8 AM
Many people find their greatest talent cast aside in the face of life’s daily pressures and discover there’s rarely an easy answer forward. 8 AM explores life’s choices, dreams, and sacrifices.
A Mystical Ornithology
On his South Carolina farm, ornithologist and poet Drew Lanham tends land as sanctuary for birds—reckoning with loss while nurturing a fragile, wild hope.
Angelique
A narcissistic Broadway actress returns to her hometown under mysterious circumstances. She runs into a childhood friend and, much to her annoyance, they spend an afternoon together.
Braid Crowns
Two teens, separated by the rivalry of their family’s barbershop and salon, must navigate a way to do each other’s hair before prom.
Free Joan Little
Free Joan Little tells the story of the 1975 groundbreaking case of Joan Little, who was the first woman in U.S. history to be acquitted for using deadly force to resist sexual assault.
Last Living Bird
In a dystopian Antarctica, a young bird enthusiast is tasked with a highly important avian quest.
Momentos
Marcy Sarmiento—Cuban-American artist, educator, and innovator of South Florida’s first arts-based public high school—takes us on a journey through time from early 1950s Havana, Cuba to modern-day Miami, Florida through interviews, calls, photographs, and informal family events. This is her heartfelt and unique immigrant story.
North Carolina Shorts 2026: Program 3: Winston Stories
Sponsored by Reel South and Nelson Mullins. RiverRun is pleased to be affiliated with Reel South. Reel South SHORTS, the digital hive of the PBS series Reel South, showcases the best in Southern short-form and is built on partnerships with the South’s regional film festivals.
On Guard
An unstable fencer invites her biggest competition to an after hours duel.
Once Upon a Wetland
As restrictions tighten across the country, Durham, North Carolina preps for the annual Beaver Queen Pageant: a campy, un-beaver-lievable celebration of LGBTQIA activism, environmental conservation, and outrageous critter cosplay.
Power to the People, Y’all
Power to the People, Y’all is a character-driven documentary that explores aging, legacy, and resistance through interviews with five founding members of the Winston-Salem Chapter of the Black Panther Party: Hazel Mack, Dr. Larry Little, Nelson Malloy, Cynthia Norwood, and Bradford Lilley.
Shallow
Masculinity and pride divide two teenage boys at a turning point in their lives.
Stationed
Clara, a mournful migrant woman, has her past trauma reignited when Julia, a dirty, disconcerted young migrant girl, arrives at her house, without her mother.