Rhode Island International Film Festival 2009

Inspired by The Wizard of Oz, New York transforms into Emerald City to four Kansas City transplants. Set on Dorothy Place in Astoria, Queens, the roommates follow the yellow train home to discover hope in themselves and their city. Thom, our Dorothy, is a newly single, bright-eyed, production assistant that discovers NYC in a second "coming out party." Direct from the three-day engagement of the off-off Broadway production of My Big Fat Gay Irish Wedding, Jimboy, the brainless, dancing Scarecrow, pursues a career to become the first white boy rap superstar. Anisha, a boyfriend finding obsessed, type A personality Tinman, searches for a heart by quickly stalking boys on Myspace and working their interests into conversation. Finally, Callie, a Whiskey drinking "bitch ass bitch' is our Cowardly Lion. Although she can have a vibrato roar, she lacks the courage to pursue her career as an actress. After a day joined by a Lindsay Lohan impersonator, shirtless male models, and a "Naked Stranger" who's not sure who he slept with the night before, the New York family questions, "Did we do the right thing by moving here?" In the end, they agree. "We know we did & It's the beginning of the beginning."

An unhappily married couple arrives home late one night after attending a Christmas party. In the car, they argue about their babysitter. The wife had promised her they'd be home early. The husband thinks the babysitter has an attitude and would like to get rid of her. His wife dismisses this as ridiculous since their daughter is so crazy about her. With the argument unresolved, they head inside.When they enter the house, the wife is alarmed to find the babysitter in the dark, rocking back and forth on the couch. She stares straight ahead, terrified, and in a state of shock. The wife makes attempts to get her to talk but the babysitter is unresponsive. With panic setting in, the wife heads upstairs to check on their daughter while the husband deals with the babysitter.The wife discovers that the daughter is not in her bedroom. As she runs from room to room, searching for her, the husband talks with the babysitter downstairs. Between the clues the wife finds during her search and the attempts of the husband to get the babysitter to respond, the mystery of what happened that night begins to unravel. When the horrifying story finally becomes clear, the couple realize it's not over yet.

Tucked away in a small neighborhood, Miss Cora Lee Merriweather runs the best bake shop in town, but she is all business. No birthday is complete without her layer cake with buttercream frosting; her confections are part of everyone's celebrations, but she pays no attention as life goes on outside her door. When she passes on, others move in, trying to take her shop in different directions, serving cannolis, latte, marzipan confections - and she will have none of that! One by one, she drives out the new owners and word gets around that the place is haunted. It's enough to discourage anyone - except, perhaps, Annie Washington. As a cruise line cook, this young woman has survived shipwrecks and tsunamis and she believes she can survive the rantings of Miss Cora Lee. As they engage in a baker's battle for control of the shop, the neighbors provide support and ultimately information that helps Annie recognize that she and Miss Cora Lee may have more in common than each of them realized. What started as a 'piece of cake' becomes an insurmountable challenge and, finally, the perfect recipe to satisfy a hungry spirit and create a future for the bake shop. Based on a best-selling and much-loved short story by Jacqueline Ogburn, this is a charming film for all ages.

Meet award-winning choreographer Margo Sappington who will share her stories about the creation of the ballet, 'Common People,' which was produced at the Milwaukee Ballet with William Shatner’s music. She will answer questions from the audience, prior to the film screening.

What is the legacy of inherited money? Do you deserve it? Are you automatically upper class? A filmmaker returns to explore the wealth and lifestyle issues first portrayed through the eyes of her elderly parents in her award-winning Greenaway (1982). This time out, she compares her parents’ viewpoints to those of their children and grandchildren over a broad range of topics: wealth, class, marriage, therapy, politics and the downsides of money - including the seldom discussed issues of deserving, hiding, envy and fear. Told with warmth and humor from an insider’s perspective, this is a rare snapshot of a largely hidden segment of American culture.

A young girl, whose parents recently divorced, reconciles the uncertainties of life during daily bicycle rides with her father. Each day they observe the lives of neighbors and share their thoughts about love, death, separation, and the joy and challenges sudden changes bring to one’s existence.

