Five Questions With: Shawn Quirk

Shawn Quirk is the program director for Flickers, the nonprofit arm of the Rhode Island International Film Festival. / COURTESY CINDY WRIGHT
Shawn Quirk is the program director for Flickers, the nonprofit arm of the Rhode Island International Film Festival. / COURTESY CINDY WRIGHT

As the program director for Flickers, the nonprofit arm of the Rhode Island International Film Festival, Shawn Quirk is responsible for overseeing the selection of films submitted for consideration to the festival and manages the organization of screenings throughout the year. Celebrating its 35th anniversary, this year Flickers received 6,000 entries from 65 countries of which it has chosen 260 titles which represent local and international talent.

What first interested you in the film industry?
QUIRK:
I attended the Cannes Film Festival for a number of years both as a student and later as a filmmaker, and it’s through those experiences that I decided to make a career as a festival programmer. There’s so many talented filmmakers waiting to be discovered and championed and I’m happy to do whatever I can to make sure these artists get noticed. Having the opportunity to serve in my position at Flickers, one of New England’s most important cultural institutions, is a humbling experience and one I am extremely thankful for.

What impact does Flickers have within the Greater Rhode Island philanthropic community?
QUIRK:
Flickers hosts free community screenings throughout the year at libraries across the state and is the producer of “doubleFEATURE,” which showcases work by international and local filmmakers every Friday night on Rhode Island PBS. Flickers donates over $30,000 every year in free tickets, scholarships, free community screenings and film exhibition equipment to partner nonprofit institutions across the state. Donated tickets are used as raffle prizes, silent auction items and gifts for board members and donors.

As a nonprofit organization, how does Flickers work with young Rhode Islanders who are interested in a career in the film industry?
QUIRK:
Flickers produces a number of film education programs throughout the year with the goal of helping foster the next generation of filmmakers and film enthusiasts. We teach filmmaking every summer at our KidsEye Filmmaking Camp, which just wrapped its 18th year with over 60 campers. KidseEye serves as a weeklong camp where kids, age 8 to 16, learn the basics of filmmaking and attend daily master classes led by the region’s best filmmakers. KidsEye Camp is the longest running youth film education camp in New England, and we have seen our campers grow to become counselors, interns and filmmakers with their films represented at RIIFF. Flickers also teaches students the importance of film appreciation during our Youth Jury Program, which gives students the chance to attend the Rhode Island International Film Festival free of charge for the entire week. The Youth Jury Program provides students the rare opportunity to meet with professional filmmakers from around the globe, view their work and serve as jury members for the Festival’s Youth Jury Awards.

- Advertisement -

The organization is celebrating its 35th anniversary. What are the philanthropic highlights of the company’s history?
QUIRK:
Flickers first began screening films at the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1982 as the Flickers Newport Film Society. Over the years, our organization has donated equipment, personnel and resources to help develop fellow nonprofit organizations like Jamestown Arts Center, The Greenwich Odeum and Veterans Memorial Auditorium into viable film exhibition venues. In a special collaboration with Roger Williams University, Flickers opens its film archive every year to the university’s film curation class, taught by George T. Marshall, our executive director. Students view films, learn how to curate a festival and produce the Roving Eye International Film Festival, their final project, under the guidance of Marshall and Flickers staff. Each year the festival features over 80 films and is free and open to the public.

What are Flickers’ goals for the next five years?
QUIRK:
Our goal at Flickers is to further expand the organization’s role as a central resource for film education within the state of Rhode Island. Thanks to recent support from The Champlin Foundations, Flickers plans to open its Digital Discovery Lab in the fall, which will serve as a place for students to learn basic editing and post-production skills.

No posts to display