News

• RiverRun's Virtual Theater is open for business!

  May 21, 2020
  

  RiverRun’s Virtual Theater is now live as we monitor local, state and national guidelines for instruction on when it will be safe to host screenings in real life once again. Now playing: Military Wives, My Darling Vivian, Life in Synchro, VHYes, American Trial: The Eric Garner Story, and Eating Up Easter

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• Eating Up Easter -- FREE Virtual Screening and Talkback 5/26!

  May 21, 2020
  

  Join us on Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at 8pm for a special Indie Lens Pop-Up online screening of Eating Up Easter featuring a talkback with filmmakers Sergio Mata’u Rapu and Elena Rapu, film subject and classical pianist Mahani Teave, and United Nations Association of the USA Executive Director Rachel Bowen Pittman. Afterwards, join community-led breakout discussions on topics such as responsible tourism and our National Parks, environmental sustainability in New Jersey, and more.

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• 2020 Pitch Fest winners announced!

  May 11, 2020
  

  The 9th annual Pitch Fest & Panel went virtual this year! We adapted the traditional Pitch Fest competition to an online format to continue to serve and support our student filmmakers. Six North Carolina schools participated by recording 5 minute video pitches from home for our panel of expert judges to review.

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• NC Shorts 1 & 2–free online screenings!

  April 22, 2020
  

  Beginning on Friday, April 24, we will be offering our popular selection of North Carolina Shorts—short works directed by supremely talented filmmakers working here in our own state—free online for two weeks. During this two week period, many of the shorts filmmakers (several of whom are based right here in Winston-Salem and Greensboro!) will also be offering additional bonus content through RiverRun’s social media channels, to provide further context for the films.

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• Bedlam -- online Indie Lens Pop-Up screening on 4/14!

  April 9, 2020
  

  Although the remainder of this season’s Films With Class community screenings has been cancelled, we will resume with virtual screenings of the films beginning next week with the documentary, Bedlam. We hope you will join us from the comfort and safety of your own home on Tuesday, April 14, 2020 at 7:30 pm for the national screening and virtual chat with film producer Peter Miller and mental health experts from NAMI.

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• RiverRun Recommends

  March 24, 2020
  

  In light of the cancellation of the 2020 festival due to COVID-19, RiverRun will be offering suggestions for film and film books over the course of what would have been the festival dates this year, March 26-April 5. To receive these recommendations via email, please sign up for our newsletter using the signup form at the bottom of this page.

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• UPDATE: COVID-19 and RiverRun

  March 13, 2020
  

  RiverRun International Film Festival is committed to the health and safety of our attendees, volunteers, staff, and community. The widespread health concern about COVID-19 is a reminder of the global nature of our daily lives and interactions. Given the latest news and the request to not convene groups over 100, we must announce the cancellation of the 2020 RiverRun International Film Festival. While we will greatly miss seeing everyone come together to celebrate the diverse global stories reflected in our films, we place a greater priority on the wellbeing of our constituents.

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• Advance Tickets Gone or Selling Fast (UPDATED 3/10/20)!

  March 10, 2020
  

  Check this page for updates on films that are selling fast–and don’t forget that you can try the wait list when advance tickets are gone!

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• RiverRun and COVID-19

  March 6, 2020
  

  Every year at RiverRun we prioritize the health and safety of our attendees, volunteers, and staff.  This year is no different, though we are being more vigilant as we monitor the Coronavirus situation.  We are monitoring the recommendations from local, state, and national health authorities and working with our venues to insure recommended sanitation practices are followed. 

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• Bedlam–FREE Indie Lens Pop-up screening in Yadkinville on 3/12!

  March 4, 2020
  

  The next installment in our Indie Lens Pop-up series of free community screenings takes us to the Willingham Theater in Yadkinville on Thursday, March 12 for a showing of the film Bedlam. The screening starts at 7:00 pm and will be followed by a panel discussion. No tickets or reservations are required.

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• Check out our 2020 trailer courtesy of Shift Creative Agency!

  March 2, 2020
  

  Take a look at a 60 second preview of all the exciting films, panels and events we have planned for you during this year’s festival! Share and post far and wide, and special thanks to Shannon Rosato of Shift Creative Agency for all of her hard work on this superb editing job!

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• Full 2020 lineup to be announced on 2/28!

  February 24, 2020
  

  Please pardon our dust on the site this week as we prepare to launch our 2020 festival site! Check back Friday evening (approximately 7:00pm), February 28, following our exclusive lineup announcement launch party for the 2020 schedule and list of films.

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• Always In Season--FREE Indie Lens Pop-up screening 2/18!

  February 7, 2020
  

  The next installment in our Indie Lens Pop-up series of free community screenings is fast approaching! The film is an encore presentation of a selection from the 2019 Festival, Always In Season. The screening will be Tuesday, February 18 at the Forsyth County Central Public Library in downtown Winston-Salem, with a 6:00 pm start time.

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• RiverRun Retro presents Invasion of the Body Snatchers with special guest Veronica Cartwright!

  December 11, 2019
  

  RiverRun Retro welcomes actress Veronica Cartwright for two screenings of a true January chiller, the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, dubbed by Pauline Kael in The New Yorker as a picture that “may be the best film of its kind ever made.” Cartwright joins us to discuss her career and the film at screenings on January 10 at 7:00 PM at Hanesbrands Theatre in Winston-Salem and January 11 at 5:00 PM at RED Cinemas in Greensboro.

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• Why Give Fruitcake When You Can Give Film?

