newportFILM today announced the return of newportFILM Outdoors presented by Lila Delman Compass with an exciting lineup of world-class and award-winning documentaries. Events will be held every Thursday this summer from June 27th through September 5th at Aquidneck Island’s iconic mansion lawns, sports fields and public parks, including The Elms, Fort Adams and Newport Polo Grounds.
2024 newportFILM Outdoors kicks off Thursday, June 27th with Skywalkers: A Love Story at the O’Hare lawn at Salve Regina University in Newport. Premiering at Sundance 2024, Skywalkers: A Love Story (Netflix Original Documentary) is part romance, part thriller, following a daredevil couple as they take their relationship to terrifying new heights in a wild scheme to climb the world’s second-highest skyscraper and perform a death-defying stunt on its spire. The buzzworthy lineup includes Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winning film Daughters, Who Is Stan Smith (in partnership with the International Tennis Hall of Fame), Joan Baez: I Am A Noise (in partnership with Newport Folk Festival) and COPA 71 (in partnership with Rhode Island FC). The closing film will be the much-anticipated local favorite, Secret Mall Apartment about eight Rhode Islanders who created a secret apartment inside Providence Place Mall and lived there for four years.
In partnership with the Rhode Island Film and Television Office, local filmmakers can enjoy a networking space this summer at outdoor events to connect to resources and learn about opportunities.
Newly certified as a Green Event by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, newportFILM is proud to continue its collaboration with Black Earth Compost, with support from WasteNaut and 11th Hour Racing, in diverting up to 90% of compostable waste from landfills through Zero Waste Stations at every outdoor event. Partnering with Bike Newport in 2024 to encourage biking to events, cyclists will have access to biking maps, community rides and racks onsite.
Audiences can vote for their favorite film thanks to BankNewport’s 2024 Audience Award. Free Popcorn and Live Music before each film courtesy of A1 Roofing and Construction featuring notable musicians including Erika Van Pelt, Chase Ceglie, Chelley Knight and Chris Vaillancourt. Notable filmmakers on hand for post-film talkbacks include Jeff Zimbalist (Skywalkers: A Love Story), Nanette Burstein (Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes) and Jeremy Workman (Secret Mall Apartment).
Hammetts Hotel is the Official Hotel Sponsor. Event sponsors include Bowen’s Wharf, Design Outside, Greenleaf Compassion Center, Latitude Yacht Brokerage, and Newport Hospital. newportFILM Year Round Sponsors are Kirby Construction and Park South Hotel NYC. Grant support is provided by 11th Hour Racing, The de Ramel Foundation, EJMP Foundation and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.
Local Business Sponsors include Faherty, Bruno Painting, Farmaesthetics, Happy Nest, Meeka Fine Jewelry, The Newport Tartan and The Refill.
newportFILM outdoor screenings are free and open to the public with a suggested $10 donation.
Full newportFILM Outdoors 2024 Lineup:
THURS, JUNE 27 — Skywalkers (Netflix)
Salve O’Hare Lawn, Newport
Director: Jeff Zimbalist
Producer: Jeff Zimbalist, Maria Bukhonina, Tamir Ardon, and Chris Smith
Executive Producer: Nick Spicer
Director of Photography: Renato Borrayo Serrano
Synopsis
Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus climb the world’s last super skyscraper, blending daring acrobatics with a tumultuous love story. Part romance, part thriller, this film follows a daredevil couple as they take their relationship to terrifying new heights in a wild scheme to climb the world’s second-highest skyscraper and perform a death-defying stunt on the spire.
THURS, July 11 — The Cowboy and the Queen
Newport Polo Grounds, Portsmouth
Director: Andrea Nevins
Producer: Andrea Nevins, Graham Clark
Director of Photography: Geoffrey Franklin
Synopsis
The Cowboy and the Queen chronicles the life of Monty Roberts, a renegade horse trainer whose non-violent techniques never would have seen the light of day if it weren’t for an extraordinary endorsement and friendship with the late monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.
THURS, JULY 18 — Who is Stan Smith?
Aquidneck Park, Newport
*In partnership with the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Stan Smith in attendance*
Director: Danny Lee
Producer: Danny Lee, Philip Byron, Rebecca Halpern
Executive Producer: LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Jamal Henderson, Donald Dell, Alexandra Dell
Director of Photography: David J. Myrick
Synopsis
More than the namesake of one of the world’s most iconic sneakers, Stan Smith has lived a champion’s life on and off the tennis court. Chronicling his rise from collegiate superstar to World No.1 and beyond, Smith blazed new paths for athletes, both as a humanitarian and fashion icon. Complete with intimate first-person accounts and dynamic archival materials, “Who Is Stan Smith?” is a powerful and inspiring portrait of the man behind the shoe that
became a movement.
THURS, July 25 — Joan Baez I Am A Noise
2nd Beach, Middletown
*In partnership with Newport Folk Festival*
Director: Karen O’Connor, Miri Navasky, Maeve O’Boyle
Producer: Miri Navasky; Karen O’Connor
Executive Producer: Patti Smith, Ben Braun, Josh Braun, Terry Press, Greg Sarris
Director of Photography: Timothy Grucza, Wolfgang Held, Ben McCoy
Synopsis
Facing the end of a 60-year musical career, legendary singer and activist Joan Baez takes an honest look back and a deep look inward as she tries to make sense of her large history-making life and reveals, for the first time, personal struggles she’s kept private, until now.
