RiverRun International Film Festival Brings Diverse Film Lineup To Triad

Cinephiles of the Triad, mark your calendars. The 19th annual RiverRun International Film Festival will be here for 11 days beginning March 30th. This year RiverRun will screen 151 films, from more than 40 countries.

Rob Davis is the new executive director, taking over six months ago when Andrew Rogers departed. He says “each of these films is reflective of our mission to engage our audiences in an exploration of new and divergent cultures and perspectives through the art of film.”

The festival is doing this in one way with a program called Spotlight: Cuba on Screen. It will feature six Cuban films, screening over the course of the festival, highlighting cinematic achievements of the nation. Included in the lineup are "I Am Cuba," "Memories Of Underdevelopment," and "Vampires In Havana."

RiverRun Program Manager Mary Dossinger and Program Coordinator Christopher Holmes combed through over 1,700 submissions this year. Dossinger says the festival plays an important role in fostering cross-cultural dialogue in the community. “I worked tirelessly to curate our festival to include a wealth of under-represented countries, individuals and stories you won't see anywhere else.”

One of these films is "Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Historically Black Colleges and Universities." It was directed by 2015 RiverRun Master Of Cinema award winner Stanley Nelson. The film promises to show audiences how HBCUs “have educated the architects of freedom movements and cultivated leaders in every field.”

Other films include:

• The Pulitzer at 100 - a documentary that examines the history of the Pulitzer Prize through stories of the artists that have received the prestigious award.
• Dark Skull - a dark and atmospheric film from Bolivia.
• Whose Streets? - a look into the lives of people in Ferguson, Missouri, who took justice into their own hands after the killing of their neighbor Mike Brown at the hands of the police.

• Brave New Jersey - a comedy about a small New Jersey town on the night of Orson Welles' legendary 1938 'War of the Worlds' radio broadcast. It stars UNCSA alum Anna Camp and Tony Hale (Veep, Arrested Development).

There will be multiple free family screenings as well, including an outdoor showing of the 1971 musical "Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory" at Bailey Park.

For those interested in the film business, there will be panel discussions on pitching documentaries, scoring films, and selling and marketing completed works.

A full schedule of films, parties, and panels is available at RiverRun's website.