Éiru
Éiru is the smallest child in an Iron-Age clan. All she wants is to be a mighty warrior who is taken seriously by her kinfolk. But when the village’s well mysteriously dries up, only she is small enough to descend into the belly of the earth to investigate and bring the water of life back to her people.
Etherea
Cloud formations converge and transform into shapes of two transient dancers in the sky. The beautifully surreal illusion displays the ephemeral nature of relationships and life.
Films With Class Shorts Program 2025 – Elementary School
Teaching through film. RiverRun recognizes the unique and critical role arts education plays in reaching students both inside and outside the classroom. Through our free education program, Films With Class, we present free screenings of carefully curated films for area students at the Festival each spring. Sponsored by Duke Energy and The Lovett Foundation.
Goodnight Lucy
A heartwarming story of a daughter trying to find the perfect book to read before going to bed. Her wild imagination seems to get the best of her as she delves into each story.
Little Ancestor, The
On a windswept hill, in a place still young and devoid of life, an ancestral house builds itself. The house comes to life and unveils its long life of 150 years. Brick by brick and beam by beam, each action, big or small, shows life.
Moonlit Bamboo Forest
A young boy ventures into an ancient, mystical bamboo forest teeming with spirits and monsters from childhood tales.
Mû
When an essential water spring has dried up, a child accompanied by an otter-like creature sets out to find a cure for the life-threatening water shortage.
Silent Panorama
In this animated miniature, a drawing gradually comes to life before our eyes, telling a story not only of a wild boar on the run, but also of the ways in which people occupy the places that used to belong to nature. Based on memories of a walk in the Belgian Ardennes, this film was drawn and animated alone on a single sheet of paper as a performance.
So I
Using hand-drawn animation, this unique film explores the concept of animation through dance movements, giving a perspective about loneliness through self-exploration. Student Film – California Institute of the Arts.
Yellow Daisy Butterfly
Cheri-lee is inconsolable when her Granny Daisy dies. As Daisy ascends, she sees Cheri-lee’s grief and returns as a little white egg that transforms into a butterfly. A metamorphosis that mirrors Cheri-lee’s stages of grief.
