“Color Book” Wins Best Narrative Feature and “Mistress Dispeller” Wins Best Documentary Feature
The RiverRun International Film Festival has concluded its 2025 edition (April 11–19), presenting 175 films from 33 countries and welcoming over 10,000 attendees to both in-person and virtual screenings.
“While we had one less day and about 20 fewer screenings than last year, our screenings this year were more robust,” said Tiffany Jones, Interim Co-Executive Director. “We were excited to have more than 100 guests attend with their films and for our panels.”
“It was wonderful to welcome so many filmmakers – both old and new,” added Mary Dossinger, Interim Co-Executive Director and Program Director.
2025 RiverRun Festival Awards
Kilpatrick Audience Choice Award
- A Little Prayer – Directed by Angus MacLachlan
Re:Vision Independent Feature Competition
- Best Narrative Feature: Color Book – David Fortune
- Peter Brunette Award for Best Director: David Fortune – Color Book
- Special Jury Award for Best Performance: Kathleen Chalfant – Familiar Touch
Documentary Features
- Best Documentary Feature: Mistress Dispeller – Elizabeth Lo
- Best Director – Documentary: Brittany Shyne – Seeds
Narrative Shorts
- Best Narrative Short: The Last Dance – Hayden McLean
- Best Screenplay: Vidhya Iyer – Giving Mom the Talk
- Best Hair & Makeup: Tea – Blake Rice
- Rising Star Award: DeeDee Comet – Pack Rat
Documentary Shorts (Academy Award® Qualifying Category)
- Best Documentary Short: The Devil is Busy – Geeta Gandbhir & Christalyn Hampton
- Special Jury Award – Cinematography: Robert Machoian – The Long Valley
- Special Jury Award – Aesthetic Audacity: Tiger – Loren Waters
Animated Shorts (Academy Award® Qualifying Category)
- Best Animated Short: Éiru – Giovanna Ferrari
- Best Student Animated Short: Dragfox – Lisa Ott (NFTS, London)
- Special Jury Award: Little Shrew – Kate Bush
Pitch Fest Awards
The 14th annual RiverRun Pitch Fest included students from:
- University of North Carolina at Wilmington
- Appalachian State University
- University of North Carolina School of the Arts
- Wake Forest University
- First Place: Alissa Simone (Wake Forest University) – Where We Belong
- Second Place: Caleb Brown (Appalachian State University) – The One Star
Special Honorees
- Master of Cinema: Rosemary Rotondi
- Emerging Master of Cinema: Eric Johnson
- Spark Honoree: Monica Berra
Festival Sponsors
RiverRun is grateful to the sponsors who support our mission to foster greater appreciation of cinema and cultural understanding through film.
Title Sponsors
- City of Winston-Salem
- Millennium Fund
- UNCSA
Presenting & Marquee Sponsors
- PNC
- North Carolina Arts Council
- Nelson Mullins
- Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County
- Kilpatrick
- Forsyth County
