RIFF Announces Celebrity Guests, Opening & Closing Night Films
ROME, GA — Today the Rome International Film Festival announced that actor Judge Reinhold will headline the fifteenth annual festival with two special screenings throughout the weekend: OVER HER DEAD BODY and FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH.
Judge Reinhold has been in over seventy-five motion picture and television shows. His films include Stripes, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Ruthless People, the Beverly Hills Cop trilogy and the Disney Christmas franchise, The Santa Clause.
Reinhold received an Emmy Nomination for his performance as “The Close Talker” on TV’s Seinfeld. His guest star appearances in Seinfeld and Arrested Development received two of the highest ratings on both series. Reinhold most recently co-starred with Bruce Campbell in the indie comedy Highly Functional (releasing in 2019) and can be seen in the new TBS comedy series, The Detour.
On Friday, November 2nd, at 8:30pm, Reinhold will screen Over Her Dead Body (1990) followed by a Q&A at the DeSoto Theatre. Enid (Maureen Mueller) walks in on her husband, Harry (Judge Reinhold), and her sister, Jane (Elizabeth Perkins) together -- a tryst inspired by their mutual frustration with the insufferable Enid. In the midst of Enid's fury, violence breaks out, and June accidentally kills her sister. Harry and June desperately try to make the death look like an accident while navigating their new relationship.
On Saturday, November 3rd, at 7:00pm, Reinhold will screen Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) at the Rome City Auditorium, followed by a Q&A and behind the scenes stories about the development and production of the classic comedy. Based on Cameron Crowe’s Rolling Stone exposé of American high school students, Fast Times follows a group of Southern California high school students exploring their most important subjects: sex, drugs, and rock n' roll.
Amber Nash - Most notably known for being the voice talent behind the characters of Pam Poovey on TV’s hit series, Archer. Amber will be participating in a Q&A following her short film, That Was Awesome!!, which screens on Friday, November 2nd at 3:30PM at the Desoto Theatre.
For the first time ever, RIFF will be screening a film on Halloween. Join us on Wednesday, October 31st at 7:30PM at Brand RED Studios for an extra scary screening of The Millbrook Summoning. Directed by Georgia director Raymond Wood, The Millbrook Summoning is the story of four student filmmakers set out to explore an abandoned building famous for its connection with the occult. As their journey becomes littered with strange behavior and unexplained phenomena, it becomes clear the horror they are attempting to document may already be lurking among them.
Our opening night presentation will be the adventurous documentary White Tide: The Legend of Culebra on Thursday, November 1st at 7:00PM at the Rome City Auditorium. Directed by Theo Love, White Tide is the story of Rodney Hayden and his plan, fueled by a combination of economic desperation and blissful ignorance, to retrieve a possibly mythical $2-million stash of cocaine from its reported Caribbean hiding place. We will be joined by Director Theo Love and Producer Bryan Storkel for a Q&A following the film.
RIFF’s Closing night film the delightful comedy Miss Arizona on Sunday, November 4th at 5:30pm at the Rome City Auditorium. Miss Arizona, directed by Autumn McAlpin, stars Johanna Braddy, Missi Pyle and Steve Guttenberg in a story about a former pageant queen embarking on an all-night adventure with four unlikely friends she meets at a women's shelter. Winner of the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Bentonville Film Fest, this one's an anthem for anyone who's ever been told to sit still and look pretty.
Additional screenings of Note Include:
Path of the Past - Saturday, November 3rd, 4:30PM Rome City Auditorium (World Premiere)
Directed by Lou Baczewski
USA, English, 100 minutes
The documentary film Path of the Past, recounting the true story of SGT Louis “Louch” Baczewski who served in the famed 3rd Armored Division during World War II as a Sherman tank driver, provides a fresh and enlightening perspective on the war as told by his grandson and namesake, author and historian Lou Baczewski. After his grandfather’s death, Lou decided to retrace the path of Louch’s 1500km journey from the Allied landing at Normandy until the end of the war in Europe, a journey that SGT Baczewski and only 17 other members of his unit survived. The film includes never before seen photos, rare film clips, comments from noted European and US historians, interviews with survivors, and Baczewski's own account of retracing his grandfather's wartime battles in France, Belgium, and Germany. The documentary dispels many myths about WWII, delves into hard topics that make the story relevant and eye opening, and invites the audience to see the war in a new light.
When Jeff Tried to Save the World - Friday, November 2nd, 6:30PM Rome City Auditorium
Directed by Kendall Goldberg
USA, English, 93 minutes
Staring Napoleon Dynamite’s Jon Heder and Parks and Recreation’s Jim O’Heir. When the manager of an old-school bowling alley discovers the owner's plans to sell, saving Winky’s World means pulling himself out of the gutter, too.
Holden On - Friday, November 2nd, 1:00PM Rome City Auditorium
Directed by Tamlin Hall
USA, English, 102 minutes
Holden, a small-town Georgia football player, fights to keep his mental illness a secret at all cost. Based on a True Story.
Festival Passes are now on sale at www.riffga.com. All-Access Passes and Film & Workshop Passes grant admission throughout the entire festival, but individual day passes and screening tickets may be purchased.For more information about the Rome International Film Festival, visit www.riffga.com. Stay connected with RIFF on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @romefilm #RIFFteen