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As the City of Arts & Innovation, Winston-Salem is the proud home of the RiverRun International Film Festival, a 9-day event celebrating 28 years as one of the premier film festivals in the Southeast.
This year’s RiverRun will be held April 17 – April 25, 2026.
The Festival will include a combination of virtual at-home viewing and in-person screenings. See the FAQ on The RiverRun FAQ website for more info about virtual viewing.
Founded in 1998, the RiverRun Film Festival got its name from the French Broad River near Brevard, North Carolina, where the event was originally held. The Festival moved to Winston-Salem in 2003.
The 2026 Film Festival screening venues during the event include the following Winston-Salem locations: UNCSA in Winston-Salem: Main, Babcock, and Gold Theatres, A/perture Cinema, Hanesbrands Theatre, Reynolds Place Theatre, Mountcastle Forum, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP (outdoor), Forysth County Public Library, and Marketplace Cinemas. If you live closer to Greensboro, there will also be select showings at the Carolina Theatre.
RiverRun 2025 Awards
The RiverRun Festival announced the Audience and Jury Awards for the 2025 Festival. This year, the festival presented 175 films that represented 33 countries.
- Kilpatrick Audience Choice Award – “A Little Prayer” directed by Angus MacLachlan
- Best Narrative Feature – “Color Book” directed by David Fortune
- Peter Brunette Award for Best Director – David Fortune for “Color Book”
- Special Jury Award for Best Performance – Kathleen Chalfant in “Familiar Touch”
- Best Documentary Feature – “Mistress Dispeller” directed by Elizabeth Lo
- Best Director – Documentary Feature – Brittany Shyne for “Seeds”
- Best Narrative Short – “The Last Dance” directed by Hayden Mclean
- Best Screenplay – Narrative Short – Vidhya Iyer in “Giving Mom The Talk”
- Best Hair and Makeup – Narrative Short – “Tea” directed by Blake Rice
- Special Jury Award for Rising Star – Dee Dee Comet in “Pack Rat”
- Best Documentary Short – “The Devil Is Busy” directed by Geeta Gandbhir & Christalyn Hampton
- Special Jury Award for Cinematography – Robert Machoian for “The Long Valley”
- Special Jury Award for Aesthetic Audacity – “Tiger” directed by Loren Waters
Pitch Fest Awards
The 14th Annual Pitch Fest was held in 2025 with students from four colleges and universities – University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Appalachian State University, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and Wake Forest University – pitching their documentary film projects to a panel of judges in hopes of winning cash prizes.
- First Place – was awarded to Alissa Simone from Wake Forest University for her film, “Where We Belong,” which steps “behind the velvet curtain and into the spotlight with Lucy Risqué, a black burlesque performer in Charlotte who is breaking barriers and reclaiming her space on stage
- Second Place – went to Caleb Brown from Appalachian State College for his film “The One Star,” a “retrospective and look forward at the storied two-decade long career of Appalachian regional wrestling icon Brad Attitude”
- Master of Cinema – Rosemary Rotondi
- Emerging Master of Cinema – Eric Johnson
- Spark Honoree – Monica Berra
RiverRun Film Festival Insider Tips
We here at MyWinston-Salem.com are excited to have access to some behind-the-scenes info on the Festival to share with our readers!
RiverRun Ticket Giveaway
As a sponsor and partner of the RiverRun film festival, we are giving away two ticket packages to our valued readers. We have two packs of two tickets for RiverRun Films of your choice and two Closing Night Party tickets. The giveaway launches on April 3, 20206, and we will draw two winners on Monday, April 13, 2026. Deadline for entry is Sunday, April 12, 11:59 pm. Watch our Facebook page for details on how to enter.
Ticket Information
The lineup for the 28th annual RiverRun International Festival 2026 was announced on March 19, and this year’s festival will feature a record number of films! Here is the guide to this year’s films. Sampler Tickets are now available for sale, and individual screening tickets went on sale on March 20, 2026, at riverrunfilm.com.
How To Plan For RiverRun
The list of films is a lot to sort through, so consider using the website’s tabs to search by the date you can attend and/or your favorite genres. RiverRun staff encourages festival-goers to be a little adventurous and get outside of their comfort zones: “Be prepared to take risks. Find something in a film’s description that looks interesting to you. See something with subtitles.”
Once you’ve narrowed down your list, buy your tickets early! Many sell out in advance, including the virtual viewing screenings. You can get a package for multiple films or purchase individual tickets for each film on the RiverRun website.
Where Can I Buy Tickets & How Much Do They Cost?
Keep in mind that tickets vary in price. Depending on the film, 2026 prices range from free to $8.17 for weekday matinees (weekdays before 5 pm), regular screenings for $15.34, and virtual screenings for $17.39. So plan your budget accordingly for this once-a-year opportunity. You can also buy a sampler of 10 film tickets for $132.14 ($153.40 value), or a mini sampler of 5 tickets for $56 ($76.70 value), or a matinee sampler of 6 tickets for $38.87 ($49.02 value). See the sampler page for information. Individual screening tickets went on sale March 20, 2026, at riverrunfilm.com.
Volunteers Make The Festival Go ‘Round
Volunteering for RiverRun Festival is a unique and fun experience. Join their dedicated group in supporting independent cinema from around the world. Meet people and get great perks!
They are now accepting applications from volunteers to assist with various tasks from March 19, 2026, through the Festival, taking place April 17-25, 2026, in Winston-Salem and Greensboro. Apply HERE.
Oscar-Qualifying Festival For Documentary Shorts
In 2015, RiverRun was accredited as a qualifying festival for the Oscars® in the Animated Shorts category, in addition to its initial accreditation for the Documentary Shorts category. This acknowledgment by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences puts our Festival into a new league of excellence we can all be proud of.
Opening Weekend
RiverRun Opening Night is the first Thursday night. RiverRun typically offers two opening-night film options – a narrative film and a documentary.
Photo Courtesy of RiverRun
The opening-night films are always sellouts and a surefire way to jump into this local event with a bang!
Spectacular Lineup
With many films to choose from, there is something for everyone!
Family Day is another must-do featuring Saturday Morning Cartoons, a free screening of new animated shorts on both Saturday mornings of the Festival.
Visit RiverRun’s Website to learn more about the great film and event lineup. The festival will feature screenings of approximately 175 selections representing countries from every continent, culled from nearly 2,000 submitted films.
Meet The Filmmakers
One of the great aspects of the Festival is the variety of directors, actors, and film industry folks who come to Winston-Salem to represent their films, offer Q&A sessions following screenings, host discussion panels (often free), and attend parties. Normally, you can expect more than 100 filmmakers and industry guests to be in attendance.
Does “Sold Out” Really Mean Sold Out?
Maybe. Even if advance tickets for a film are “sold out,” there’s a good chance you can still get in if you arrive 45 minutes early and add your name to the Wait List. Fifteen minutes before showtime, any empty seats are counted and sold to those on the Wait List. This also means that if you have bought tickets, be sure to arrive and be in your seat at least 15 minutes before your chosen movie’s start time, or you may be out of luck (or out of a seat, literally).
What is your favorite part of RiverRun? Let us know in the comments!
