newportFILM Opens in Newport, Rhode Island, with Outdoor Screenings in July

Two outdoor film screenings in July will officially launch newportFILM, a new organization that will bring film and filmmakers to the area and create a richer experience of the medium for Newport residents and visitors. On Friday, July 23, newportFILM will host an outdoor screening at the International Tennis Hall of Fame of Sam Taylor-Wood's Nowhere Boy, a feature debut that imagines the formative years of John Lennon. On Wednesday, July 28, a screening of No Impact Man will be hosted at Sweet Berry Farm; attendees will have an opportunity to watch a documentary that follows New Yorker Colin Beavan and his family as they attempt to minimize their environmental footprint by living off the grid in the middle of New York City, and to meet Beavan and his family.

The July screenings are the first in a year-round slate of events and screenings planned by newportFILM, with a film festival in the works for summer 2011. The new organization will feature films whose subject matter will resonate with the local Newport community and its residents, and many events will include an opportunity for the public to engage in a dialogue with filmmakers and other viewers.

"Film is an art form that has the ability to inspire individuals and empower audiences," said Nancy Donahoe, a film veteran who co-founded newportFILM with fellow veteran of the field Andrea van Beuren. "Many people today watch films in isolation, in their homes and on their computers. Watching films in a festival setting opens the door to a dialogue amongst viewers and filmmakers that can explore different viewpoints-and that kind of discussion can truly enrich a community and its experience of this art form."

The doors to the Friday, July 23 screening at the International Tennis Hall of Fame (Newport, R.I.) of Nowhere Boy open at 7 pm. The film will begin at dusk, and the audience is encouraged to bring picnic suppers to enjoy under the stars while watching this film that was nominated for four BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards. The feature film imagines the formative years of John Lennon through his first musical collaborations with Paul McCartney and is an affecting movie about coming of age and leaving home. The evening is sponsored by Kirby-Perkins Construction and Franklin & Company Interiors of Newport.

Lennon is tied to Newport through a sailing passage he made in 1980. That June, he sailed as part of a crew from what is now Newport Yachting Center onboard a 43-foot Hinckley sloop bound for Bermuda. The Megan Jaye sailed through a powerful mid-Atlantic storm and, according to a recent article in Rhode Island Monthly magazine, sailing through and surviving the severe weather was life-changing for Lennon. It sparked a period of creativity when he wrote many of the songs that would be his last.

Picnic-style seating to the Wednesday, July 28 screening of No Impact Man will be available at Sweet Berry Farm (915 Mitchell's Lane, Middletown, R.I.) beginning at 7 pm. The screening will take place on Sweet Berry's wide-open orchard field. The documentary follows New Yorker Colin Beavan as he embarks on a year-long project in which he, his wife Michelle Conlin, their two-year-old daughter, and their dog attempt to minimize their environmental footprint by living off the grid in the middle of New York City. Beavan, an author, envisioned a lifestyle with no more automated transportation, no more electricity, no more non-local food, and no more material consumption-then pulled his caffeine-loving, retail-worshipping wife and their daughter into the fray. The resulting film is about more than environmental choices but a story about relationships as this family navigates a radical lifestyle change together with humor and drama.

Beavan and his family will attend the screening and give the audience a chance to hear from these individuals about an experiment in living that has already became a national fascination.

"Nancy and I are intent on programming intelligent films," said newportFILM co-founder Andrea van Beuren. "We are also intent on exposing people to relevant and important national and global issues and on promoting discussion and involvement."

newportFILM was founded in 2010 to nurture discovery, creative achievement and community dialogue through the art of film. Created to serve and celebrate both the artists who make films and the audiences who view their work, newportFILM seeks to expand on Newport's proud history of culture and artistic patronage by bringing new and timeless voices in film to the Rhode Island community.

To create future film events for Newport residents and visitors, newportFILM will work with many of the organizations that support the city's vibrant cultural landscape and Aquidneck Island's natural beauty, such as the Aquidneck Land Trust, the Norman Bird Sanctuary, Ballard Park, and the Newport Art Museum.

Both the July 23 and July 28 screenings are free to the public, but tickets are limited and attendees must register for tickets at newportFILM's website (www.newportFILM.com). Registration for tickets to both screenings begins on July 16. No chairs, high heels, or glass containers will be allowed at the July 23 event at the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Rain dates for these outdoor events are: Nowhere Boy, rain date Sunday, July 25; No Impact Man, rain date Thursday, July 29. Nowhere Boy is rated R; No Impact Man is not rated.

For more information, please visit www.newportfilm.com, email info@newportfilm.com, or call 401-649-2784.

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