The Ridgefield Independent Film Festival (RIFF) seeks to make the world a more compassionate place through the sharing of stories through cinema. We celebrate independent films and filmmakers from around the world who create films that enlighten, entertain, and inspire moviegoers through compelling visual storytelling. RIFF brings innovative films and filmmakers to the culturally vibrant community of Ridgefield, Connecticut for an annual festival that includes screenings, panel discussions, special events, and parties.

Schedule of Events:

Thursday May 15, 2025

Rebel with a Clause

6:00 pm: Reception in the Star Bar
7:00 pm: Rebel with a Clause Screening

One fall day in 2018, Ellen Jovin set up a folding table on a Manhattan sidewalk with a sign that said "Grammar Table." Right away, passersby began excitedly asking questions, telling stories, and filing complaints. What happened next is the stuff of grammar legend. Ellen and her filmmaker husband, Brandt Johnson, took the table on the road, visiting all 50 US states as Brandt shot the grammar action. But this story transcends grammar. It's the story of an epic quest to bring us all closer together. In a time of extreme social and political division, the Grammar Table is a place of unity and connection. The conversations at the table help answer the question "How can we all get along?"

Friday May 16, 2025

4:00 pm: Thanks for the Room

Laid off due to the viral illness sweeping the globe, Byron is barely holding his life together. With eviction looming and his marriage crumbling, he takes a job as a midnight courier at a pandemic hotel for the unhoused, hoping to scrape together enough cash to keep his family afloat. But the gig quickly drags him into the underbelly of a broken system—where addiction, desperation, and survival blur into one.

7:00 pm: Psych Night Shorts

- Smiley Death Face
- Persons Unknown
- Won't Be Long Now
- Steps
- Emily's Mountain
- Story of a Theft

Saturday May 17, 2025

12:00 pm: Across the Lens : Family Friendly Shorts

- Our Morning View
- The Fairy House
- The Next Bells
- Heart of Stone

12:15 pm: Real Frames

- Live Streams with Grandma_Puzzles
- Hell is Empty
- Let them Play
- Adidas Owns the Reality

2:00 pm: Village Keeper

Following a devastating tragedy, Jean relocates her children to the community housing project where she grew up, seeking refuge with their grandmother. Haunted by secrets and scars, she struggles to shield her teenagers from the harsh realities of their environment. When a citywide gun violence spree strikes close to home, Jean is propelled into action. She cleans her community of the remnants of violence, a symbolic act that reshapes her understanding of her past, her family's hidden truths, and her own resilience.

2:15 pm: Black Flag Shorts 1

- Becoming an Oyster
- We Should Eat
- Collage
- Sorority Court
- Breathe
- Pumpkin Pie
- Golden Child

4:30 pm: The Trouble with Mr. Doodle

 From the makers of Academy Award-nominated documentaries Exit Through The Gift Shop and Black Sheep, and the Producer of Academy Award-winning documentaries Man on Wire and Searching for Sugar Man, The Trouble With Mr Doodle is the story of an extraordinary boy born into an ordinary family and a cautionary tale about how sometimes we really do need to be careful what we wish for.

4:30 pm: Black Flag Shorts 2

- Half a Century
- Cascades
- Son
- Shoulder Season
- The Boy in the Cabinet Beneath

7:15 pm: Under the Volcano

A blended Ukrainian family spends the last day of their vacation in Tenerife, Spain. When Russia's invasion of Ukraine strands them on the island, they must contend with isolation, duty, fear… and each other.

Date:
May 15 - 17, 2025

Location:
Prospector Theater,
25 Prospect Street,
Ridgefield, CT 06877

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