newportFILM, celebrating its 5TH year anniversary, today announced an impressive line up of world-class documentaries for their annual summer series, newportFILM Outdoors. The sunset screenings kick off on July 2nd and run through September 10th, with weekly Thursday night events accompanied by filmmaker Q&As. For the first time, top national film writers and critics will moderate many of the post film conversations.
newportFILM Outdoors’ opening night will feature a special showing of “Sunshine Superman” in downtown Newport’s historic Queen Anne Square, followed by a Q&A with director Marah Strauch. The program will continue throughout the season with a notable collection of documentaries including Chai Vasarheyli’s “Meru,” David Holbrooke’s“The Diplomat,” Louie Psihoyos’ “Racing Extinction,” George Butler’s “Tiger, Tiger,” Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon’s “Best of Enemies” and Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s “The Mask You Live In.” Eleven films will be shown this summer in eleven different thoughtfully chosen al fresco “theaters,” with filmmakers on hand.
newportFILM’s Artistic Director, Andrea van Beuren says “We bring the newest and best documentary films to Newport with the goal of engaging and inspiring our extremely diverse and discerning audiences. As home to a large global sailing community, many exceptional universities (including RISD and Brown) and the Naval War College, Newport has an incredibly dynamic, ever-changing portion of residents. We also have a huge international tourist base and have people visiting the island from not only all over the country but all over the world. We choose to offer programming every week throughout the summer so that no matter what week you decide to visit Newport, you’ll have the opportunity to attend a newportFILM event and bring that experience back home with you.”
This year, newportFILM will host a tribute to Albert Maysles with a special screening of “Iris” at the elegant Marble House mansion to be followed by a conversation with Iris Apfel and producer Jennifer Ash Rudick. In addition, newportFILM will screen Maysles newly remastered “Grey Gardens” at the historic Jane Pickens Theater the night before the tribute. Other highlights include a screening of “What Happened, Miss Simone?” at Doris Duke’s Rough Point mansion, followed by a Q&A with director Liz Garbus; a screening of “Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict” on the lawn of the Newport Art Museum, followed by a Q&A with Director Lisa Immordino Vreeland, and a screening of “Harry & Snowman” at the Newport International Polo Grounds. “What Happened, Miss Simone?” is being shown in partnership with the iconic, 61-year-old Newport Jazz Festival.
Executive Director, Terri Conners says “Paying tribute to Albert Maysles at the “Iris” screening in July and showing our community the remastered “Grey Gardens” the night before, is the highlight of our summer, not only because we will have the wonderful Iris Apfel in town but because Maysles represents all that is innovative, important and exciting about documentary filmmaking.”
Past newportFILM titles include many Oscar nominees like “Searching for Sugarman,” “Wasteland,” “If a Tree Falls,” “Finding Vivian Maier,” “Virunga,” “Undefeated,” “Gasland,” and more.
newportFILM Outdoors’ documentaries are screened at picturesque locations, often thematically paired with their films, for example, “The Queen of Versailles” about the largest home ever built in America, was shown on the lawn of the Marble House Mansion, one of the country’s best examples of turn-of-the century opulence and Gilded age architecture. The screening events are unique and experiential, including a curated exhibit of the heiress Doris Duke’s Dior collection and a Dior-inspired picnic contest at lastyear’s screening of “Dior And I” at Doris Duke’s fabled Rough Point mansion. Each film is attended by hundreds of local residents as well as Newport’s summer visitors and guests from around the world. Film screenings are free to the general public.
