The RiverRun International Film Festival kicks off its 28th season this week. The selection committee reviewed nearly 2,000 submissions and chose 178 for the week-long event, including over two dozen premieres of documentaries, dramas, comedies, and animated shorts for kids.
New this year is "LIMITLESS: Stories Without Restraint," showcasing three feature films and three shorts involving characters or filmmakers with disabilities. Michael Morin, RiverRun’s new executive director, emphasizes the underrepresentation of voices from the disability community in cinema.
"And I feel like we're at a precipice now where there's a giant influx of stories coming in from creators with disabilities that are just not being served the way they should," he says. "And giving a platform for those voices, especially in the current climate that we're in, is so powerful."
Under the Lights tells of a boy with epilepsy eager to attend prom despite the risk of seizure. Back on Track follows a wheelchair basketball team in the Triad, helping a man rediscover his life after paralysis. Both screenings will include a Q&A with the filmmakers.
Other programs include "Films With Class" that introduces students to cinema, "From The Archives" screenings of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Raising Arizona, and more. There will also be several panel discussions and Pitch Fest, now in its 15th year, where student filmmakers compete for funding in front of industry professionals and receive feedback on their project presentations.
RiverRun takes place April 17-25 at various venues in Winston-Salem and the Carolina Theatre of Greensboro.