  November 27, 2019
  

  RiverRun ticket vouchers make the perfect holiday gift for that special film lover or for yourself! A RiverRun Sampler gives you 10 film tickets for the price of 9 with none of those pesky ticket fees. The sampler is redeemable toward 2020 Festival film or gala tickets, and you’ll receive a FREE RiverRun Merchandise Voucher, good for $10 toward merchandise purchases during RiverRun 2020.  

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• Hoops Africa screening 12/5 at Marketplace Cinemas

  November 20, 2019
  

  North Carolina filmmaker Taylor Sharp joins us for a screening of his documentary Hoops Africa, a collection of stories that celebrates the past, present, and future of basketball in Africa, spotlighting the sport’s impact on society and its development on the continent. From the dreams of a young Zimbabwean player to honoring the NBA legends who paved the way before him, this film journeys through the growth of the game in Africa.

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• The First Rainbow Coalition--FREE Indie Lens Pop-up screenings 11/14 and 12/3!

  November 13, 2019
  

  The next installment in our Indie Lens Pop-up series of free community screenings is fast approaching! The film is The First Rainbow Coalition, and will be shown twice in the area. The first screening will be Thursday, November 14 at the Yadkinville Arts Council’s lovely Willingham Theater, with a 7:00 pm start time. A second screening will be presented in downtown Winston-Salem on Tuesday, December 3rd, at the newly renovated Forsyth County Central Public Library, beginning at 6:00 p.m. 

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• Decade of Fire -- FREE Indie Lens Pop-up screening 10/15!

  October 11, 2019
  

  On Tuesday, October 15, RiverRun kicks off its 2019-2020 Indie Lens Pop-up series of free community screenings with the film Decade of Fire. Co-presented by the Forsyth County Central Public Library, the film begins at 6:00 p.m. and will be followed by a panel discussion with guests including Allen Joines, Mayor of Winston-Salem; James Perry, President and CEO of the Urban League of Winston-Salem; George Redd, Director of Program Services for Habitat for Humanity of Winston-Salem; and Dr. Keith Vareen, Pastor of Providence Baptist Church in Kernersville.

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• RiverRun Arts presents Fiddlin' on 9/25 and 10/4!

  September 12, 2019
  

  We are delighted to be traveling to a pair of fantastic arts and live music venues in offering two screenings of the film Fiddlin’. The first screening will be on Wednesday, September 25, 2019, presented in partnership with Winston-Salem’s own The Ramkat! Doors for that screening are at 7 PM, and the film will start at 7:30 PM. Advance tickets are for sale at The Ramkat’s box office, as well as online here.

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• RiverRun presents “The Best of the 2019 Greensboro 48 Hour Film Project” on 9/12!

  September 3, 2019
  

  RiverRun International Film Festival, a sponsor of the Greensboro 48 Hour Film Project, will present “The Best of the 2019 Greensboro 48 Hour Film Project” at Marketplace Cinemas on Thursday, September 12.  Tickets are $3 and will be available at the door on the night of the screening.  Iris Carter, director of the Greensboro 48 Hour Film Project, will be on hand to introduce the screening.

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• RiverRun Retro presents BABY DOLL on 8/17!

  July 18, 2019
  

  Screen legend Carroll Baker (Giant, How the West Was Won, The Big Country) joins us for a Retro screening of her classic film Baby Doll (1956), directed by Elia Kazan and co-starring Karl Malden and Eli Wallach. Ms. Baker and film historian and RiverRun Advisory Board member Foster Hirsch will have an on-stage conversation about the film and its production.

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• If the Dancer Dances -- FREE screening 6/26 at UNCSA!

  June 19, 2019
  

  Our first RiverRun Arts screening will take place on June 26 at 7:30 PM at the UNCSA Main Theatre.  The film is IF THE DANCER DANCES, a new documentary which takes viewers into the intimate world of the dance studio. Stephen Petronio, one of today’s leading dance-makers, is determined to help his dancers breathe new life into RainForest (1968), an iconic work by the legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham, who created his renowned dance company while teaching at Black Mountain, North Carolina. 

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• Charm City -- FREE Indie Lens Pop-up screening 4/30!

  April 24, 2019
  

  RiverRun’s 2018-2019 Indie Lens Pop-Up season concludes next Tuesday with a screening of the documentary Charm City at the Forsyth County Central Library.  A discussion will follow the screening including special guest Peter Gilbert, Wake Forest School of Documentary Film Production faculty member and co-executive producer of the film. 

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• 2019 film awards announced!

  April 16, 2019
  

  RiverRun is a juried film festival, and our juries in five competition categories convened on Sunday morning for their deliberations and awards were announced on Sunday afternoon.  RiverRun is an Academy Award-qualifying festival in the categories of Documentary Short Film and Animated Short Film. In addition, RiverRun audiences again voted for their favorite films during the 11-day Festival.  See below for a complete list of all of the award-winning films from this year’s festival!

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• Three more new films announced!

  March 29, 2019
  

  We’ve added a trio of great films to our schedule since launch and our first publications, so take a look at these new additions–The Tomorrow Man, C’est la Vie, and Olympic Dreams!

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• Important Dates for the 2019 RiverRun International Film Festival

  February 15, 2019
  

  Can you believe that it’s less than a month until our 21st Festival (April 4-14)?! Time is closing in and we want to share some important Festival dates with you. Be sure to put these on your calendar!

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• The Providers -- free Indie Lens Pop-Up screenings in in March!

  February 11, 2019
  

  Our 2018/2019 Indie Lens Pop-Up lineup of documentary screenings continues in March with three FREE presentations of the film The Providers. Set against the backdrop of the physician shortage and opioid epidemic in rural America, The Providers follows three “country doctors” in New Mexico at clinics offering care to all, regardless of ability to pay.

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