“A Little White Lie” a film by Michael Marren adapted from the book “Shriver” by Ridgefield local, Chris Belden will open RIFF 2023, the eighth iteration of Ridgefield Independent Film Festival, at The Ridgefield Playhouse, Thursday, May 18th at 7pm. The film stars Michael Shannon and Kate Hudson and includes a cameo by Belden. A post-show Q&A with filmmakers and reception will follow.
Tickets are $35.
DIRECTED BY: Michael Maren
SCREENPLAY BY: Michael Maren
BASED ON THE BOOK “SHRIVER” BY: Chris Belden
STARRING: Michael Shannon, Kate Hudson, Zach Braff, Kate Linder, Aja Naomi King, with Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Don Johnson
RATING: R for language
RUN TIME: 100 minutes
GENRE: Comedy
SYNOPSIS: Shriver (Michael Shannon), a down-on-his-luck handyman who has
never read a book in his life, is mistaken for a famous writer that has been in hiding for over 20 years. With nothing to lose, he accepts an invitation to attend a college literary festival and finds himself surrounded by adoring fans and an English professor (Kate Hudson) who captures his heart. Shriver must do whatever it takes for his shot at love in this fish-out-of-water comedy.
In addition to the Marquee Feature, “A Little White Lie” the festival has made 45 Official Selections from submissions featuring a variety of shorts and features, documentaries and narratives, including a stunning collection of films from the Iranian Cinema. This year will also feature many MADE IN CT films and student films from across the country and a special screening of a stop-motion animated shorts program by Farmingdale Elementary School 5th graders, created in Laura Kosky’s classroom.
Official Selections of Ridgefield Independent Film Festival’s RIFF2023 are:
A Boy of May by Seung-il Chon - Animation, Documentary - Korea
A Few Steps Further by Omid Moalem - Narrative Short - Iran
A Narration of a Funeral by Amir Sedghinir - Narrative Short - Iran
Attack of the Killer Bees by Joe Castro, Brinke Stevens, Matthew Vinaja - Animated Horror Short - United States
Bare Metal by Brandon Gries - Environmental Documentary Short - United States
City Bird by Adam Spreng - MADE IN CT Documentary Short - United States
Counseling Jodi Schoenbrun Carter - Student Short - United States
The Creature by Muhammad Reza Yarikia - Horror Short - Iran
Daddy by Neal Kelley - Narrative Feature - United States
Daybreak by Yaser Yari - Narrative Short
Every Other Kid by Patrick Godino - Student Short - United States
Fatih the Conqueror by Pierre-Louis Garnon - Narrative Short - France
The Firefly Jar by Gary Fierro - MADE IN CT Narrative Short - United States
Fobi by Elham Aminian - Animated Short - Iran
For Nick, From Dad by Nick Damore - MADE IN CT Documentary Short - United States
For The Sake Of Ava by Faranak Foroutan - Narrative Feature - Iran
Game Over by Saeed Mayahy - Documentary Short - Turkey
Gladiators by Maryam Rahimi - Narrative Short - Iran
The Greatest Radio Station in the World by Cob Carlson - MADE IN CT Documentary Feature - United States
Guy Friends by Jonathan Smith - Narrative Feature - United States
Hard Shell Soft Shell by Emma Benestan - Narrative Feature - United States
The Highway Margin by Hossein Shojaei - Narrative Short - Iran
In Front of You by Adam Llamas - MADE IN CT Narrative Short - United States
It Is What It Is by Beth Riesgraf - Narrative Short - United States
JessZilla by Emily Sheskin - Documentary Feature - United States
Johnny The Dime by David Gazzo - Narrative Short - United States
Last Impressions by Alessandro Girolami - MADE IN CT Narrative Short - United States
Like a Dog by Hamid Naseri Moghadam - Narrative Short - Iran
Loons by Jake Levitt - Narrative Short - United States
Love & Irony by John Biesack - Narrative Feature - United States
Lucrecia, the Eight Eyed Woman by Andalucía López Cadena - Narrative Feature - Mexico
Lux Freer by Cynthia Gibb - MADE IN CT Narrative Short - United States
My Dear Aunt Sally by Tom Procida - Narrative Short - United States
Neither One of Us by Jodi Schoenbrun Carter - Student Narrative Short - United States
Paper Doll by Shabnam Gholikhani - Narrative Short - Iran
Past Prologue by Brian Russell - MADE IN CT Narrative Short - United States
Seasonal Scaries by Maddie Robbins - Student Narrative Short - United States
Shallow Water by Emily Breeze - MADE IN CT Horror Short - United States
Something Borrowed by Loi Huynh - Horror Short - United States
Spellers by Jamie & J.B. Handley - Documentary Feature - United States
The Statue by Mohsen Salehi Fard - Animated Short - Iran
Tide To Table: The Remarkable Journey of Oysters by Maria Luskay - MADE IN CT Documentary Short - United States
Topes by Jose Espenosa - Narrative Short - United States
Vuka by Jose Espenosa - Narrative Short - United States
Yo Andrea by Brian Russell - MADE IN CT Narrative Short - United States
Please visit RIFF’s website https://www.riffct.org for more information.
ALL ACCESS PASSES are on sale for a discounted price of $99 through March 30th and can be purchased HERE. Individual tickets to specific programs will be available shortly.