Rome film fest gets underway

Fifteen Georgia films will be among the offerings at the 5th annual Rome International Film Festival. The festival began Thursday and will feature a total of about 140 films during its four-day run. That will include 20 international films. Creative director Harry Musselwhite said the point of a film festival is to give people access to films they wouldn't regularly see at the local multiplex. The categories of films at the festival include narrative, documentary, animation and experimental, both feature and short lengths. Films will be shown at Rome City Auditorium, Forum Civic Center, Hairstory Salon, Heritage Hall, Forrest Park Ballroom and Magretta Hall.

Rome International Film Festival This Weekend

The 4th annual Rome International Film Festival, which showcases 125 films from 40 countries, begins this weekend.

Because RIFF has a budget of under a 100 grand, and the majority of it is spent on equipment, the festival is made possible by 200 plus local volunteers.

Also local, are many of the film makers. This year, that includes Cathryn Davis Zommer, director of the opening night film Fully Awake: Black Mountain College.

Harry Musselwhite, the creative director of RIFF, says having a local film on opening night was a fluke.

"We found out later, after we had accepted the film, that a native Roman was the director of this film. And, so to have a hometown person, who has developed into a wonderful, mature filmmaker, to create a work of art that has become our opening night film, is very exciting," said Musselwhite.

Zommer’s film is one of the many documentaries that delve deep into the history of the south. Her story is of Black Mountain College. It was home to many great 20th century artists such as ­­­­John Cage and Buckminster Fuller. But the experimental college mysteriously disappeared in the 1950's. It was located near Ashville, North Carolina.

Black Mountain College will be screened at the Rome City Auditorium, which is one of three places films, can be seen. All the theaters are in downtown Rome and are walking distance from one another. So are cafes and restaurants where people can meet.

This is one reason the founder of RIFF, Barry Norman, chose the city of Rome four years ago for the festival. Norman says he likes Rome because it’s small, but not too small.

“The combination of trying to find a city that is still small and quaint enough to create a community atmosphere of a walking film festival, yet still have enough businesses and people so the festival could survive is what I was looking for, and I found exactly that, in Rome.” said Norman

Notable appearances this weekend include animator, Bill Plympton and actor Val de Varges. Plympton will give away sketches from his newest film. And John Wayne’s co-star, Val de Varges, will answer questions after the movie Hitari, screened in honor John Wayne’s 100th birthday.

For more information on the Rome International Film festival, visit RIFF.tv on the web.