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Ridgefield Independent Film Festival & The Prospector Theater partner to present accessible film festival for RIFF’s 10th Anniversary

Ridgefield Independent Film Festival will be held May 15-18, 2025

Ridgefield Independent Film Festival in Ridgefield, Connecticut in May 2025
Photo via Ridgefield Independent Film Festival

Ridgefield Independent Film Festival (RIFF) and The Prospector Theater announced today that they will partner to present an accessible film festival for “TEN” RIFF’s 10th Edition, May 15-18, 2025. The Prospector Theater celebrates their tenth anniversary this coming November and has been a game changer in creating competitive and inclusive employment at its state-of-the-art non profit movie theater, located at 25 Prospect Street, Ridgefield, Connecticut. Since opening in 2014, The Prospector has welcomed over 900,000 moviegoers, worked over 1 million hours of meaningful employment, and has paid over $26,000,000 in hard earned paychecks.

RIFF Founder and Prospector Team in Ridgefield, Connecticut
RIFF Founder and Prospector Team

All film screenings will take place at The Prospector Theater Thursday, May 15th through Saturday May 17th, 2025 and will be accessible to all audiences.  RIFF and The Prospector are working together to provide narrative description tracks and closed captioning services for every film screened at RIFF’s 10th Edition festival. In order to make it easier for filmmakers to comply with this new requirement, RIFF will be covering the costs and handling the tech of creating an audio description track through 3Play Media, a film accessibility company that offers transcription and voiceover services. For moviegoers that need captioning or descriptive narration, The Prospector’s headsets and closed captioning devices will be compatible with all RIFF films. 

“I’m thrilled to offer the stellar screening experience the Prospector Theater provides to ALL of our filmmakers again this year and to expand our audience through accessible filmmaking,” states festival founder and director, Joanne Hudson. “The Prospector Theater has a great mission that aligns with our own, that of inclusion, acceptance and kindness.”

RIFF testing film at Prospector Theater in Ridgefield Conencticut
RIFF testing film at Prospector

“The Prospector Theater continues to be a premium venue for independent filmmakers, and we are excited to collaborate with RIFF on the importance of creating an accessible moviegoing experience,” states Ryan Wenke, Executive Director of The Prospector.  “We all should be able to enjoy movies together, and our hope is that accessibility and inclusion are prioritized in every creative process and employment environment.”

RIFF’s Annual Awards Brunch will again take place at Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center Sunday, May 18th2025 as it has since RIFF’s inception.

Please visi RIFF‘s  and Prospectors Theaters‘ websites for updates and details.

Filmmakers may submit to RIFF beginning September 15th here.

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