"Reframing Paradise" feature documentary - World Premiere at RIIFF 26'
Reframing Paradise makes its World Premiere at the 44th Rhode Island International Film Festival, screening In Competition at the historic Avon Cinema on Friday, August 7 at 5:00 PM.
A determined community of Bahamian artists and curators reflect on their cultural history as they launch FUZE, the Caribbean's first regional art fair - redefining global perceptions of The Bahamas beyond "sun, sand, and sea" through the power of art. Filmed over three years in Nassau and across the diaspora, the documentary follows the artists, curators, collectors, and historians building a contemporary art scene from the ground up, and asks what happens when a place long defined by outsiders begins defining itself.
FUZE launched at Baha Mar in Nassau in 2023 and has grown into the largest gathering of artists and galleries in the Caribbean, drawing dozens of galleries and artists from across the region. Reframing Paradise documents its founding from the inside — filmed as it happened, by a two-person crew working alongside the artists in their studios, at their exhibitions, and in the rooms where the fair was still being figured out.
The film features John Cox, Amanda Coulson, Heino Schmid, Antonius Roberts, Cydne Coleby, Gio Swaby, Jordanna Kelly, and Jodi Minnis.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with co-directors Gregg de Domenico and Mike Paletta, artist Cydne Coleby, and John Cox — Chairman of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, Executive Director of Arts and Culture at Baha Mar, and a RISD alum (BFA '95, MAT '96) returning to Providence thirty years after leaving.
This screening will appeal to anyone interested in contemporary art, Caribbean culture and the diaspora, documentary film, and questions of cultural identity and self-representation - as well as RISD and Brown communities, and Providence's arts audience.
Runtime: 100 minutes. Tickets available through the Rhode Island International Film Festival here: https://rhode-island-international-film-festival-b9bj.vivenushop.com/event/reframing-paradise-g7hoib
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/3744967-0
Sponsor: https://go.evvnt.com/3744967-2
