The Silent River Film Festival (SRFF) held annually, is a non-profit organization based in
Irvine, California
Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...
, USA, 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, 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
''I Am Kalam'' is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language drama film produced by the non-governmental charity Smile Foundation and directed by Nila Madhab Panda, cinematography by Mohana Krishna. The character of Chhotu has been performed by Harsh Mayar. T ...
by
Nila Madhab Panda
Nila Madhab Panda (born 18 October 1973) is an Indian film producer and director. Panda has produced and directed over 70 films, documentaries and shorts based on social issues such as climate change, child labor, education, water issues, s ...
, The Highest Pass by Jon Fitzgerald, Oscar nominated short
Raju (film) by
Max Zahle, No God No Master by Terry Green, Unbowed by Chung ji-young,
English Vinglish
''English Vinglish'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film written and directed by Gauri Shinde. The film stars Sridevi as Shashi Godbole, a small entrepreneur who makes snacks. Shashi enrolls in an English-speaking course to sto ...
by
Gauri Shinde
Gauri Shinde (born 6 July 1974) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. Shinde made her directional debut with the highly acclaimed ''English Vinglish'' (2012), which marked the comeback of actress Sridevi. Shinde featured in the ''Financ ...
, How I Became An Elephant by
Tim Gorski and studio films from Walt Disney, UTV and
Eros International
Eros International Media Ltd (also known as Eros India) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company, based and originated in Mumbai, India. Founded by Arjun Lulla in 1977, it is one of the leading production and distributi ...
. SRFF is established with the vision to bring East and West together to share their best work of films and ''Cinema for Causes'' on one platform to raise awareness about the issues that matters.
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
The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which als ...
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.
Official Selections
2012 Film Screenings
''Narrative Features''
''Documentary Features''
''Feature Animations''
2011 Film Screenings
''Narrative Features''
''Documentary features''
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
David Russell Strathairn (; born January 26, 1949) is an American actor. Known for his leading roles on stage and screen, he has often portrayed historical figures such as Edward R. Murrow, J. Robert Oppenheimer, William H. Seward, and John Dos ...
, CSI star
Jorja Fox
Jorja-An Fox ( ) is an American actress and producer. She first came to prominence with a recurring role in the NBC medical drama '' ER'' as Dr. Maggie Doyle from 1996 to 1999. This was followed by another critical success in the recurring ro ...
,
Ahn Sung-ki
Ahn Sung-ki (born January 1, 1952) is a South Korean actor. One of the country's most respected actors, he has appeared in more than 130 films during his career of over 60 years.
Career
A native of Seoul, Ahn was the son of a veteran filmmaker ...
,
Toby Kebbell
Tobias Alistair Patrick Kebbell''Births, Marriages & Deaths: Toby is married to Arielle Wyatt. They got married in 2020 and they have one child together. Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 9 July 1982) is an English ...
from ''
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'', ''
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (german: "Der Zauberlehrling", link=no, italic=no) is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe written in 1797. The poem is a ballad in 14 stanzas.
Story
The poem begins as an old magician (fantasy), sorcerer departs his ...
'', ''
War Horse
The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot design ...
''; Jon Fitzgerald (founder of Slamdance, Santa Barbara and Cinecause film festivals), Arjan Lulla (Founder -
Eros International
Eros International Media Ltd (also known as Eros India) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company, based and originated in Mumbai, India. Founded by Arjun Lulla in 1977, it is one of the leading production and distributi ...
),
Babu Subramaniam of ''ER'', ''Outsourced'' fame,
Jaya Bachchan
Jaya Bachchan (''Birth name, née'' Bhaduri; born 9 April 1948) is an Indian actress and politician. She is a member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party, serving four terms since 2004. Known primarily for her work in Hindi ...
from ''
Meherjaan
''Meherjaan'' ( bn, মেহেরজান) is the feature-length début film of Bangladeshi director Rubaiyat Hossain. The film was pulled from theatres due to the hostile response of some segments of the audience after its release in January ...
'', Chung ji-young (''Unbowed''),
Rohit Gupta
Rohit Gupta is a film director, film producer and entrepreneurship, entrepreneur who resides in the United States. He is known for directing ''Midnight Delight (film), Midnight Delight'', ''Life! Camera Action...'', ''Another Day Another Life (s ...
's ''
Life! Camera Action...'', Jean Marie Benjamin's ''Tariq Aziz: The other Truth'',
Abby Sunderland
Abigail Jillian Sunderland (born October 19, 1993) is an American former sailor who, in 2010, attempted to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world.
Early life
The second-eldest of Marianne and Laurence Sunderland's eight childr ...
's ''Abby Sunderland Story'', Juliette West's ''How I Became An Elephant'') and many others.
References
{{reflist
Film festivals in California
Tourist attractions in Orange County, California
Culture of Irvine, California
Indian-American culture in California
2011 establishments in California