SENE Film, Music and Arts Festival News

SENE FILM, MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2009 FEATURE FILM LINEUP

Providence, Rhode Island - March 9, 2009 - The Southeast New England (SENE) Film, Music & Arts Festival is pleased to announce its 2009 feature film lineup. In addition to eight music performances, seven exhibiting artists and five parties, SENE will offer 60 feature films and short films including some World, U.S. and New England premieres. The first annual SENE Film, Music & Arts Festival runs April 2-5, 2009 in downtown Providence.

"We were very pleased with the number and quality of film submissions we received for our inaugural festival," said Phil Capobres, SENE Artistic Director. "We had a difficult time narrowing down the selections to the nine narrative features and three documentary features we will be screening."

Don Farias, SENE Producing Director, added, "Our films offer something for everyone - drama, comedy, romance, horror, action adventure and even music videos."

In addition to the festival's $1,000 cash award for Best Feature Film, cash awards will also be presented to the winners of Best Short Film and Best Animated Film. An independent panel of film industry professionals and film enthusiasts from around the world will server as jurors.

The 2009 film lineup includes the following feature length films:

NARRATIVE FEATURES

"Audie & the Wolf"
(USA, 2008, 80 min.)
Director: B. Scott O'Malley
Cast: Tara Price, Christa Campbell, Rance Howard, Richard Riehle
New England Premiere

Saturday, April 4, 9:30 PM
RISD Auditorium

This dark comedy/horror film offers a topsy-turvy take on the classic werewolf legend. Hit by a beautiful actress' car, a wolf is brought back to a mansion in the Hollywood Hills, where by the light of the full moon he turns into a savage, bloodthirsty MAN and goes on a killing spree. Not remembering who he is, why he's killing, or how he got there, this John Doe enlists the help of a punk rock grocery delivery girl named Audie Bantam, who tries to help John with his amnesia, and they quickly fall in love. But John soon discovers that those he killed have come back as zombies, and he must fight them as they escape from the basement, as well as fight his wolf urges to kill and eat Audie, if he wants to set things right and get the girl in the end.

"Between Something & Nothing"
(USA, 2008, 105 min.)
Director: Todd Verow
Cast: Tim Swain, Gil Bar-Sela, Julia Frey
New England Premiere

Sunday, April 5, 7:00 PM
RISD Auditorium
Director Todd Verow and cast members will be in attendance

After being accepted into a prestigious New England art school, sexy small-town Joe and townie mastermind Jennifer quickly join forces. Both are forced into work-study jobs to satisfy their tuition responsibilities - but soon discover more profitable ways to supplement their scholarships through Creative Shoplifting 101 and Remedial Male Prostitution. When Joe eventually falls for enigmatic hustler Ramon, and Jennifer gets mistakenly caught up in a bad drug deal, their little world starts to spin too fast for them to continue to control. The gritty education they are receiving on the city streets is just as important as the intensely focused, competitive training in their classrooms. "Between Something & Nothing" is based on filmmaker Todd Verow's experiences at Rhode Island School of Design.

The DVD

(Malaysia, 2007, 85 min.)

Director: Surin Gnanalingam

Cast: Chong Shun Yuan,Carrine Chong Su Sian,Chye Chee Keong,Hansel Choi,Ganish Venugopal,Sim Yian How,Lavinder Chong Sheah Mei

Fridday, April 3, 9:30 PM
Cable Car Cinema

This love story of a young college student, who, living with his widowed mother, has the kind of life of any below average student, who is barely passing his exams. Then an incident with a college bully one day causes an accidental meeting with a strange dark savior. The meeting changes his life forever as he moves into a life of crime, falls in love and exploits a DVD copy of a sex tape involving a major political figure.

