# RiverRun International Film Festival

The RiverRun International Film Festival is an annual Oscar-qualifying film festival held each spring in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. The festival is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and presents a variety of feature-length and short films from all genres, and also presents special events, regional premieres of significant films, celebrity tributes, family events and classic retrospectives as well as panel discussions and parties.

## Jury Awards winners
### Best Narrative Feature

| Year | Film | Country | Director |
| 2024 | Banel & Adama | Senegal | Ramata-Toulaye Sy |
| 2023 | Trapped Balloon | Japan | Hiroyuki Miyagawa |
| 2022 | You Resemble Me | France / Egypt | Dina Amer |
| 2021 | Fires in the Dark | France / Belgium | Dominique Lienhard |
| 2020 | De Lo Mio | United States | Diana Peralta |
| 2019 | Alice | Australia/France | Josephine Mackerras |
| 2018 | Angels Wear White | China | Vivian Qu |
| 2017 | After Love | France / Belgium | Joachim Lafosse |
| 2016 | The Fits | United States | Anna Rose Holmer |
| 2015 | Memories on Stone | Iraq / Germany | Shawkat Amin Korki |
| 2014 | Ida | Poland | Paweł Pawlikowski |
| 2013 | In the House | France | François Ozon |
| 2012 | Found Memories | Argentina / Brazil | Júlia Murat |
| 2011 | Bal (Honey) | Turkey / Germany | Semih Kaplanoglu |
| 2010 | Katalin Varga | Romania / United Kingdom | Peter Strickland |
| 2009 | Three Monkeys | Turkey / France / Germany | Nuri Bilge Ceylan |
| 2008 | The Edge of Heaven | Germany / Turkey | Fatih Akin |
| 2007 | For the Living and the Dead | Finland | Kari Paljakka |
| 2006 | A Wonderful Night in Split | Croatia | Arsen Anton Ostojić |
| 2005 | Innocent Voices | Mexico | Luis Mandoki |
| 2004 | Dandelion | United States | Mark Milgard |
| 2003 | The Truth... Yathharth | India | Rajesh Sheth |
| 2001 | Morning ( >$500k budget ) | United States | Ami Canaan Mann |
| 2001 | Dischord ( <$500k budget ) | United States | Mark Wilkinson |
| 2000 | The Magic of Marciano ( >$500k budget ) | United States | Tony Barbieri |
| 2000 | Jacks or Better ( <$500k budget ) | United States | Robert Sidney Mellette |
| 1999 | Crashing Eden | United States | Dean Alioto |
| 1998 | The Legend of Cryin' Ryan | United States | Deanna Shapiro & Julie Smith (St.Claire) |

### Best Documentary Feature

| Year | Film | Country | Director |
| 2024 | Name Me Lawand | UK | Edward Lovelace |
| 2023 | Bad Press | USA | Rebecca Landsberry-Baker & Joe Peeler |
| 2022 | Art & Krimes by Krimes | USA | Alysa Nahmias |
| 2021 | Sapelo | Switzerland | Nick Brandestini |
| 2020 | I Am Not Alone | Armenia / United States | Garin Hovannisian |
| 2019 | American Factory | United States | Steven Bognar & Julia Reichert |
| 2018 | Minding the Gap | United States | Bing Liu |
| 2017 | Quest | United States | Jonathan Olshefski |
| 2016 | Salero | Bolivia / United States | Mike Plunkett |
| 2015 | The Chinese Mayor | China | Hao Zhou |
| 2014 | The Case Against 8 | United States | Ben Cotner & Ryan White |
| 2013 | I Am Breathing | Denmark / United Kingdom | Emma Davie & Morgan McKinnon |
| 2012 | The Boy Who Was a King | Bulgaria/Germany | Andrey Paounov |
| 2011 | Armadillo | Denmark | Janus Metz |
| 2010 | Last Train Home | Canada / China / UK | Lixin Fan |
| 2009 | Unmistaken Child | Israel | Nati Baratz |
| 2008 | Up the Yangtze | Canada | Yung Chang |
| 2007 | The Rape of Europa | USA | Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen, and Nicole Newnham |
| 2006 | Taimagura Grandma | Japan | Yohihiko Sumikawa |
| 2005 | Parallel Lines | United States | Nina Davenport |
| 2004 | Long Gone | United States | Jack Cahill & David Eberhardt |
| 2003 | The Boys of Second Street Park | United States | Ron Berger & Dan Klores |
| 2001 | Company Jasmine | Israel | Yael Katzir & Dan Katzir |

### Best Director

| Year | Film | Country | Director |
| 2024 | The Featherweight | USA | Robert Kolodny |
| 2023 | Know Your Place | USA | Zia Mohajerjasbi |
| 2022 | The Falconer | Oman | Adam Sjöberg & Seanne Winslow |
| 2021 | Fires in the Dark | France | Dominique Lienhard |
| 2020 | Asymmetry | Serbia | Maša Nešković |
| 2019 | Alice | Australia | Josephine Mackerras |
| 2018 | Angels Wear White | China | Vivian Qu |
| 2017 | The Ornithologist | Brazil | João Pedro Rodrigues |
| 2016 | One Floor Below | Romania | Radu Muntean |
| 2015 | Still the Water | Japan | Naomi Kawase |
| 2014 | The Summer of Flying | Chile | Marcela Said |
| 2013 | La Sirga | Colombia | William Vega |
| 2012 | Found Memories | Argentina | Júlia Murat |
| 2011 | Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives | Thailand | Apichatpong Weerasethakul |
| 2010 | Dogtooth | Greece | Yorgos Lanthimos |
| 2009 | Il Divo | Italy | Paolo Sorrentino |
| 2008 | California Dreamin’ | Romania | Cristian Nemescu |
| 2007 | Son of Man | South Africa | Mark Dornford-May |
| 2006 | A Wonderful Night In Split | Croatia | Arsen Anton Ostojic |
| 2005 | Symmetry | Poland | Konrad Niewolski |
| 2008 | Long Gone | USA | Jack Cahill and David Eberhardt |
| 2008 | Manhood | USA | Bobby Roth |

## History

Founded in 1998 by Gennaro and Beth D'Onofrio, the RiverRun International Film Festival got its name from the French Broad River near Brevard, North Carolina, where the festival was originally held. In 2003, Dale Pollock, a former film producer and then-Dean of the School of Filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, moved RiverRun to Winston-Salem, where it resides today as an independent arts organization showing new films from independent, international and student filmmakers.
Since 2014, the festival has been an Oscar-qualifying festival in the Animated short film category.
Festival Dates/Locations:
| Number | Year | Dates | Location |
| 1st | 1998 | Sept. 25-27 | Brevard, NC |
| 2nd | 1999 | Sept. | Brevard, NC |
| 3rd | 2000 | Sept. 1-4 | Brevard, NC |
| 4th | 2001 | Aug. 29 - Sept. 3 | Brevard, NC |
| | 2002 | skipped | |
| 5th | 2003 | April 24–27 | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 6th | 2004 | April 22–25 | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 7th | 2005 | April 21–24 | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 8th | 2006 | March 16–19 | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 9th | 2007 | April 18–23 | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 10th | 2008 | April 23–28 | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 11th | 2009 | April 22–29 | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 12th | 2010 | April 15–25 | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 13th | 2011 | April 8–17 | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 14th | 2012 | April 13–22 | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 17th | 2015 | April 16–26 | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 20th | 2018 | April 19–29 | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 21st | 2019 | April 4–14 | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 22nd | 2020 | March 26-April 5 | Winston-Salem, NC |