By Maddi Swindle, Opinions Editor
The arts community in Winston-Salem is an important aspect of Reynolds’ arts magnet culture. RiverRun International Film Festival helps support this arts community by bringing renowned films to the city every year for 11 days.
Brevard was the festival’s original home, but after four years there, RiverRun took a year off and then moved to Winston. Since then, the festival has thrived, and this April marks its 13th year here. Jane McKim, the community director of the festival, enjoys working with volunteers to make this festival happen.
“RiverRun is a broad-based festival. We have the 11-day festival in April and then we have a year-round outreach program called ‘Films with Class,’” McKim said. “This is an educational outreach program where we take films into the classrooms to augment education, to augment the courses that the students are taking.”
This year, the festival is showing 165 films and the spotlight is on African-American filmmakers from 1971 to 1991. This spotlight allows the festival to showcase the best films from the era, giving the festival a diverse sampling of films from all time periods.
The festival opened April 16 and runs through April 26. Films are shown day and night on screens at a/perture and the Hanesbrands Theatre downtown, SECCA and UNC School of the Arts. Tickets range from $6 for weekday shows before 5 p.m. to $10 for regular student tickets. Passes to see multiple shows also are available.
Visit RiverRunFilm.com for a full schedule and other details.
One of the most special features of the festival is when the directors come to the screenings of the films and have question-and-answer sessions with the audience. This year, at least 100 filmmakers are coming to the festival to interact with the audience.
This festival not only showcases the best films to audiences, but it also functions as a competitive film festival. The films that win in the short documentary and animated categories receive an automatic bid for an Oscar since the festival is identified as a qualifier for the Academy Awards. This automatic consideration attracts many talented filmmakers from across the country to submit their films.
Reynolds students enjoy the chance to view such wonderful films so close to home. Senior William Morgan thinks that the festival is a great way to promote the arts.
“We’re a very arts-based community, and it’s important for art festivals like RiverRun to reinforce the idea that we support the arts and we support the people who do arts in the community,” Morgan said.
The festival has around 250 volunteers every year, with a 50-percent return rate from the previous year that demonstrates how much the volunteers enjoy their time at the festival, McKim said. There are many perks to being a volunteer, including free film tickets for working shifts, free T-shirts and the end-of-festival celebration for all of the volunteers.
This film festival is one of the most beloved among citizens, as it helps bring together the arts community.
“What RiverRun does for the community is it brings 11 days of films that people wouldn’t ordinarily see, as the diversity of the films is broad,” McKim said. “We have something for everyone.”