VTIFF Program-Guide 2023 - Flipbook - Page 7
SPECIAL EVENTS
Adler, Sandy Meisner, and Leonard Rose. In 1984, she
starred in Herbert Ross’ mega-hit Footloose, then appeared
in such films as Robert Altman’s Shortcuts, Alan Rudolph’s
Trouble in Mind and John Schlesinger’s The Falcon and the
Snowman, to name a few. She currently stars in the title
role of Victor Nunez’s latest film, Rachel Hendrix. The
documentaries she produced have won 5 Emmys and a
Peabody.
ERIC WEINRIB (SCREAM OF MY BLOOD A GOGOL
BORDELLO STORY)
Filmmaker/Producer Eric Weinrib won a
New York Press Club award for his HBO
special The Paradise Papers and an L.A.
Press Club award for his Hulu documentary Russia’s War
on Hip-Hop. Prior to working with Vice, Weinrib produced
and directed IFC’s feature documentary Roseanne for
President!, and collaborated with documentary filmmaker
Michael Moore for over a decade on films including
Fahrenheit 9/11, SiCKO, and Capitalism: A Love Story.
Weinrib’s short film Jimmy Walks Away was an official
selection of the Sundance Film Festival.
CHRISTINE YOO (26.2 TO LIFE)
Yoo is a director, producer, writer, and a
volunteer at San Quentin State Prison.
She has produced non-fiction series for
National Geographic, History, Oxygen and
PBS. Her independent work focuses on under-served
voices and has been supported by Sundance, HOKA, The
Marshall Project, Rogovy Foundation, LGMobile, Hyundai
and Korean Air. Highlights include, the documentary short
A Conversation With Claudia, a special project for Museum
of Modern Art (MoMA); the cult anime series Afro Samurai
starring Samuel L. Jackson; and the award-winning
Korean-American rom-com Wedding Palace. 26.2 TO LIFE
is Yoo’s first feature documentary.
PRESENTATIONS OF THE VTIFF AWARD FOR
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO AMERICAN CINEMA
The two awards are sponsored by CSE Holding Co. The 2023 recipients are
Victor Nunez and Debra Zimmerman.
The presentations will take place before the screenings of ESTHER NEWTON MADE ME GAY
and RACHEL HENDRIX
VICTOR NUNEZ
“If you like a cinema that’s thoughtful and caring and
you haven’t heard of Victor Nunez, then it’s important
that you see his work.” ~Todd Field, director of Tar.
Native of Florida, member of the founding boards of the Independent Feature
Project and the Sundance Film Institute, and currently teaching Writing &
Directing at the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts, Victor
Nunez is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, and has
been making independent movies for over four decades. He is best known for
his Florida-focused films, which include: Gal Young ‘Un (1979); Flash of Green
(1984); Ruby in Paradise (1993), which won the 1993 Grand Jury Prize for
Drama at the Sundance Film Festival; Ulee’s Gold (1997), which earned a New
York Film Critics Award, Golden Globe Award, and Oscar nomination; Coastlines
(2002); and Rachel Hendrix (2023), showing at VTIFF on Saturday, 10/18.
A note from Victor Nunez: “In Italian Neo-Realism, Character, Story, and Place are deeply interconnected. Instead
of simply being a backdrop for action, Place is the pivotal shaper of character and the nature of the stories told. This
outlook has always made sense to me...a sense of place is guide, inspiration, and witness to the filmmaking quest. In
a time of disconnected online engagement, this approach to film story remains an important access point in our
effort to find our way back home. My movies focus on the inner journey as well as the outward actions of their
protagonists with the audience invited into an interior space that may initially feel strange, but that carries within it
the possibility of recognition and resolve. The challenge often hovers around the fine line between self-deception
and self-awareness. Between fear and openness, bitterness or grace. The clock is always ticking and there are
always consequences. How does one find one’s way?”
DEBRA ZIMMERMAN
Debra Zimmerman is the Executive Director of Women Make Movies, a NY
non-profit social enterprise that has been supporting women filmmakers with
distribution and production assistance of their independent films since 1972.
Zimmerman is in great demand around the world as a speaker, panelist, and
mentor. She has been on the juries of film festivals around the world including
IDFA, the International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam, the Abu Dhabi
Film Festival and the Cartagena International Film Festival. She is the recipient
of numerous awards, including NY Women in Film and Television’s
Changemaker Award and Hot Doc’s Doc Mogul Award, given to those who have
made an essential contribution to the creative vitality of the documentary
industry, both in his or her home country and abroad. Recently she was invited
to be a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Science.
THANK YOU TO ALL THE
VOLUNTEERS THAT MAKE
THIS FESTIVAL POSSIBLE.
MAKE SURE YOU THANK
A VOLUNTEER WHEN YOU
SEE ONE!
VTIFF.ORG | VERMONT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2023
VTIFF wishes to thank the UVM Film & Television Studies program for its support of these programs.
Stay connected with VTIFF
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