly and Beck from "The Breakfast Buzz" on 98.9 which will feature an original piece from nationally renown sculptor Albert Paley, a laser show, and stars and filmmakers who are special guests of the film festival. Tickets cost $30 and benefit RHFIFF 2010.
RHFIFF kicks off its weekend with another public party on Thursday, May 14th with "Mingle! With Rochester High Falls International Film Festival and We ROC"at One Restaurant and Lounge, 1 Ryan Alley, just off East Ave. near Alexander. The party starts at 9 pm and will feature music, film projection on One's fantastic big screen/ bar, one free drink ticket and delicious hors d'oeuvres. The first 100 people at the party get a We ROC swag bag, just like the bags provided to the festival's celebrities and filmmakers. Tickets cost $20.
2009 RHFIFF collaborates with the Reel Mind Film Series
My Mother's Garden will be the kick-off film for the Reel Mind Film Series, an exciting new community collaboration between a number of local mental health agencies and RHFIFF. The goal of the series, founded by the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness – Rochester (NAMI) and co-curated by RHFIFF, is to "address the social stigma of mental illness, and provide a message that there is hope, that recovery is possible" Laurence Guttmacher, M.D., Clinical Director, Rochester Psychiatric Center and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Humanities, University of Rochester. Other Reel Mind key collaborators include the Mental Health Association, DePaul Community Services, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Compeer, East House, Rochester Rehabilitation Center and the University of Rochester Cluster on Human Values. "Mental illness is a disease that touches all of us in one way or another, and it is oft-misunderstood and burdened with shame, unlike other diseases. It's very exciting to collaborate on a series that works so effectively to spread light and hope around various diagnoses," said RHFIFF Co-Programmer Ruth Cowing.
Local writer to be featured at 2009 Rochester High Falls International Film Festival Screenplay Live!
RochesterTalent.com, in association with the Rochester High Falls International Film Festival (RHFIFF), is pleased to announce the winner of the 2009 "Screenplay Live!" Screenwriting Competition, Zoje Stage.
Zoje's script, titled The Machine Who Loved, is the story of a woman who uses her life savings to create the man of her dreams - an artificial life form tailored to her every specification. When he begins displaying a range of turbulent emotions she is forced to choose between soldiering through with the relationship, or having him destroyed. "This script is a culmination of my fascination and dislike of 
the film A.I.. I loved the family dynamic of living with a being the was 'made to order' but instead A.I. lost that focus. If you write a list of all of the things you want in a mate, is that what you really want?"
"It is a special opportunity for Rochester to see the direct link between the written word and how it gets translated in a reading. This is crucial to the synergy between the actor and writer," states the Honorable Marilyn O'Connor, reviewer of this year's screenplay admissions. "My surprise was finding this talent in our own backyard."
A staged reading of The Machine Who Loved will be performed as a part of the regular program at the upcoming Rochester High Falls International Film Festival, scheduled for May 13th through 18th, 2009. Stage will have the opportunity to discuss her work with the audience and cast members immediately following the reading.
WXXI to provide a "virtual venue" for the 8th annual Rochester High Falls International Film Festival
ROCHESTER, NY, April 28, 2009 -- The Rochester High Falls International Film Festival is proud to announce a unique collaboration with WXXI for its eighth outing. The festival, to run Wednesday May 13th through Monday May 18th at the Little Theatre, the Memorial Art Gallery, RIT and other venues around Rochester, will be preceded on Tuesday May 12th at 8 p.m. with a special airing on WXXI of The Muslims I Know, by local director Mara Ahmed.
"If you search the words "moderate Muslim" today you will get more than eight million hits on the internet," says director Ahmed, a Pittsford resident. "The need to identify "militant jihadists" by distinguishing them from moderate Muslims has cast suspicion on all Muslims in America. Stereotypes are becoming well-entrenched."
The Muslims I Know is a documentary that attempts to break those stereotypes by showcasing Pakistani Americans living in Rochester and asking them questions non-Muslim Americans have framed through interviews.
"In a post-9/11 world, westerners seem to be trying to make sense of Islam and its followers," says the Festival's Executive Director Rosie Taravella. "This film is current with today's headlines and is relevant for every viewer. And as a women's film festival, we're very proud to be showcasing Mara's debut film. She's a wonderful cinematic storyteller, and she's right here in Rochester."
"One of the goals of WXXI is to support independent film," says WXXI's Vice President of Television Elissa Orlando. " Programs like P.O.V. and Independent Lens do that on a regular basis on WXXI Television. And since it is also our mission to support and celebrate Rochester's rich cultural life, it makes sense that WXXI would become a ‘virtual venue' for the High Falls Film Festival.
The Muslims I Know will be broadcast on May 12th at 8 pm on WXXI TV 21, WXXI Cable Channel 11 and on WXXI HD 21.1. In addition to the television documentary, director Mara Ahmed will participate in a live online chat immediately following the television show. The chat will be open to the public and available at www.wxxi.org.
For more information about the broadcasts, go to www.wxxi.org; to see the full schedule of films to be shown at RHFIFF, go to www.rochestersmoviefest.com.
To purchase a copy of the film: http://www.themuslimsiknow.com.
Lynn Redgrave, CCH Pounder, and Lesley Stahl to Attend the
Rochester High Falls International Film Festival, May 13-18
Wavy Gravy and Susan Stamberg to appear on Opening Night
Tickets now on sale at www.rochestersmoviefest.com
Rochester, N.Y., April 16, 2009 - The Rochester High Falls International Film Festival (RHFIFF) has announced today that actors Lynn Redgrave, CCH Pounder, and Pat Carroll, journalists Lesley Stahl and Susan Stamberg, and 1960s icon Wavy Gravy will be featured at this year's festival, slated from Wednesday, May 13th through Monday, May 18th at various venues around Rochester. Individual tickets are available online as of today, and can be purchased here.
"We are thrilled to add Lynn Redgrave and CCH Pounder to our roster," said RHFIFF's artistic director, Catherine Wyler. "Lynn is a consummate actor and the embodiment of the theatrical adage that 'the show must go on.' CCH is equally experienced on stage, screen and television and she is also a founding member of Artists for a New South Africa and has created two art museums, one in Dakar and one in Los Angeles. These are two extraordinary women." Redgrave, the fifth generation of the celebrated theatrical family who is currently touring in her one-woman show, Rachel and Juliet, is slated to receive the Festival's Susan B. Anthony "Failure is Impossible" Award on Saturday, May 16th at 7 p.m. at Little One, prior to the screening of 500 Days of Summer, a new film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. Pounder will be presented her "Failure is Impossible" award by CBS' 60 Minutes star and RHFIFF Honorary board member Lesley Stahl on Friday at 7:15 p.m. at Little Theatre One with the film Easy Virtue, a romantic comedy featuring Colin Firth, Jessica Biel and Kristin Scott Thomas.
Read more...
