For six days each spring, Winston-Salem flirts with the fanciful life of film. From family-friendly features and United States premieres to expert-driven panels and star-studded soirees, RiverRun joins industry hot shots and community supporters in a celebration of cinema. It’s showtime!

A Festive Start
This year marks RiverRun’s 10th anniversary, but the festival has only called Winston-Salem home since 2003. Founded in Brevard in 1998 by Vincent and Gennaro D’Onofrio, RiverRun earned its distinctive name from the nearby French Broad River.

At that time, Dale Pollock, a film producer and future Dean of the School of Filmmaking at the North Carolina School of the Arts, was making a movie with Vincent. “He happened to mention that his dad had started this little festival in Brevard, and when I came to North Carolina to be Dean, Gene invited me to RiverRun,” Pollock recalls.

Eventually Pollock took the D’Onofrios up on their offer. “After I’d been here about a year and a half, I thought two things: One, Winston could support a film festival, and two, it would be a great opportunity for our students to see what a ‘real’ festival was like from the inside,” he says.

As fate would have it, Gene was ready to leave Brevard, and Pollock agreed to bring RiverRun to Winston-Salem on a trial one-year basis.

“It was a real uphill struggle raising money and finding venues that first year,” Pollock says, “but we had a great reception.”

The festival’s early years were focused on awareness. “I would say that our initial challenge was educating the community about what a festival was,” he notes. Only three people attended the first screening on the inaugural morning of Winston-Salem’s RiverRun. “There has since been a give-and-take process between RiverRun and the local community,” Pollock explains. “We’re learning from each other.”

But as the festival has increased in popularity, the lessons have shifted. “Now we have to teach people that you can’t just come at the last minute and expect us to have empty seats. Growth is a good problem to have.”
Andrew Rodgers

Led to Lead
A saying goes that if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. In the case of Andrew Rodgers, executive director of RiverRun, the cliché just might be true.

Rodgers graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Eastern Illinois University and began his career as a staff writer for the Chicago Tribune.

“I’d been covering the film and television industries and festivals, but I wanted to be on the other side of the wall,” Rodgers recalls. “It hit me that I didn’t want to be writing about the film industry, I wanted to actually be contributing to it.”

It was a serendipitous epiphany for a man who would soon become a mover and shaker in the festival arena.

Rodgers took a position at the Sundance Film Festival in 2002, and served as publicity coordinator and assistant manager of publicity. “A lot of my work at that time was seasonal; I did a lot of festival-hopping. It was a blast,” Rodgers says.

In 2005, he was approached by a Sundance coworker who had been consulting with RiverRun and who knew that the local festival needed assistance with publicity.

Rodgers contacted Dale Pollock, the then-executive director, who brought him on board as a consultant in April 2005. Shortly thereafter, Festival Director Butter Birkas stepped down and Rodgers was on par to assume the role full-time.

“My first impression of RiverRun was that it was a festival with a lot of excitement behind it, but no clear focus,” Rodgers explains. “I thought I could give it a focus.”

Now in his third year at RiverRun’s helm, Rodgers has done just that. In fact, last December at the International Film Festival Summit in Las Vegas, actor Ernie Hudson presented the accomplished leader an Excellence Award for his contributions to independent film.
CDs

Perfecting the Program
This year, RiverRun received 1,030 film submissions - that’s what happens when you earn such a positive reputation in the industry. From there, a committee of 30 screeners watched, debated, and re-watched films until the list was whittled to a final lineup of 96.

“The one thing we’ve said we’re never going to do is show a movie that we didn’t think was very good,” says Dale Pollock, who is now chairman of the RiverRun board of directors. “It’s quality, not quantity.”

Executive Director Andrew Rodgers says the festival is a continued work in progress. “We push the envelope in programming each year, making it more and more daring. The caliber is certainly up for 2008.”

The strength of this year’s lineup is in large part due to the efforts of Program Director Julie Freeman, who has been with the festival since its start in Winston-Salem. Freeman spends much of her year pursuing submissions. She travels to other festivals, scours the Web for the latest projects, and, as she puts it, “sends massive amounts of correspondence.”

“We have been able to secure some of the best films in the world,” Freeman explains. “We shoot for the very top - the top films at the top festivals. We have very high standards. We want interesting and unusual stories. We want compelling and powerful stories. We want fiction and nonfiction. We want a program we are proud of.”

