The 7th annual Newport International Film Festival is shaping up to be better than ever. Programmer Sky Sitney promises an extraordinary range of new short films, feature narratives, such as SEDUCING DR. LEWIS, and documentaries, including RIDING GIANTS, as well as original programming categories designed to appeal to all interests. In all, 75 - 80 films are estimated for this year’s Newport International Film Festival.

The three major thematic categories that comprise this year’s festival are:

“Rock and Roll Diary” will showcase films about our culture’s beloved rock stars, their lives on tour and the struggles behind the scenes that are often the inspiration for the songs we love. Included this year is Sundance Best Documentary winner, DIG, and for those who missed out on Peter Gabriel’s performance at the March benefit, there will be another showing of daughter, Anna Gabriel’s GROWING UP, ON TOUR.

“Politics As (un)Usual,” is a nod to this year’s Presidential election and will feature films that reflect the current political climate. These will be films largely focused on media and will offer varied perspectives on politics in art.

“Swedish Films- How Swede It Is” this category consists of a selection of prominent Swedish films including SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR, SHOW ME LOVE, and SMILE OF A SUMMER NIGHT.

The Opening Night Film and Gala, Tuesday, June 8th is BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS. The screening is at 7 PM at the Jane Pickens Theatre, Washington Square, Newport, RI. The party is 9 PM - 12 Midnight @ Ochre Court Mansion (Salve Regina University, Ruggles Avenue, Newport, RI).

British Renaissance man Stephen Fry adapts Evelyn Waugh's novel Vile Bodies into a sparkling gem of a film. On the surface, BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS is about just that: the glittering, effervescent, always-clever-"indeed" set of young people populating the society pages of 1930s London. This film may seem a sexy, funny pastiche of good times gone by, but its undertones still ring true.

There will be a special screening and party, Friday, June 11th of RIDING GIANTS. The screening is at 8:30 PM at the Jane Pickens Theatre, Washington Square, Newport, RI. The party is 9 PM - 12 Midnight at Astors’ Beechwood Mansion (580 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI).

RIDING GIANTS is Stacy Peralta's surfing sequel to his Sundance debut and award winner, DOGTOWN nad Z-BOYS, is a semiserious, often rollicking, multigenerational insider's look at the origins of surfing, the colorful and subversive birth of surf culture, and the mythology and lure of the "big wave." This passionate and fluid film is without question the first authentic history of surfing from its humble Hawaiian beginnings to the big business it became to the still-rebellious universe it inhabits today.

WE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE is the closing night film on June 12th, a gala follows. The screening is at 7 PM Jane Pickens Theatre Washington Square. The party is 9 PM - 12 Midnight @ Belcourt Castle (Belcourt Castle, 657 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI).

WE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE displays the intricately real yet vividly dramatic appreciation of the conundrums of marriage. Based on the story by Andre Dubus and exquisitely orchestrated by John Curran, this potent charting of the infidelities and inner sufferings of two academic couples has more than a passing similarity to that other landmark work inspired by Dubus, IN THE BEDROOM. By using an unsettling multiple perspective and assessing accountability without resorting to moral judgment, this film becomes a remarkable litmus test for personal introspection.

Other presentations include a tribute to the late Spalding Gray is planned to honor this talented Rhode Island performing arts legend. Pianist/composer, Donald Sosin, known as the world’s foremost silent film musician, will be returning to Newport for a second time to accompany another silent film, MARE NOSTRUM.A brilliant new restoration print of PLAYTIME, by Jacques Tati will take audiences for an incredible new ride through the artistic genius of this French filmmaker. BORN INTO BROTHELS, Sundance Audience Award Winner for best documentary about children born in Calcutta brothels will be featured this year, along with a gallery showing at nearby Station 29 of photographs taken by the children. Newport will also continue its tradition of viewing a documentary work-in-progress and offering audience feedback to help the filmmaker fine-tune the work.

For more information about the festival, visit www.newportfilmfestival.com