Acclaimed American coffee expert Brian Chandler has a seemingly perfect life. At only 31, he is the lead buyer for Emerald City Coffee, a top retailer of premium Arabica coffee. He has a beautiful, intelligent, equally-perfect fiancé who, as an extra-added-bonus, also happens to have an incredibly wealthy father. He has the respect of colleagues and competitors alike. It's a great life. Who can really fault the "middle-class-raised" Brian for feeling good about himself, even if this feeling occasionally borders on snobbery, especially when it comes to coffee? However, Brian's perfect world is only one phone call away from changing forever &Brian is in Brazil, just about to close a deal to purchase an entire harvest of one of the best Arabica coffee crops in the world when the phone call comes in. On the other end of the line is Calvert Jenkins, the maverick owner/CEO of Emerald City. Jenkins tells Brian he needs him to immediately drop what he is doing and head down to Thailand. And, worse yet, Jenkins goes on to tell Brian he needs him to find the best Robusta beans in Thailand. Now, telling a coffee snob like Brian that he has to purchase Robusta beans is like telling a wine connoisseur that he has to pick up a dozen bottles of Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill on the way home. Brian hates the idea. Ticha Sungsuwan is all business. This 28-year-old Bangkok-based public relations executive is motivated, focused, driven, and obsessed with being perfect in the business world. She is, however, a basket-case when it comes to matters of the heart. In fact, Ticha has long since given up on the prospect of ever finding true love. That would just interfere with singing the praises of her lingerie, diet pill, and cosmetics clients, not to mention those of international recording superstar Tata Young (known as the "Madonna" of Thailand), who's new album Ticha is actively promoting. Ticha's busy world comes crashing down on her when she receives an unexpected visit from her father Pong and mother Nee, and the entire population of her coffee-growing village! They need Ticha's help &and Pong and Nee will not take "no" for an answer.Pong and Nee have found out that Brian Chandler is coming to Thailand to look for coffee. They know that Emerald City has deep pockets. And, they know that a sale to Emerald City could get the village out from under the evil clutches of the cut-throat Mr. Kang, a coffee purchaser who, year to year, continues to lower his prices. That's where Ticha comes in. With her long-since-abandoned coffee farming background and her current take-no-prisoners, be perfect at any cost, business acumen, Pong and Nee feel Ticha is the perfect person to guide Brian from Bangkok down to the family's village and their coffee. Unfortunately &Ticha doesn't want the gig. Guilt, however, is a powerful motivator in any language. Ticha reluctantly agrees &Now, armed with her best friend, the outgoing and daring Mook and Mook's outrageous Austrian ex-pat boyfriend Werner, Ticha sets out to find Brian and bring him to her old village. Only problem is &when they meet &they can't stand each other. Brian sees Ticha as an uptight and angry women; Ticha sees Brian as an arrogant and conceited man. They are "same sides of a different coin". It truly is, at the beginning, a match made in Hell &Ticha and Brian bang heads as they travel from Bangkok to the coffee fields of Krabi, in rural southern Thailand. They continue to do so as they struggle to find their way through a huge, multi-village coffee tasting competition and also, through the increasingly odd and cryptic tasks Calvert Jenkins asks Brian to perform in their daily phone calls. Ticha and Brian must also deal with the jealousies and petty prides of Ticha's younger sister Mint and her Muay Thai boxer boyfriend Komane. They must also try to defend themselves against the wicked middleman Kang, who will do everything in his power to defeat the Emerald City deal and keep the village mired in poverty but firmly in his control. Finally, Brian and Ticha must combat the conflict caused when two very unexpected arrivals take place - Brian's fiancé Amanda, and CALVERT JENKINS himself. In fact, it's with the arrival of Calvert Jenkins to the village that Brian and Ticha learn that REAL REASON Calvert sent Brian to Thailand in the first place. And &it has nothing to do with finding coffee &In addition to being a romantic comedy, "Bitter/Sweet" is also a "fish-out-of-water" tale. Brian must overcome the challenges of operating in a world he does not know; one where he is not the "coffee king". And, Ticha must overcome the disapproval of her parents when she unexpectedly begins to fall for Brian. There are many cultural and generational differences to overcome."Bitter/Sweet" is also about reconciliation and reconnecting. Brian must reconcile with the fact that, even though he presents a very attractive, "perfect" package, deep down he is neither happy nor satisfied. He must reconnect to the notion that "what is right" will always beat out "what is perfect". Ticha must reconcile with the fact that, even though she did everything she could to put distance between her old life on the farm and her new life in the city, her village is the only place she's ever truly felt "at home". She learns that simple fact when she reconnects with her parents, her sister, the villagers, and the dark red earth underneath her feet. And & "Bitter/Sweet" is about reconnecting with children & those that are physically ours and those that live deep inside us.Finally, "Bitter/Sweet" is a love story, but not just a love story between two people. It is a declaration of love to the country of Thailand &its people, its places, its amazing culture and traditions, and finally, to the simple pleasures of a really good cup of coffee.What's "right" will beat what's "perfect" any day &