photo by J Clancy Photography
newportFILM Outdoors 2015:
Thursday, July 2
SUNSHINE SUPERMAN
Q&A with Marah Strauch, Director
Location: Queen Anne Square, Newport, RI
A heart-racing documentary portrait of Carl Boenish, the father of the BASE-jumping movement, whose early passion for skydiving led him to ever more spectacular –and dangerous– feats of foot-launched human flight. Director Marah Strauch.
Thursday, July 9
MERU
Q&A with Chai Vasarheyli, Director
Location: St. George’s School Lawn, Middletown, RI
MERU is the story of three friends journey to climb Mount Meru. A story of friendship, sacrifice, hope and obsession. Directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi.
Thursday, July 16
IRIS
Q&A and tribute to Albert Maysles with Iris Apfel & Jennifer Ash Rudick, Producer
Location: Marble House, Newport, RI
“Grey Gardens” will be shown as part of tribute Wednesday, July 15 at Jane Pickens Theater, Newport
The latest film from legendary documentarian Albert Maysles, IRIS pairs the late 88-year-old filmmaker with Iris Apfel, the quick-witted, flamboyantly dressed 93-year-old style maven who has had an outsized presence on the New York fashion scene for decades. Director Albert Maysles.
Thursday, July 23
THE DIPLOMAT
Q&A with David Holbrooke, Director
Location: Redwood Library and Athenaeum, Newport, RI
The Diplomat tells the remarkable story of the life and legacy of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, whose singular career spans fifty years of American foreign policy from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Told through the perspective of his eldest son David, the documentary takes you behind the scenes of high stakes diplomacy where peace is waged and wars are ended. The film will be released in 2015, the 20th anniversary of Holbrooke’s crowning achievement: the Dayton Peace Accords which ended the war in Bosnia. Director David Holbrooke.
Thursday, July 30
WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE?
Q&A with Liz Garbus, Director
Location: Doris Duke’s Rough Point, Newport, RI
Partner: Newport Jazz Festival
Classically trained pianist, dive-bar chanteuse, black power icon and legendary recording artist, Nina Simone lived a life of brutal honesty, musical genius and tortured melancholy. In this epic documentary, director Liz Garbus interweaves never-before-heard recordings and rare archival footage together with Nina’s most memorable songs, to create an unforgettable portrait of one of the least understood, yet most beloved, artists of our time. Director Liz Garbus.
Thursday, August 6
PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: ART ADDICT
Q&A with Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Director
Location: Newport Art Museum Lawn, Newport, RI
Peggy Guggenheim – Art Addict is a portrait of a patron of the arts extraordinaire who transformed a modest fortune into one of the premiere collections of twentieth century modern art. Director Lisa Immordino Vreeland.
Thursday, August 13
BEST OF ENEMIES
Q&A with Robert Gordon, Co-Director
Location: The Elms Mansion Garden, Newport, RI
Best of Enemies is a behind-the-scenes account of the explosive 1968 televised debates between liberal Gore Vidal and conservative William F. Buckley Jr., and their rancorous disagreements about politics, God and sex. Directors Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville.
Thursday, August 20
RACING EXTINCTION
Q&A with Louie Psihoyos, Director
Location: TBD
Oscar®-winning director Louie Psihoyos (THE COVE) assembles a team of artists and activists on an undercover operation to expose the hidden world of endangered species and the race to protect them against mass extinction. Spanning the globe to infiltrate the world’s most dangerous black markets and using high tech tactics to document the link between carbon emissions and species extinction, RACING EXTINCTION reveals stunning, never-before seen images that truly change the way we see the world. Director Louie Psihoyos.
Thursday, August 27
HARRY & SNOWMAN
Location: Newport International Polo Grounds, Middletown, RI
HARRY & SNOWMAN is a feature length documentary that tells the remarkable life story of international show jumping legend Harry deLeyer, whose career was launched by his famous show jumping horse Snowman. Directed by Ron Davis.
Thursday, September 3 – newportFILM Outdoors closing film
TIGER, TIGER
Location: Norman Bird Sanctuary, Middletown, RI
Set in one of the least known landscapes left on earth, Tiger, Tiger is the story of a man with numbered days seeking to save the tiger, an animal whose days may also numbered. Director George Butler.
Thursday, September 10 – bonus screening
THE MASK YOU LIVE IN
Location: The Great Friends Meeting House, Newport, RI
The Mask You Live In follows boys and young men as they struggle to stay true to themselves while negotiating America’s narrow definition of masculinity. Director Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
Rain Venues:
July 2, 23, 30, August 6, 8, 13, 20, 27, September 3: Casino Theater, 9 Freebody Street, Newport
July 9 & 16: St. George’s School, Madeira Hall, Middletown, RI
About newportFILM
newportFILM is a year-round, non-profit documentary film series in Newport, Rhode Island that features established and emerging filmmakers and their current films, curated from film festivals around the world. newportFILM’s summer season brings the film experience outdoors amongst Aquidneck Island’s most beautiful open-air spaces: thriving nature preserves, sprawling ocean-front lawns, elegant mansion gardens, public parks and working farms are just a sampling of the picturesque venues used.
The newportFILM Outdoors summer series is presented by Lila Delman Real Estate International. Year round newportFILM sponsors are Franklin & Company Design Associates, The Strand Hotel NYC, Kirby Perkins Construction and Lexington Partners.
