It is with a heavy heart that I sit down to write a review of the River’s Edge International Film Festival. Not a review of our personal experience there, but the Festival in and of itself. I’d like to tell you that it’s a good, little festival that you should check out if you have the time. However, I cannot in good conscience tell you that. River’s Edge is, in fact, an outstanding festival that you should move to the top of your must-attend events list whether you’re a filmmaker or film enthusiast.
You see, I hesitate because I know that as word continues to spread about REIFF, our hidden gem of a film fest will be exposed as one of the best to attend and the Walk Softly gang will have to face even steeper competition just to find our spot. Nonetheless, allow me to sing its praises for a moment and list some of the things that make this fest worth far more than the entry fee.
If you’re going to any Festival, you want it to be based in a cool town. Paducah is nice and quirky on the whole, but lowertown is outstanding with its largely preserved history, interesting shops and incredible restaurants. And early November is a perfect season to experience it. (Plus, Metropolis, Illinois is right across the river to satisfy even more of your kitschy tourism needs.)
As filmmakers, no other fest has taken care of us the way River’s Edge has. There are only a handful of festivals across the country that provide accomodations for their filmmakers and this is one of them. Whether they’re providing breakfast at Etcetera coffee house and Kirchoff’s bakery, or making sure you got your t-shirt and goody bag, Landee Bryant and her crew take impeccable care of you. And isn’t just the perks. At every film festival, the biggest concern is the screening, and at River’s Edge, the technical crew and projectionists are on top of their game. Each of the three venues is a nice place to watch a film and Maiden Alley Cinema is the crown jewel. The sound and image are flawless. What they did on that giant screen with our standard DVD left me speechless and I’m not exaggerating. Just ask a filmmaker who’s attended. Any filmmaker. I guarantee you’re going to get a glowing response, because I’ve never heard anything but raves from those that we’ve met. And that brings me to my final point.
REIFF is an incredible opportunity to network. They organize multiple get-togethers over the weekend, making it easy to meet some wonderful people and make friendships and working relationships with a wide variety of talented artists and supporters.
In short, with seven years under their belt, the River’s Edge International Film Festival is ready to blow up. I love it just the way it is, but growth seems inevitable.