A charming film festival

Actor Joey Lenai from the Feature Film Callous which won Audience Favorite award

RIVERSIDE, CA: The buzz was big as over a hundred diverse films were shown at the seventh annual Riverside Film Festival. The charming film festival housed near to a hundred and four films spanning from China to Canada.

The turn out was even better than previous years as the festival attendees were treated to two theaters and ten days to experience the world.

President of the Riverside Film Festival Harki Dhillon MD was excited about the diversity of the films present at RIFF 2009.

“RIFF was a great success this year not only because we reached a goal of over one hundred films and a talented team of filmmakers, but also because we had films from all around the world.  RIFF 2009 was a success!” said Dhillon.

The film festival was held at Regal Cinemas at the Riverside Plaza.  RIFF housed films from India like Made in China directed by Santosh Kohle. This Marathi film depicts a political leader who implements various rural development schemes on and around farmland. 

The film is based on the social and political pressures of today.  Made in China’s screenwriter said, “Our film is based on real events and we want to spread awareness of what is happening today.  The name of our film ‘Made in China’ suggests that we should not follow what happened in China and we should try not to make history repeat itself like how people in China lost their farms.”

Even local films like April Moon were submitted to the festival.  Filmmaker David Asmussen explained how the film was filmed in Temecula, California.  Asmussen explained how RIFF is close in proximity to the production site and most people attending the festival would know of the locations in the movie. 

Lead Actress Stephanie Reibel who plays April in April Moon confirmed the excitement as she said, “I have been to so many different festivals and I like the excitement and the intimate atmosphere at the Riverside Film Festival. I feel like I can get to know all the filmmakers and I am surrounded by so much talent.”

The guest of honor was William Devane.  Devane won the RIFF 2009- Life Time Achievement Award. 

Nancy Douglas, the official RIFF programmer, announced the Audience Favorites at the RIFF awards after party.  In the Dark won Audience Favorite in the Short Film category.  In the Dark is a 17-minute short, which traces a double agent’s return from Iran to the United States.

Lost Boy won Audience Favorite in the Documentary category.  As Filmmaker Dwight Tompson received the award he said, “This film was a labor of love and praise the lord for this recognition.”

Callous directed by Joey Lanai won Audience Favorite in the Feature Film category.  As actor Joey Lanai accepted the award he said, “It was a great honor working on this film and a great honor to take part in the Riverside Film Festival.  The buzz at the festival from the beginning to the end has been remarkable.”

One of the sponsors of RIFF 2009 was DigiQuest Studio.  DigiQuest was also honoring new scripts with an award but will announce the winner in weeks to come.  The winner of the DigiQuest award will be awarded a partnership with DigiQuest as they will co-produce the final prize winning script and make a film. 

RIFF President Harki Dhillon explained the plans for RIFF 2010. He encourages filmmakers to submit their films for next year’s RIFF and hopes to keep RIFF intimate but, at the same time, introduce more diverse topics.