The Silent River Film Festival (SRFF)[1][2] held annually, is a non profit organization based in Irvine, California, USA, 40 miles south of Hollywood. In its third year, it is a program of the Silent River film and Literary Society, focussed on promoting the art of cinema and literature.
Background
Founded in 2011 by filmmaker, actor and poet Kalpna Singh-Chitnis,[3][4] SRFF is Irvine's first international film festival, dedicated to global independent filmmakers. Since its beginning in 2011, the festival has showcased over 160 films from 30 countries, premiering some of the highly acclaimed films and documentaries such as I Am Kalam by Nila Madhab Panda, The Highest Pass by Jon Fitzgerald,[5] Oscar nominated short Raju (film) by Max Zahle, No God No Master by Terry Green, Unbowed by Chung ji-young, English Vinglish by Gauri Shinde, How I Became An Elephant by Tim Gorski and studio films from Walt Disney, UTV and Eros International.[6] SRFF is established with the vision to bring East and West[7] together to share their best work of films and Cinema for Causes on one platform to raise awareness about the issues that matters.
Founder & Executive Director
Kalpna Singh-Chitnis - 2011–Present.[8][9][10]
Cinema for Causes
Cinema for Causes platform is known for introducing Cinecause a film festival founded by Jon Fitzgerald, one of the co-founders of Slamdance Film Festival and documentaries like When the Dragon Swallowed the Sun and How I Became an Elephant both winning the best documentary award at the festival's first year.[11]
Official Selections
2012 Film Screenings
Narrative Features
| Title | Director | Cast |
| Unbowed (South Korea) | Chung Ji-Yeong | Ahn Sung-ki, Park Won-sang |
| No God, No Master (USA) | Terry Green | David Strathairn, Sam Witwer, Alessandro Mario, Mike Bacarella, Scott Annala |
| Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid (India) | Nila Madhab Panda | Lehar Khan, Parvin Dabas, Harsh Mayar, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Rahul Singh, Krishang Trivedi |
| 186 Dollars to Freedom (Peru/USA) | Camilo Vila | John Robinson, Michael DeLorenzo, Alex Meraz, Johnny Lewis, Grant Bowler, Paul Ramirez |
| Lessons in Forgetting (India) | Unni Vijayan | Adil Hussain, Roshni Achreja, Maya Tideman, Raaghav Chanana |
| Bloom (USA) | Diane Kern | Marcie Price, Randy Alvarado, Antonio R. Munoz, Louis Pierone, Mark Adam Goff |
| A Gran Plan (Singapore) | Sangeeta Nambiar | Farida Jalal, Oliver Kennett, Tania Mukherjee, Neil Shaabi, Pavan J Singh |
Documentary Features
| Title | Director | Cast |
| How I became an Elephant (Mayanmar, Thailand, USA) | Tim Gorksi | Tim Gorski, Carol Buckley, Lek Chailert, Joyce Poole |
| California State of Mind : The Legacy of Pat Brown (USA) | Sascha Rice | Tom Brokaw, Jerry Brown, Willie Brown (politician), Warren Christopher, Gray Davis |
| Greening the Revolution (USA) | Katie Curran | Klee Benally |
| Aung San Suu Kyi (Denmark) | Lady of No Fear | |
| Road Map to Apartheid (USA) | Ana Nogueira | Alice Walker |
| Ari Ari the Korean Cinema (South Korea) | Heo Chul, Chung Ji-young | Ahn Sung-ki, Bong Joon-ho, Im Kwon-taek |
| In A Race Against Time (Uganda) | Michael Zynda | Mike O'Brian, Daniel Okabe, Renah Wolzinger |
| Knocking on The Devil’s Door (USA) | Gary Null, Valerie Van Cleve | |
|
Feature Animations
2011 Film Screenings
Narrative Features
| Title | Director | Cast |
| I am Kalam | Nila Madhab Panda | Gulshan Grover, Pitobash |
| Meherjaan | Rubaiyat Hoosain | Jaya Bhaduri Bachchan, Victor Banerjee, Humayun Faridi |
| The Kindness of Strangers | Deborah Hadfield | David Prowse |
| Fairview St. | Michael McCallum | Michael McCallum, William C. McCallum, Elizabeth Moore |