THURS, August 1 — They All Came Out to Montreux
Rosecliff, Newport
Director: Oliver Murray
Producer: Bill Lord
Executive Producer: Quincy Jones Stuart Souter Nicolas Bonard Fraser Kennedy Thierry Amsallem Michael Murpy and Jenny O’Shea
Director of Photography: Richard Dunton
Synopsis:
The extraordinary story of the world-famous Montreux Jazz Festival and its beloved founder, Claude Nobs. Starting in 1967 with practically no knowledge of the music industry Claude Nobs turned a sleepy town on the shores of Lake Geneva into a mecca for the greatest international recording artists of all time. Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, David Bowie, Miles Davis, Etta James, Prince… the list goes on and They All Came Out To Montreux.
THURS, August 8 — Maya and the Wave
Fort Adams, Newport
Director: Stephanie Johnes
Producer: Stephanie Johnes, Jorge Leal
Executive Producer: Adriana Banta, Julian Cautherley, Ruth Ann Harnisch, Alexandra Johnes, Jena King
Cinematography by: Stephanie Johnes, Jorge Leal, Dudu Miranda, João Pedro Plácido
Synopsis
Maya Gabeira grows up in Rio de Janeiro, begins competing in surfing at age 15, and turns pro at 17. However, her abilities are doubted by many of her big wave surfing male peers. In 2013, Gabeira suffered a devastating wipeout at Nazaré, Portugal. She nearly drowns and endures a prolonged recovery that requires back surgeries and physical therapy. Gabeira eventually returns to Nazaré and breaks the record for the largest wave ever surfed by a woman.
THURS, August 15 — Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes (HBO)
Chateau-sur-Mer, Newport
Director: Nanette Burstein
Producer: J.J. Abrams, Bill Gerber, John Paul Horstmann, Timothy Moran, Rachel Rusch Rich, Sean M. Stuart, Aude Temel, Glen Zipper
Executive Producer: Nancy Abraham, Barbara Berkowitz, Nanette Burstein, Lisa Heller, Timothy R. Mendelssohn, Sara Rodriguez, Quinn Tivey
Director of Photography: Darren Lew
Synopsis
Newly discovered interviews with Elizabeth Taylor and unprecedented access to the star’s personal archive reveal the complex inner life and vulnerability of the groundbreaking icon. With extraordinary access to Taylor’s personal archives and 40 hours of newly unearthed, intimate audio interviews with journalist Richard Meryman, audiences are invited to rediscover, not just a megastar of Hollywood’s Golden Age, but a complex woman who navigated lifelong fame, personal identity, and public scrutiny on a global stage from early childhood.
THURS, August 22 — COPA 71
Miantonomi Park, Newport
Director: Rachel Ramsay & James Erskine
Producer: Victoria Gregory, Jannat Gargi, Anna Godas
Executive Producer: Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Alex Morgan
Director of Photography: Angela Neil
Synopsis
Told by the pioneering women who participated, this is the extraordinary story of the 1971 Women’s Soccer World Cup, a tournament witnessed by record crowds that has been written out of sporting history – until now.
THURS, August 29 — Daughters (Netflix)
Great Friends Meeting House, Newport
Director: Natalie Rae and Angela Patton
Producer: Lisa Mazzotta, Justin Benoliel, Mindy Goldberg, Sam Bisbee, Kathryn Everett, Laura Choi Raycroft, James Cunningham
Executive Producer: Jessica Seinfeld, Joel Edgerton, Lydia Kives, Jackie Bisbee, Lance Acord, Harland Weiss, Dom Thomas, J.M. Harper, Morgan Clement, Hallee Adelman
Director of Photography: Michael “Cambio” Fernandez
Synopsis
Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C., jail. Daughters meaningfully challenges many stereotypes around incarceration and serves as a poignant reminder that maintaining family bonds can be both healing and empowering.
THURS, September 5 — Secret Mall Apartment
The Elms, Newport
Director: Jeremy Workman
Producer: Jeremy Workman
Executive Producer: Jesse Eisenberg, Allen Altman, Cathie Altman, Marnie Black, Scott Black, Peter Haberman, Lance Hoffman, Matthew Spain, Ivan Williams, Amy Zelnick, Brad Zelnick
Director of Photography: Michael Lisnet, Jeremy Workman, Dan Kennedy
Synopsis
In 2003, eight Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment inside a mall and lived there for four years, filming everything along the way. Far more than a prank, the secret apartment became a deeply meaningful place for all its inhabitants. Featuring never-before-seen footage of the space and revealing the identities of all the participants for the first time, SECRET MALL APARTMENT is more than just a bonkers true story. Director Jeremy Workman (Lily Topples The World, The World Before Your Feet, Deciding Vote) delivers a poignant exploration of a group of artists who discovered their purpose within the most commercial and improbable places.
To see the full newportFILM Outdoors schedule and to learn more, please visit www.newportfilm.com/summer-schedule/
newportFILM is a year-round non-profit screening program devoted to showcasing films that inspire, educate and entertain, presenting current and impactful documentaries that build community and propel change. For more information, visit www.newportfilm.com
