This movie lives and dies by it’s protagonists. Rachael Harris nails the performance with this film often giving us the subtlest gestures to convey a complex emotion. Huebel holds his own with her and together the two have sincere chemistry. They’re not swooning lovers and there’s not meet-cute. They are real people with real desires.
The 2020 edition of Dallas’ Best of Fests doubled down on the remarkable fact that the film festival, which incorporated more than two dozen of Dallas, Fort Worth, and North Texas’ film festivals was accomplished last year, by managing to produce a robust sequel this year. There is a rare collegial relationship between the vast majority of the film festival heads in the area and many of them share several seasonal staffers, volunteers, and, of course, audience members.
“What audiences will most like about INTERNATIONAL FALLS is undoubtedly its human elements: the characters, the emotions, and the humor are all realistic and relatable, making for an easy to fall in love with feature,” said Brett Rogalsky, Acquisitions Coordinator at Gravitas Ventures.
Best of Fests Festival Producer Erin Nicole Parisi said, “It was remarkable that this special film event was accomplished last year and the fact that we have been able to bring everyone together once again speaks to something truly wonderful and unique about the film festival and film loving community in Dallas, Fort Worth and North Texas. These films represent the wide range of styles, interests, storytelling, and entertainment that the amazing array of film festivals throughout this area bring to audiences all year long.”
“The See It, Be It Filmmaker Fellowship was born from the belief that major change will occur only when passion has the opportunity to align with both platform and purpose,” said Wendy Guerrero, President of Programming for the Bentonville Film Festival.“With this fellowship, we aim to further opportunities for storytellers to achieve success by opening ports of access historically closed to women, people with disabilities, people of color and the LGBTQ+ communities. This cohort of filmmakers has been selected because of their distinct voices and because they are ready to take the next steps in shaping their own narratives.”
However, NIFF has another secret weapon that makes it unique and a must stop for a filmmaker (if they can get accepted into the lineup) in the midst of their film festival tour: The Artis—Naples duo of CEO and President Kathleen van Bergen, and Executive Vice President, Artistic Operations David Filner. And let me add some context here: I worked for a number of years as the Senior Publicist for the Film Society of Lincoln Center (and all of heir film festivals and events like NYFF, New Directors, the Chaplin Gala, etc.). During the 5 years I was there, I think I saw the top guy at Lincoln Center once, possibly twice, and both were at – I kid you not – ribbon cutting ceremonies. That was it. There just wasn’t that kind of connection with the overarching ARTS umbrella organization.
The 2019 Naples International Film Festival announced the filmmaker award winners during the Closing Night Awards Ceremony on Sunday, October 27. The jury prize for Best Narrative Feature (and a cash prize of $7,500) went to Amber McGinnis’ INTERNATIONAL FALLS, and the jury prize for Best Documentary Feature (and $7,500) was given to Bill Gallagher’s RUNNER. Gallagher’s film also took NIFF’s Audience Award for Documentary Feature (and an additional $2,000), while R.J. Daniel Hanna’s MISS VIRGINIA was the Audience Choice for Narrative Feature (also receiving $2,000).
Naples International Film Festival Producer Shannon Franklin said, “We simply have a wonderful lineup of films this year. From tearjerkers and thoughtful dramas, to sincerely funny and delightful comedies, as well as documentaries that are sure to keep you off guard, our audiences will be riding a roller coaster of emotions over the four days of NIFF. And what could be cooler than that?”