"The Other Side of the Tracks"
(USA, 2008, 93 min.)
Director: A.D. Calvo
Cast: Brendan Fehr, Chad Lindberg, Tania Raymonde, Beatrice Rosen, Natassia Malthe, Sam Robards, Stephnie Weir, Shirley Knight

Saturday, April 4, 7:00 PM
RISD Auditorium
Director A.D. Calvo will be in attendance

Still living at home and working at a local pizza parlor, Josh is numbed by the haunting memories of his high school girlfriend, killed 10 years ago in a train-car accident. His old friend Rusty tries to rouse Josh from his stalled life, but when Josh meets a spirited young waitress, who looks suspiciously like his high school girlfriend, Josh begins to feel pulled in opposite directions. Is she real or a ghost from his haunted past? Who is really looking out for Josh, the girl, or his best friend? Taking the love triangle to a whole new dimension, "The Other Side of the Tracks" is a supernatural fantasy starring Tania Raymonde from the hit ABC series "Lost", Brendan Fehr from the WB network's "Roswell", and Chad Lindberg from "The Fast and the Furious".

"Ranchero"
(USA, 2008, 95 min.)
Director: Richard Kaponas
Cast: Brian Johnson, Christina Woods, Danny Trejo, Ruth Livier, Jade Gordon
East Coast Premiere

Friday, April 3, 7:00 PM
Cable Car Cinema

"Ranchero" is the fish-out-of-water story of Jesse Torres (Roger Gutierrez), a small town cattle rancher with 50's sensibilities. Now in his late 30's, Jesse proudly wears his idol, Buddy Holly, inked on his bicep. Coupled with a love for photography, Jesse doesn't quite fit the mold of his peers, and dreams of a more diverse environment. The son of poor, uneducated, Mexican immigrants, he was born into the life of a ranch hand. Resentful of his forced station in society, Jesse packs his bags, cuffs his jeans, and leaves his country home for the bright lights of the city. Moving next door to his childhood friend Tom (Brian Eric Johnson) in a seedy Hollywood apartment, Jesse is thrilled to be stepping out into the world. Unfortunately, the honeymoon soon ends when Jesse is challenged by local hustler Capone (Danny Trejo) and comes face to face with the realities of drug addiction and street violence. It is through his relationship with Lil' Bit (Christina Woods), an embattled resident of the Hollywood apartments, that he learns that life's challenges must be faced and not avoided.

"Yesterday Was a Lie"
(USA, 2008, 89 min.)
Director: James Kerwin
Cast: Chase Masterson, John Newton, Mik Scriba, Nathan Mobley, Warren Davis, Megan Henning, Jennifer Slimko, Peter Mayhew, Robert Siegel
New England Premiere

Sunday, April 5, 7:00 PM
Cable Car Cinema

A groundbreaking new noir film, "Yesterday Was a Lie" combines the thrills of a classic detective mystery with the imagination of science fantasy. Hoyle -- a girl with a sharp mind and a weakness for bourbon -- is investigating introverted artist/archaeologist John Dudas. But her work takes an unforeseen twist as she begins to experience events around her in a mysterious, disjointed manner. With the assistance of her loyal partner and a cute young lounge singer, Hoyle uncovers a plot to unravel earth-shattering cosmological secrets, smuggled out of 1930s Germany by a Nazi defector. But when Hoyle's deeper relationship with Dudas is revealed, she learns that the most potent forces of all -- human love, human pain -- cannot be grasped by science alone.

FAMILY FEATURE (recommended for ages 12 and up)

"Pendragon, Sword of His Father"
(USA, 2008, 112 min.)
Director: Chad Burns
Cast: Aaron Burns, Nick Burns, Marilyn Burns, Erik Dewar, Andy Burns
East Coast Premiere

Friday, April 3, 7:00 PM
RISD Auditorium

A Christian epic adventure film set in 411 AD, Pendragon, Sword of His Father tells the story of young Artos who is raised to believe that God has a purpose for each day. After a tragic event he is taken into slavery by the Saxons, where Artos questions his God. Advancing through the military ranks, Artos begins to understand that his father's vision was not based on the strength of man, but on the plan of God. Further events force Artos to decide between following God's plan unto certain death or abandoning God to save his own life. Filmed in five states with a crew of over five hundred, "Pendragon" is the first independent Christian film of its kind.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

