Lisa Viola, Artistic Director for the Provincetown International Film Festival talks to Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ about the 23rd PIFF that takes place June 16th to 25th both virtually and in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The newly re-envisioned hybrid festival came together with the ingenuity and sheer determination of a world-class team of programmers including Andrew Peterson, Heidi Zwicker and Valérie Déus. Celebrating its 23rd year Richard Linklater will be this year’s Filmmaker on the Edge recipient in conversation with resident artist John Waters. Riz Ahmed, Academy Award Best Actor nominee for “Sound Of Metal” will receive this year’s Excellence in Acting Award in conversation with Vanity Fair Chief Critic Richard Lawson and queer actor/filmmaker Natalie Morales PIFF will receive the Next Wave Award in conversation with musician Holly Miranda. The hybrid festival will open with Jon M. Chu’s “In The Heights” at the Wellfleet Drive-In on June 16th and the festival will close with Emily Branham’s BeBe Zahara Benet documentary “Being BeBe” with guests of honor including director Emily Branham, producer Marc Smolowitz and the film’s subject and star BeBe Zahara Benet, the winner of the very first RuPaul’s Drag Race. Some other highlights will include a Filmmaker Celebration at Truro Vineyards with Christine Vachon who co-founded the impactful independent film and television production company Killer Films joined by director and writer Daniel Minahan on June 19th from 6P to 7:30. We talked to Lisa about what she hopes to accomplish at this year’s Provincetown International Film Festival and her spin on our LGBTQ issues. 

Lisa Viola is the Artistic Director for the Provincetown International Film Festival and has been affiliated with the festival since its inception in 1999. Lisa also serves as the Director of Programming for the GlobeDocs Film Festival produced by The Boston Globe. Through January 2020 she was a Programming Associate for the Sundance Film Festival and has been programming there since 1992. Lisa graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Communication Arts and has consulted for other film festivals including the Nantucket Film Festival, True/False and served as a documentary juror at SXSW. The Provincetown Film Society (PFS) is an advocate for diverse representation in film, providing year-round programming and platforms that allow voices of all kinds to be heard via film. Through PFS’s work they have an ability to better understand and appreciate human struggles and triumphs by showcasing our similarities and differences in today’s diverse culture. Provincetown International Film Festival will be closely monitoring federal, state and local COVID-19 safety guidelines and will continue to adjust safety policies accordingly throughout the festival.

For Info & Tix: ptownfilmfest.org

LISTEN: 500+ LGBTQ Chats @OUTTAKE VOICES