| Life! Camera Action... | Rohit Gupta | Dipti Mehta, Shaheed Woods, Noor Naghmi, John Crann |
| Dark Resonance (Bangladesh) | Mithu Mahmood Khalid | Masum Aziz, Mamnun Hasan Emon |
| Mausams (Singapore) | Shilpa Krishnan Shulka | Shweta Sharma, Naren Kolary, Poorna Prasad, Shivanu Shukla |
| Finding Jenua | Alison Mason | Leigh Rose, Gayle James |
| A. Hitler (USA) Non Competition | Barry Hershey | Joel Grey, Norman Rodway |
| Goodbye My Friend (USA) (Non-competition) | Kalpna Singh-Chitnis | Kalpna Singh-Chitnis, Carlo Astuti, Reef Karim, Dwight Hicks, Monique La Barr |
|
Documentary features
| Title | Director | Cast |
| The Highest Pass | Jon Fitzgerald | Eric Braff, Ariane de Bonvoisin, Paul Greene, Brooks Hale |
| Wild Eyes: The Abby Sunderland Story (USA) | Laurence Sunderland | Luca del Poppo, Michael I. Goode, Jason Jalivay |
| When the Dragon Swallowed the Sun (USA) | Dirk Simon | Youdon Aukatsang, Bhusang, Tenzin Choeying, Tenzin Chogkyi, the Dalai Lama |
| Tareq Aziz: The Other Truth (Italy) | Jean-Marie Benjamin | |
| Wild Horses & Renegades (USA) | James Kleinert | Jim Baca, Michael Blake, Tokala Clifford, Sheryl Crow, Daryl Hannah |
| Death By Medicine (USA) | Gary Null | |
| Catching Dreams (USA) | Kevin Flint | Brian Flint, Tony Steele |
| Walking the Waking Journey (Nepal, Philippines) | Ferdinand Balanag | Lama Tenzin Cheogyal |
| John Muir in the New World (USA) | Catherine Tatge | Tom Mesmer, Peter N. Peregrine |
| Problema: Who are we in the 21st Century? (Germany) | Ralf Schmerberg | Hafsat Abiola, Willem Dafoe, Yassin Adnan, Martin Almada |
| Changement I‘Histoire a travers les yeux des Guineens (Italy) | Chiara Cavallazzi | Moussa Dadis Camara, Kaba Saran Daraba, Rabiatou Diallo, Thierno Sow |
| Strong Bodies Fight (USA) | William Donaruma | |
|
Awards
Each year, awards are presented to recognize filmmakers for their work and contribution to the world of cinema. The Silent River Film Festival award winner's list includes:
Oscar nominated actor David Strathairn, CSI star Jorja Fox, Ahn Sung-ki, Toby Kebbell from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, War Horse; Jon Fitzgerald (Founder of Slamdance, Santa Barbara and Cinecause film Festivals), Arjan Lulla (Founder - Eros International), Babu Subramaniam of ER, Outsourced fame, Jaya Bachchan from Meherjaan, Chung ji-young (Unbowed), Rohit Gupta's Life! Camera Action..., Jean Marie Benjamin's Tariq Aziz: The other Truth, Abby Sunderland's Abby Sunderland Story, Juliette West's How I Became An Elephant) and many others.
References
- ↑ "Silent River Film Fest aims to bridge East and West". Orange County Register. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ↑ "Silent River Film Festival 2012". Box Office India. October 6, 2012.
- ↑ "Kalpana Singh-Chitnis on IMDB". Internet Movie Database.
- ↑ "Kalpna Singh-Chitnis launches Silent River Film Festival". Times of India. May 19, 2011.
- ↑ "The Highest Pass by Jon Fitzgerald". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ↑ "Silent River Film festival to unveil in Irvine". Times of India. Aug 30, 2012.
- ↑ "Silent River Film Fest Makes Noise with Movies About Animals, the Ecology and the 99 Percent by Matt Coker". Orange County Weekly. Oct 8, 2012.
- ↑ "Film Fans Turn Out in Force for Silent River Film Festival". India West. Oct 14, 2011.
- ↑ "Kalpna Singh-Chitnis launches Silent River Film Festival". Sinema.SG. May 20, 2011.
- ↑ "Kalpna Singh-Chitnis Poet, filmmaker & actor". Yahoo India News. Jan 23, 2012.
- ↑ "Jon Fitzgerald is the new Executive Director of the Hollywood Film Festival". Hollywood Film Festival. March 20, 2013.