What's Up at NIFF 2009?

July's Second Monday features doc 'Herb & Dorothy'

(NEWPORT — June 29, 2009) The Newport International Film Festival will present "Herb & Dorothy" at its next Second Monday Cinema Series screening, Monday, July 13, 2009.

You don't have to be a Medici or a Rockefeller to collect art, according to Herbert and Dorothy Vogel. This documentary film tells the extraordinary story of Herb, a postal clerk, and Dorothy, a librarian - an ordinary couple of modest means who managed to build one of the most important contemporary art collections in history.

In the early 1960s, when very little attention was paid to Minimalist and Conceptual Art, Herb and Dorothy quietly began purchasing the works of unknown artists. Thirty years on, the Vogels managed to accumulate over 4,000 pieces, filling every corner of their living space from the bathroom to the kitchen. Their apartment was near collapse, holding way over its limit. Something had to be done.

In 1992, the Vogels made headlines that shocked the art world: their entire collection was moved to the National Gallery of Art, the vast majority of it as an outright gift to the institution. Many of the works they acquired at modest prices appreciated so significantly that their collection became worth several million dollars, yet the Vogels never sold a single piece to breakdown the collection.

The Vogels' discerning taste and magnanimity changed the face of contemporary art collecting. In 2007, James Stourton, the chairman of Sotheby's UK, included the Vogels in his acclaimed book, Great Collectors of Our Time: Art Collecting Since 1945. Stourton placed Herb and Dorothy among the top art collectors in the world, alongside Getty, Rockefeller and Mellon.

While there are countless films that feature artists, there are few about art collectors. Herb and Dorothy provides a unique chronicle of the world of contemporary art from two unlikely collectors, whose shared passion and discipline defies stereotypes and redefines what it means to be a patron of the arts.

The screening gets underway at 8 pm at The Jane Pickens Theater and Event Center, 49 Touro St., Newport. Tickets are $10 / $8 for NIFF Members and will be available at the door.

NIFF 2009 Photos & Blog

The staff of the Newport International Film Festival thanks all involved — filmmakers, volunteers, sponsors, vendors, the community, and our board of directors — for making the 2009 festival a success.

View photos from the 2000 festival. Or read our blog.

And we hope to see you throughout the year at our Second Monday screenings and other events.

NIFF 2009 Award Winners

June 7, 2009 — The 2009 NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL announced its Jury; Student & Audience Award winners at an event on Sunday, June 7 in the Filmmaker Lounge at the fest headquarters at Empire Tea & Coffee in Newport.

The awards ceremony was kicked off and introduced by Executive Director Jennifer Maizel along with Artistic Director Tom Hall and Programmers Holly Herrick and Andrea van Bueren.

The 2009 Newport International Film Festival Narrative Feature Jury Prize­ presented by Jury member Alison Willmore and carrying a $2,000 cash prize: Children Of Invention, directed by Tze Chun.

Special Narrative Feature Jury Prize: That Evening Sun, directed by Scott Teems.

Narrative Jury -  Alison Willmore, Editor of IFC.com; Jake Perlin, Associate Film Programmer at BamCinematek  and Founder of The Film Desk; Adam Kossack, Manager at management and production firm Anonymous Content.

The 2009 Newport International Film Festival Documentary Feature Jury Prize presented by Jury member Wendy Mitchell and carrying a $2,000 cash prize: The Way We Get By, directed by Aron Gaudet.

Special Documentary Feature Jury Prize: 45365, directed by Bill Ross IV & Turner Ross.

Documentary Jury - Wendy Mitchell, Senior Editor of Screen International and ScreenDaily.com; Clémence Taillandier, Head of Theatrical Sales at Zeitgeist Films; Jeremiah Zagar, Director, In A Dream.

Competition Juries Coordinated by Rachel Balaban.

The 2009 Newport International Film Festival Audience Awards were presented by Tom Hall and Holly Herrick to:

• Audience Award Narrative Feature carrying a cash prize of $750 was presented to: Entre Nos, directed by Paola Mendoza and Gloria La Morte.
• Audience Award Documentary Feature carrying a cash prize of $750 was presented to: The Way We Get By, directed by Aron Gaudet.
• Audience Award Short Film carrying a cash prize of $500 was presented to: I Knew It Was You, directed by Richard Shepard.

The 2009 Newport International Film Festival Children’s Film Program were voted on by the Children’s audience and were programmed by Andrea van Bueren who presented the awards, which each carry a cash prize of $500 to:

• Winner Children’s Short Film Ages 6+: Zoologic, directed by Nicole Mitchell.
• Winner Children’s Short Film Ages 10+: Hakim, directed by Ismail Sahim.
• Winner Children’s Short Film Ages 14+: This Way Up, directed by Smith and Foulkes.

The 2009 Newport International Film Festival Student Film Awards were coordinated by Maggie Drayton who presented the awards to:

• Student Jury Narrative Grand Prize: That Evening Sun, directed by Scott Teems.
• Student Jury Documentary Grand Prize: We Live In Public, directed by Ondi Timoner
• Student Jury Prize Best Actor/Best Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell & Sam Rockwell from Moon. (Introduced by Margaret Maurer)

Student Jury: Conner Broderick, Margaret Maurer, Tim Mendonca, Anastasia Miller, Marnie Murray, Kendra Smith – Middletown High School; Sophie Burnham – Moses Brown; Henry Drayton – Portsmouth Abbey.

The 2009 NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL took place June 3-7 in beautiful Newport, Rhode Island.  This year’s Festival opened with In The Loop, closed with Tabarly (a sailing themed documentary that fit very well with the Newport audience) and in between presented five days and nights of screenings of over 90 U.S. and international feature, documentary and short films; Rhode Island focus, narrative, documentary and audience award competitions; filmmaker panels and events. There was also the collaboration with The Museum of Modern Art: Archival Screenings featuring a special selection of films from The Museum of Modern Art’s annual exhibition To Save and Project: The MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation.

The Newport International Film Festival was thrilled and delighted to be supported by its Premiere Sponsors: Stella Artois, Cox Communications, Hyatt Regency Newport, ABC 6 and Newport Daily News.  Producing Sponsors include Bowen's Wharf, Mercury, Pravda Vodka, The Phoenix, Bellevue Wine & Spirits, Tommy Bahama Rum, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, 93.3 Coast FM, B101, 920 WHJJ and 94 HJY.  Contributing Sponsors include Amtrak, Eastman Kodak, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Clarke Cooke House, Indiepix, Empire Tea & Coffee, Icelandic Glacial and Newport Harbor Hotel & Marina.

For photos of festival attendees having a jolly good festival experience, please visit: http://www.joerugg.com/niff2009/ username: niffstaff / password: niff2009 / go to “springer” folder for photos.

Press Contact:  Gary Springer / Jennifer Blum, Springer Associates PR, 212-354-4660, nffpress@springerassociatespr.com />