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WRIF EDITION

Connecting Film and Media Makers across the Upper Valley

From February 15 to 18, 2024, WRIF (White River Indie Films) will return to JAM – Junction Arts & Media and the Briggs Opera House screening highly anticipated new independent and international features selected by WRIF volunteers and JAM programming staff for their topicality, artistic value, and flair. Programming Director Travis Weedon says, “we’re casting a wide net of exceptional cinema this year, from celebrated Oscar nominees to underground gems. Since we’re kicking things off Valentine’s weekend, our overarching theme is love. Whether that’s romantic, sweetly platonic, love for one’s community or family, or, especially, radical acts of self-love, this year we hope to bring people together and leave their hearts full.”

Friday’s official opening night brings France’s sumptuously extravagant and deeply romantic Oscar submission The Taste of Things to the screen following an opening-night gala at the Briggs Opera House. Over the weekend, WRIF will present more international Oscar contenders, including Wim Wenders’ sublime Perfect Days and the formally daring, emotionally gripping documentary Four Daughters. Other sensational offerings include a heartfelt animated story about the friendship between a dog and his automatron companion, Robot Dreams, and Orlando: My Political Biography, a genre-flexible documentary that uses Virginia Woolf’s 1928 century-spanning, gender-bending novel as a template for the modern trans experience. The festival will conclude Sunday night with The Sweet East, a buoyant picaresque through the subcultures and political fringe of the American East Coast, starring Talia Ryder, Ayo Edibiri, Jacob Elordi, and Simon Rex.

For the first time ever, WRIF will offer a curated “Vermont Midnight” selection of subversive, not-so-late-night features and cult classics starting after 8:00 PM. The Vermont Midnight Pass grants festival goers access to films such as local folk horror short, The Thaw, French-Canadian vampire rom com, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, and a reserved seat to the pre-pre opening night Rocky Horror Picture Show Valentines Spectacular!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a part of a live taping of shark-tank? Want to know what other creatives in your community are making? Meet filmmakers? Make connections? Crew up your next project!? Come to Pitch Fest!!!!!

From 6:00PM-7:30PM join us in the Briggs Opera House to hear live pitches from 7 brave local artists with ideas they would like JAM to fund. The whole event will be filmed and edited in classic shark-tank style. As part of our live studio audience, you will be able to hear the pitches, the judges direct feedback, and watch the world premiere of 2023 PitchFest winner Loren Howards first feature film, Custodian at 8pm. Winners of #PitchFest 2.0 will be announced following the film screening.

Meet the writers and directors of folk horror short, The Thaw, Sarah Wisner & Sean Temple, as they introduce their locally shot film which was an official selection at 2023 Fantastic Fest, 2023 Telluride Horror Show, and now WRIF!

 A panel conversation moderated by Joe Major (White River Rotary) with Annette Brown (Norwich Women's Club), David Crandall (Lebanon Rotary), Rachael Thomeer (Upper Vally Young Professionals, Valley Improv), Tatum Barnes (Hartford Parks & Rec), David Briggs (White River Rotary), and Join or Die editor, Chad Ervin about the imperative nature of civic engagement!

Four Daughters is a behind-the-scenes expose of buried traumas, fitful efforts at liberation, and a religious radicalization that tears the family apart. An after-care style conversation moderated by filmmaker Laura Plasencia with actor Allison Fay Brown and graphic novelist Natalie Norris will follow this screening.

Nominated for Best Animated Feature, Robot Dreams is for young and old alike, a deeply human investigation into the tender longings of friendship, with nary a human on the screen. All ages are invited to join us in JAM for a Robot Dreams inspired comics activity after the screening, lead by Center for Cartoon Studies!

Don your velvetiest capes, sharpen those fangs, and come dance the night away to dark wave classics at our Vampire Dance Party. Immediately following our screening of Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person. Costumes deathly encouraged.

A series of 5 filmmaking Master Classes covering topics

in screenwriting, sound design, film financing, directing actors, and documentary filmmaking. Learn from experienced, local filmmakers including Samantha Davidson Green, Richard Waterhouse, Nora Jacobson, Jay Craven, Bill Stetson, Daniel Felicetti, Jane Applegate, and Chad Ervin.

All self-identifying “emerging filmmakers” who are residents of VT, NH, Maine and Québec were eligible to submit to this short film competition. In the spirit of fostering connections between local, emerging filmmakers and more established filmmakers, winning selected shorts will be screened before feature films playing at WRIF.

Loren Howard was a 2023 PitchFest Winner! Loren pitched this film to our judges, was awarded our top prize of $1000, then went on to create his first feature length film with the help of friends, JAM funds, and pure New England Grit. Be sure to catch the world premiere of Custodian February 15 at 8PM at WRIF!

Located in the JAM Space

5 S. Main Street, 1st Floor (Newberry Market)

White River Junction, VT 05001