"America's Lost Band'
Special Guests: The Remains will perform (unplugged) after the screening
(USA, 2008, 65 min.)
Director: Michael Stich

Friday, April 3, 9:30 PM
RISD Auditorium
The Remains band members Barry Tashian, Vern Miller, Bill Briggs and Chip Damiani will answer audience questions before their performance.

'Had these Boston bad boys stuck it out beyond their 1966 debut, we might today be calling them--and not the Stones--the World's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band. As it is, The Remains most certainly are America's greatest lost band.' Mark Kemp, June 2007 Paste Magazine. The Remains appeared on Ed Sullivan, opened for the Beatles, and then broke up on the brink of fame. "America's Lost Band" is a documentary of The Remains' return to Los Angeles for the first time in 40 years, since opening for the Beatles, a film that follows a group of 60-year-old musicians back together pursuing their passion. It's the story of what happens when a band reaches the cusp of rock greatness, but doesn't make it over the final hurdle.

"Courthouse Girls of Farmland"
(USA, 2008, 52 min.)
Director: Norman Klein
New England Premiere

Saturday, April 4, 2:00 PM
Cable Car Cinema
The "Courthouse Girls" will be in attendance

"Courthouse Girls of Farmland" is a story about a small Indiana town and seven senior women who got up from their bridge club table to make a bold statement about historic preservation. Upset about plans to destroy the 130-year-old courthouse, the women threw caution -- and their clothes -- to the wind by posing for a fundraising calendar that created a firestorm of controversy. Backed by an organization known for its zany promotions, these 77-to-94 year old card-playing activists brought national attention to historic preservation's role in helping small towns survive. Their daring protest also generated harsh criticism from many in their community. But they proved that the old have beauty and value, whether it's in time-worn buildings or in the people who have called that community home for nearly a century.

"They Came to Play"
(USA, 2008, 91 min.)
Director: Alex Rotaru
New England Premiere

Sunday, April 5, 2:00 PM
Cable Car Cinema

"They Came to Play" is an uplifting feature-length documentary chronicling the passion, pressure and potential surrounding The International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs hosted by The Van Cliburn Foundation, a prestigious event which reunites seventy-five of the world's best amateur pianists with their dreams, if only for a brief time. Players from all over the world, ranging from self-taught to classically-trained, aged thirty-five to almost eighty, convene for a week of intense competition, music and camaraderie. Entertaining, irreverent and, above all, inspiring, the film provides an intimate look into the lives of these colorful, multi-faceted competitors as they strive to balance the demands of work and family with their love of music.

About the first annual SENE Film, Music & Arts Festival

The Southeast New England (SENE) Film, Music & Arts Festival takes place April 2-5 in Providence, RI. This unique new festival will include 60 films, 8 bands/musicians, 7 artists and 5 parties over 4 days. Film, music and art venues include RISD Auditorium, Cable Car Cinema, Avon Cinema, The Spot on Thayer, Gallery DEMI, Kay Studios and the Artists' Exchange.

Tickets for most screenings are $8 ($5 for students, seniors and members). Tickets for the opening night film at the Avon Cinema and the "America's Lost Band"/The Remains special event at the RISD Auditorium are $10 ($5 for students, seniors and members).

The festival is produced by Southeast New England Film, Music and Arts, a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization and is sponsored in part by Fidelity Investments, Cardi's Furniture, NBC 10, Motif Magazine, Marriott Courtyard, Chelo's, B-Side, the Artists' Exchange, Narragansett Beer, Breaking Branches Pictures and Two Sisters' Productions.

To view complete schedule information or to find out more about the festival, please visit www.senefilm.org or call 401-603-0252.