In recent years, the festival has shown a particular interest in foreign films. In fact, the 2008 lineup features work from 26 countries - including Argentina, Belgium, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, and China - and out of 10 competition features, only one is from the United States.

Another group of particular programming interest is student film. “Because of our partnership with the N.C. School of the Arts, we have the access to solicit student work,” Freeman says. “This year, 20 percent of the festival program is student-produced. Of course, you wouldn’t know - they’re that good.”

Rodgers says RiverRun’s goal is to showcase the best films from around the world, while also appealing to all segments of the population. To that end, RiverRun is screening Saturday Morning Cartoons to attract children, as well as Midnight Flicks to reach younger adults.

“As long as you like movies, you will absolutely find something to love at RiverRun,” Pollock says. “They aren’t all intellectual films; they aren’t all art films. The variety of what we do can be credited in part for the success that we enjoy.”

Building Future Film Buffs
Although the festival has been increasingly popular in recent years, coordinators recognize that audience holes exist. “It’s a simple fact that younger audiences aren’t showing up,” says Director Andrew Rodgers. “Nowadays, this age group isn’t into international and independent films, but we think kids should be aware of movies that stretch beyond Hannah Montana.”

Enter Jan McKim, education and volunteer director. McKim’s RiverRun participation began with coordinating man power. But as a former teacher and tutor, she says she quickly realized that as the festival grew, it needed to involve students - the future of the industry.

First, the group gathered a collection of family-friendly features that would not be considered offensive - “lest we tarnish the future,” McKim says. Then, three years ago, RiverRun hosted a special screening for students. “Lots of kids came, the director came, and suddenly, we saw a powerful movement for how RiverRun could be valuable to the school system,” McKim recalls.

When R.J. Reynolds High School announced its plans for an arts magnet program, McKim, a former Reynolds “Drama Momma,” saw an opportunity for RiverRun to collaborate with the school to implement their arts magnet compliance. “There is a readiness in this community and we have the resources to spread valuable films,” she says.

During festival week this year, RiverRun will feature special school screenings at 9:30 each morning, and industry artists will also hold workshops in local high schools. “It’s crucial to help teenagers embrace RiverRun as their festival. Once they have a certain sense of ownership over this staple of Winston-Salem, they’ll feed it and it’ll feed them.”

Outreach has expanded beyond children. Throughout the year, McKim takes films to churches, community groups, and wherever else can benefit from RiverRun’s growing archive.

And audiences have been nothing but encouraging. “They love us at assisted-living homes,” she says. “That audience is ripe for good films, especially historical ones - these folks lived the history movies.”

McKim predicts that as it becomes a more integrated part of the community, RiverRun’s identity will continue to strengthen. “Film is an educator - it takes you to places you’ve never been. If we’re educating, we’re spending sponsors’ money responsibly,” she explains. “That’s taking the festival to the maximum.”

Judgment Day
For UNC Greensboro film professor Matt Barr, having his documentary Wild Caught screened to two sold-out audiences at the 2007 RiverRun was a career highlight. “It’s truly validating to feel the audience react to your piece. And then to have continued success as a result of the festival - it’s a pretty amazing process.”

During RiverRun, there are three juries that each evaluate films in their respective category - feature-length narratives, feature-length documentaries, and short films. This year, Barr will serve on the documentary jury. Peter Brunette, director of the film studies program at Wake Forest University, is on the narrative feature jury.

“The judging process is actually easier than it seems,” Brunette says. “More often than not, a clear winner presents itself and the jury can vote unanimously.” Each jury has five members representing a range of professions: filmmakers, industry professionals, professors, and local college students. Once a decision is made, category awards are presented at a ceremony on Sunday.

“The key things we’re looking for in a film are that it has to be a powerful experience and aesthetic experience. We want a piece that really strikes you, and not just on an emotional level.”

Brush With Fame
“We don’t have to have celebrities to attract a crowd. Our films carry us, they are our stronghold,” explains Jane McKim, education and volunteer director for RiverRun. “Of course, stars are also great gravy.”

This year, RiverRun welcomes two notable Hollywood talents, Bill Pullman and Pam Grier. Pullman is scheduled to participate in the festival’s Opening Night on April 23, with the screening of Phoebe in Wonderland, in which he starred. On April 24, RiverRun will also host a “Conversation with Bill Pullman,” where Pullman will be presented a 2008 Master of Cinema Award, which honors the lifetime achievements of an actor or filmmaker.

