Multiple projects with UNCSA connections to screen at RiverRun Film Festival

Students, alumni and faculty from the School of Filmmaking at UNCSA have multiple connections to films selected to screen at the 25th RiverRun International Film Festival. The festival, which runs from April 13-22, is celebrating its silver anniversary this year featuring over 170 projects from over 1,700 submissions. RiverRun will also host a variety of free panels that are open to the public, as well as its Annual Pitch Fest, giving student documentary filmmakers the opportunity to pitch to judges, receive feedback and win cash prizes.

The festival is mainly in-person this year with several virtual options. The screening venues include the UNCSA Main and Gold theaters in the ACE Exhibition Complex; the Hanesbrands Theatre; Marketplace Cinemas; and RED Cinemas in Greensboro. UNCSA is a title and presenting sponsor.

“Having an international festival be an accessible option for Filmmaking students, staff, faculty and the Winston-Salem community is an invaluable resource for the university,” said School of Filmmaking Dean Deborah LaVine. “The connections that are fostered through the screenings, panels and events are laying the foundation for our emerging and established filmmakers to build long-lasting professional relationships.

The connections that are fostered through the screenings, panels and events are laying the foundation for our emerging and established filmmakers to build long-lasting professional relationships.

“I’m particularly proud of the students, alumni and faculty who have films screening this year and I’m thrilled that a collaborative project made between the School of Filmmaking and RISEBA University in Riga, Latvia, will be screening, showcasing our growing partnerships with international film schools.”

As part of the From the Archives program, Dean LaVine, who is also on the RiverRun board of directors, will do a special introduction with producer Craig Berenson prior to the screening of “Snakes on a Plane” at 8:30 p.m. April 21 in the Gold Theatre on campus.

As part of the From the Archives salute to the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros., faculty member Renata Jackson will give a special introduction for “You’ve Got Mail” at 1:30 p.m. April 22 in the Main Theatre.

Lastly, emeritus faculty member Dale Pollock, who was instrumental in moving RiverRun from Brevard, North Carolina, to Winston-Salem and is on the board of directors, will give a special introduction of “Shanghai Express” as part of the From the Archives program commemorating the career of Anna May Wong, the first Asian film star and first Asian on U.S. currency. The screening is 5:30 p.m. April 21 in the Gold Theatre.

"Shanghi Express"

Graduate Filmmaking faculty member Kim Zubick will host an onstage conversation with Academy Award-winner Tom Schulman prior to him receiving the RiverRun Master of Cinema Award at 8 p.m. April 14 at Hanesbrands Theatre, ahead of a screening of the new film he wrote and directed, “Double Down South.”

Current fourth-year Filmmaking student Aiden Winter-Deely will be pitching in the festival’s 12th Annual Pitch Fest Student Documentary Film Competition. The competition will be held at 1 p.m. April 22 at the Milton Rhodes Center Reynolds Place Theatre. They will be pitching “Print is Dead: A Documentary About the Decline of the Publishing Industry.” The documentary is about the impacts of digital media on print media and the publishing industry. It will explore the history of print media, Amazon’s impacts on the medium and what a world without print books could look like.

Several projects with UNCSA connections are screening in the Carolina Stories category. Feature films in this section focus on stories made in or about the Carolina region.

"Blessed Unrest" / Photo: Michael Dodds

"An American Love Story"

Drama alumnus Nicholas Logan (B.F.A. ’08) is in the cast of a film screening in the Re: Vision Independent Competition. This category highlights emerging talent and six independent films of the year which are eligible for jury prizes and the Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP Audience Award. In “Every Man for Himself,” a reformed ex-convict with a debt to repay picks up his former cellmate from prison and drives him wherever he wants to go. As they travel through the desolate landscape, both men seek redemption and a second chance. Alumna Mónica-Tezla Solís Vega-Görsün produced the film. The screening for this film is 4:30 p.m. April 14 and 7 p.m. April 15 at the Marketplace Cinema inside theater one.

Filmmaking students and an alum have a film in the Saturday Morning Cartoons program. This category is aimed at younger audiences, but programmers select films that appeal to children and adults. The films encompass different animation types and stories. In “Processing Magic,” a dragon takes his first foray into wizard school and he along with those around him soon discover that not everyone learns magic the same way. The film is co-directed and written by alumnus Vale Stanley (B.F.A. ’22) and rising fourth-year student Jo Knorpp. The lead animators are rising fourth-year student Cameron Panone and Knorpp. The editor and sound designer is fourth-year student Meg Fisher. Film music composition graduate student Kory Bailey oversaw the music for the project. The film will screen at 10 a.m. April 15 and 22 at the Hanesbrands Theatre and Reynolds Place.

"Processing Magic"

A filmmaking alumna has a film in the North Carolina Shorts Program One Documentaries category.

“In the Rearview” centers around childhood road trips taken through the Great Smoky Mountains with the filmmaker’s father and brother. The film was shot on location in Cherokee, North Carolina, with the help and support of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Filmmaking alumna Meagan Massa (B.F.A. ’04) is the director. This film will screen at 4:30 p.m. April 14 and 4:00 p.m. April 20 in the Reynolds Place Theater and online April 14-22.

"In the Rearview"

Filmmaking students and alumni have numerous films screening in the North Carolina Shorts Program Two Narratives category, which is screening at 7:30pm April 14 and 20 in Reynolds Place Theater and online April 14-22.

"Pick up Stick"

Still from "Sammy Without Strings"

Several alumni and a student have a film screening in the North Carolina Shorts Program Three Winston Stories category, which is screening 5:30 p.m. April 21 in the Hanesbrands Theater and online April 14-22.

"In Her Absence" / Photo: Clarke Phillips

A Dance alumna has a film screening in the Narrative Shorts Program Two category. After their mother’s death, a cognitively disabled woman and her estranged sister must learn to communicate in order to move forward in “Take Me Home.” Alumna Liz Sargent (C.A.D. Dance '02) is the director of the film. The screening will be at 7 p.m. April 16 in the ACE Exhibition Complex Gold Theater and at 8 p.m. April 21 at Marketplace Cinema inside theater one and online April 14-22.

Information in this release reflects what could be obtained by press time. If we missed a connection please contact us at the link below and updates will be made as they are brought to our attention.

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April 12, 2023