Manchester International Film Festival Program

WElcome

The Manchester International Film Festival returns again for our second year. Thank you for joining us as we continue to champion New Hampshire film, and be a venue for our filmmakers to see their work on the big screen. We strived this year to find a balance between the cutting-edge new work and cult favorites that invoke the spirit of the movies. We are excited this year to add a night dedicated to Animation with New Hampshire animators making their festival debut this weekend. In addition to the robust world cinema program we’re excited to showcase curated sections of short films, LGBTQ+ Short Film, Documentary, and Comedy films from Keene to Auckland.

It’s great to return to the Manchester International Film Festival at The Palace Theatre’s newest stage, The Rex Theatre. This festival is a celebration of a returning Manchester Icon; The Rex, where generations have come to watch movies such as “His Girl Friday” starring Carey Grant and Disney’s “Cinderella”. New Hampshire filmmakers and the region’s best directors will continue to paint the inside walls with reflected light in a new era for The Rex and film in Manchester.

We thank the unwavering support of our lead sponsor McLean Middleton Law, and their dedication to the arts in Manchester and state-wide.

I invite you to sit back, relax, laugh, and remember the simple joy of watching a movie on the big screen.

Sincerely,

Peter Ramsey President & CEO

Our Mission Our TEAM

The Mission of The Manchester International Film Festival is to celebrate the return of movies to Manchester. To celebrate the international diversity in our city through film. To bring together filmmakers and film lovers for a weekend of Big Screen Classics, new cutting edge movies, documentaries, International film and showcase the best of emerging New Hampshire filmmakers.

CREATIVE TEAM

Festival Director

Warren O’Reilly

Technical Director

Jon Ropple

Animation Director

Griffin “The” Hansen

Associate Programmer

Karter Martin

Programmer / Operations Associate

Henry Molloy

Director, Corporate and Community Partnerships

Shannon Sullivan

Graphic Design

Rachel Stone

Content Coordinator

Megan Koeber

Video Wall Director

Jacob Stanley Butler

Director of International Submissions

Mike Daley

Warren O’Reilly

Jon Ropple

Karter Martin

Mike Daley

JUDGES PANEL CATEGORIES

Audience Choice Best of Festival

Best Short Film

Best New Hampshire Film

Best New Hampshire Short

Best Animation

Best Comedy

Jacob Butler

Griffin “The” Hansen

Henry Molloy

SNHU Video Production

Emerging New Hampshire Filmmaker

Award

LGBTQ+ Film

Television Pilot

Feature Film Script

thursday, august 10th

LEGEND HAS IT

Directed by Anna Liakos, Alex Liakos 3

THE BEAR

Directed by Brandon Hicks

Directed by Ting Zhou 2

UNDER THE ENDLESS SKY

Directed by Alexandra Dzhiganskaya 4 mins • Ukraine

DO WE HAVE A CHANCE?

Directed by Valentina Galdi

JUPITER COVE

Directed by Anna Chavez

GORO GORO

Directed by Ryotaro Sawada, Agatha Tiara Christa

THE IMPENETRABLE VESSEL!

Directed by Brandon Hicks 2 mins • Canada

WHERE

I’M

Directed

HAUNTED HOMIES

Directed by Brandon Russo

6 mins • United States • TV Pilot

THE DEAD SEA

Directed by Skai Chow and Rebecca Lau

3 mins • United States

DEPARTURE

Directed by Takayuki Yoshikawa

5 mins • Japan

ARCADE

Directed by Erica Travia

8 mins • United States • LGBTQ+

BEAM BRAINED BREAKDOWN!

Directed by Lily Fairleigh

5 mins • Unites States

ENTER YOUR NAME

Directed by Aubrey Scott

3 mins • United States

PAUL ROUX – BAPTEME

Directed by Alessandro Amaducci

5 mins • Italy

A FAMILIAR FACE

Directed by Lara Parizek

4 mins • Argentina

ZOMBIE PUNCH!

Directed by Molly Glackin

3 mins • United States • LGBTQ+

THE RIBBON

Directed by Polla Kozino

5 mins • United States

BREATHE

Directed by Loi Huynh, Jordan Waterworth

6 mins • United States

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF BANQUET SERVICE

Directed by Griffn Thee” Hansen

8 mins • New Hampshire

MORE

Directed by Mark Osborne

7 mins • United States

friday, august 11th

COSMIC CULT 2023

Directed by Nicole Straussberg and Nicholas Biron

7 mins • New Hampshire

HOW TO OPEN A

CLAM

Directed by Lisa Romagnoli

14 mins • United States

NUCLEAR!

Directed by Matthew Beltz, Written by Jimmy Luc

15 mins • United States

LITTLE COURIER

Directed by Nick Crezula

2 mins • New Hampshire • Comedy

BEING ROBIN

Directed by Roger Kabler

75 mins • United States • Featured Presentation

Fantasy, memoir, self-discovery is all wrapped up in Roger Kabler’s film about his and our love for the great Robin Williams.

Post Screening Q & A with Director Roger Kabler

saturday, august 12th

LONESOME SKYLINE

Directed by Daniel Declan McAuliffe

30 mins

• New Hampshire

PRAYER OF THE BIRDS

Directed by Yevgeniya Regent

11 mins

• Ukraine

LEGENDS OF THE MOUNTAIN

Directed by Nuala Dalton

15 mins • Ireland

CANNED

Directed by Steve Melone

30 mins

• United States

THE MURDER OF OLOF PALME

Directed by Joaquim Weibull and Paco Garcia

20 mins

• Sweden

LAST LAUGH

Directed by Paul Lewis Anderson

25 mins

• United States

EVERY WAKING MOMENT

Directed by Jacob Elliott Dufton

20 mins

• United Kingdom

BLAISE

Directed by Jason Bousssioux

15 mins

• France

THE DOGMATICS: A DOGUMENTARY

Directed by Rudy Childs

90 mins

• United States

• Featured Documentary

See this intimate glimpse into the early 80s Boston music scene. “The Dogmatics: A Dogumentary” shares the untold story of the band that unwittingly pioneered and became emblematic of the genre.

DATSUN – LIGHTS ON

Directed by Mark Albiston

15 mins • New Zealand

THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980)

Directed by John Landis

133 mins • United States • Closing Film

Jake Blues rejoins with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, outrunning the police as they tear through Chicago.

Live Performance from BLUES BROTHERS THE NEXT GENERATION

45 Mins

AN EVENING WITH KEVIN POLLAK*

*At the Palace Theatre

Kevin Pollak is a multi-talented entertainer of stage and screen.

Kevin Pollak is known for many roles including in Rob Reiner’s “A Few Good Men,” and “The Usual Suspects” and Martin Scorsese’s “Casino”. Kevin is known for his Stand-Up in his early years before appearing opposite Allison Janney and Anna Farris in “Mom” and recently in the Emmy Award Winning “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” as ‘Moishe Maisel’.

Sponsor Partners

History of the Rex

The Rex served as a movie theater from the 1940’s to the 1980’s. The Rex opened May 30, 1940. The first pictures shown were “His Girl Friday” starring Cary Grant, and “The Amazing Mr. Williams” starring Joan Blondel. Billed as Manchester’s fist air conditioned theatre. 1989 saw the end of the Rex’s life as a movie theatre giving way to a series of nightclubs. In 2016, the building was purchased by the Manchester Development Corporation (MDC). The Palace Theatre Trust entered into a public-private partnership with MDC and in October 2018 the Rex Theatre reopened and the next chapter of this wonderful theatre begins. This weekend we bring The Rex Theatre back to it’s roots, dim the lights and watch a movie in a Manchester landmark.