Pam Grier, a native of Winston-Salem, will participate in a screening on April 25 in the Stevens Center. After the film, Grier will also be presented a 2008 Master of Cinema Award at a “Conversation with Pam Grier.”

For Rebecca Clark, director of the Piedmont Triad Film Commission, it’s this mixing and mingling between professional talent and the community that drives her group’s mission. The Piedmont Triad Film Commission recruits filmmakers to this area to employ local crew members and encourage economic growth.

“We need a world-class film festival to bring people to the region and we need an organization like the commission to encourage new movies and jobs,” Clark explains. “It takes us both to have a thriving Triad film industry.”

Clark says that during RiverRun, she networks with filmmakers to encourage projects like the recent local filming of Leatherheads, which, in a matter of a few months, garnered millions for the community.

“It takes more than great film schools to have an arts city,” she notes. “RiverRun creates the opportunity for both locals and celebrities to celebrate this vision.”

Looking Ahead
If past growth is any indication of the future, the stars are aligned for RiverRun’s success. “There are thousands of film festivals out there, but a lot has to come together to create a successful one,” says UNC Greensboro film professor Matt Barr. “Winston-Salem has just the right combination of elements: school talent, top-notch venues, an eager audience, and city support.”

The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County recently calculated that RiverRun’s annual economic impact is more than $2.8 million. That said, Director Andrew Rodgers emphasizes that there is room for expansion.
Cirque du Soleil entertainment at party

He notes that there are “four legs to the stool of RiverRun’s growth”: audience size, financial support, industry reputation, and caliber of programming. “Some of the four elements are easier to affect than others,” he says. “If we focus on growing our financial support and programming, our reputation and audience size will grow too.

“A lot of RiverRun’s future will be tied up in Winston-Salem’s development,” he adds. “Light rails, repurposed buildings, the ballpark. As the city’s infrastructure develops, so can the festival.”

And, as Program Director Julie Freeman explains, future festivals are always on the staff’s radar. “The city and community have made a commitment, a real statement that they want RiverRun to be here long-term.

“We have been given the financial stability to keep a year-round staff. We have a great following, great films, great venues, and support from sponsors and the city. We have a track record to build on - one that impresses people. We plan to keep building and growing. As long as the audience expresses that they want a festival, RiverRun will be here.”

A First time for Everything
Executive Director Andrew Rodgers’ advice for first-time film festival attendees:

  * Look at film guides and read movie descriptions, available at riverrunfilm.com.
  * Consider what kinds of films interest you - kid-friendly, documentaries, love stories, dramas, animation, foreign, etc.
  * Then, take a risk. Go to movies you are unsure of. See a subtitled film - it won’t hurt you.
  * Talk. Talk to friends, talk to strangers. Chat with the people in line with you. Ask questions.
  * Recognize that you are going to miss things and don’t get frustrated. You can’t see all the films. Pick and choose and get out to as much as you can.
  * Don’t just go to the movies - go to panels, go to parties, get out and get the full festival experience. Don’t limit yourself. What makes a film festival is the process of discovery.

Did you know:

  * Total running time of all 2008 features: 53 hours, 54 minutes
  * Average length of 2008 features:95 minutes
  * Average length of 2008 shorts:9 minutes
  * Longest 2008 film (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp): 163 minutes
  * Shortest 2008 film (The Kite):2 minutes, 7 seconds
  * Audience statistics (based on 2007 survey): Average distance traveled to attend RiverRun: 40.5 miles. Average number of films/events attended: 5.7

IF YOU GO

WHEN: April 23 - 28
WHERE: Sawtooth Center for Visual Arts, N.C. School of the Arts, Stevens Center, The Garage, and Reynolda House Museum of American Art
TICKETS: For all films, parties, and other festival events are available:

  * IN PERSON: Stevens Center box office, 405 W. Fourth St.
  * BY PHONE: 336-721-1945
  * ON THE WEB: ncarts.edu/performances/boxoffice.htm

ADMISSION: For regular screenings is $8, or $6 for students with valid identification. If 10 or more regularly priced tickets are purchased at one time, the cost per ticket is $7. “ALL-ACCESS” PASSES, which admit holder to all festival events and screenings, are available for $300. For more information, go to riverrunfilm.com.