Documentary Film Program

🎥

We’re proud to partner with the Southern Documentary Fund to sponsor BEHIND THE LENS: BIPOC VOICES IN DOCUMENTARY FILM 🎬

Join us at RiverRun International Film Festival for a powerful panel exploring what it takes to build a sustainable career as a BIPOC documentary filmmaker in the American South.

✨ From funding and relationship-building to marketing and distribution, this conversation offers real-world insights grounded in lived experience.
✨ Discover how community engagement and regional storytelling shape creative and professional paths.
✨ Hear candid journeys from filmmakers working across the South.

Featuring filmmakers Resita Cox, Rodrigo Dorfman, Rahi Hasan, and Saleem Reshamwala and moderator Southern Documentary Fund Artistic Director Christopher Everett.

Panelist Resita Cox--an Emmy-winning filmmaker whose work highlights the resilience, environmental justice, and untold histories of Southern Black communities--will also be presented with a 2026 Emerging Master of Cinema Award.👏

📍 Hanesbrands Theatre
🗓 Saturday, April 25
⏰ 4:00 PM
🎟 FREE

@spellerstreetchris
@southerndocfund
@riverrunfilm

#wfudocfilm #southerndocfund #riverrunfilmfestival

🎬🎤🎥

We’re so excited for Saturday’s Pitchfest competition at the Riverrun International Film Festival!

Join us in cheering on 2nd year MFA students Emily Allgair and Xiaoya “Wilsury” Wei as they pitch their thesis films at the 15th Annual Student Pitch Fest.🙌

Pitch Fest brings together student filmmakers from colleges and universities across the Southeast to present original film projects to a panel of industry professionals for feedback and evaluation. Cash awards of $1,000 for First Place and $500 for Second Place will be presented to the top pitches.

The competition also features students from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and the University of Mississippi.

Don’t miss it!

📍 STUDENT PITCHFEST
🕛 12:00 PM | 🎟 FREE | Hanesbrands Theatre
📅 Saturday, April 25

@emilyallgair
@wilsury_
@riverrunfilm

#wfudocfilm #wakethearts #wfugrad #riverrunfilmfestival

🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬

All thesis films defended!

From Post-its to final cuts—what a journey!

Congratulations to all!

#wfudocfilm #wakethearts

Meet the DFP RiverRun Jurors! 🎬

2nd-year MFA students Kenan Reed and Emily Allgair lent their expertise to this year’s festival by serving as jurors—Kenan on Documentary Features and Emily on Documentary Shorts.

Not an easy task with this year’s standout slate of documentaries!

@kenanonfilm
@emilyallgair
@riverrunfilm

#wfudocfilm #wakethearts #riverrunfilmfestival

Congratulations to Leo Geneser on successfully defending his MFA thesis film, INSIDE THE BOX!

INSIDE THE BOX follows Bruce, Brandon, and Liam - three players at different stages of life - as they compete in the inaugural season of the Naperville Bobcats box lacrosse team.

Formed to tap into the Midwest’s overlooked lacrosse talent, the team is working to establish a foundation for long-term success. As the Bobcats navigate the challenges of building a new program from the ground up, the film also steps beyond the box, exploring the players’ lives and identities.

We are looking forward to screening the film during our upcoming graduation thesis showcase! 📽🎓🎉

#wfudocfilm #wfugrad #dfpalum

Congratulations to Naz Sayari Marcum on successfully defending her MFA thesis film, WALTZ OF LIFE! 👏

What happens when some of the brightest minds of their generation gather not to reminisce, but to debate? WALTZ OF LIFE is an unexpected portrait of aging, resilience, and the power of intellectual pursuit.

Inside the walls of Salemtowne Retirement Community, what begins as a humble effort to keep their debate club alive transforms into an extraordinary intergenerational experiment when Wake Forest University debate professors and their students step in as mentors and collaborators, bridging decades through mentorship, laughter, and shared discovery. Together, these relentless minds face off against their equally spirited peers at Abbotswood Retirement Community in a historic tournament that sparks the creation of a National Retirement Debate League.

We are looking forward to screening the film during our upcoming graduation thesis showcase! 📽🎓🎉

@nazsayarimarcum

#wfudocfilm #wfugrad #dfpalum

Congratulations to Avery Dew on successfully defending her MA thesis film, HEART OF GOLD.👏

HEART OF GOLD is a short documentary about Olympic swimmer Kathleen Baker, sharing the journey that led to her success in the pool and the life she`s built in the years since. The film dives into the grit, setbacks, and defining moments behind her rise, while also turning the lens on how she navigates life beyond retirement. She`s grown beyond the pool, redefined her identity outside of competition, and found meaning in the quieter chapters that follow greatness.

We are looking forward to screening the film during our upcoming graduation thesis showcase! 📽🎓🎉

@averydew
@kathleenbaker2

#wfudocfilm #wfugrad #dfpalum

It was an honor to host a pre-screening reception for the inaugural LIMITLESS screening block at the RiverRun International Film Festival and a post-screening Q&A for the anchor film BACK ON TRACK, directed by Peter Tkac (MA ’25).

LIMITLESS: Stories Without Restraint showcases films made by, starring, and centered on people with both visible and non-visible disabilities. BACK ON TRACK follows three members of the Triad Trackers Wheelchair Basketball Team through their 2025 season, highlighting both the competition and the personal journeys of the players.

Thank you to Triad Trackers team members Chris Rivera, Tamirat Ives-Rublee, and Bri Solomon, as well as director Peter Tkac, for joining the conversation, and to DFP Professor of Practice Peter Gilbert for moderating such a thoughtful Q&A.

A special thank you to RiverRun Executive Director Michal Morin and Development Director Tiffany Jones and the entire RiverRun team for their support in making this event possible.

@tictkac10
@pmgilbs
@foodnart
@ivesrublee
@riverrunfilm
@dgkoproductions
@trixiemayj

#wfudocfilm #triadtrackers #riverrunfilmfestival

A great Saturday night at the Coal Pit with the DFP community celebrating our alums screening at Riverrun—Elizabeth Miller-Derstine, Peter Tcak and Rodney Wilds!

One of the best parts of the @riverrunfilm festival is the chance to gather, reconnect, and celebrate together with new and longtime filmmaker friends, students, and faculty.

@legitabeth
@rwilds_4
@tictcak10
@andrewhbrown
@cagneygentry
@willthwaites
@incendiarybrew

#wfudocfilm #riverrunfilmfestival #winston

Our first step-and-repeat moments of the week at Riverrun International Film Festival!

DFP attendees Chris Zaluski, Andrew Meriwether, and Ryan Broussard, along with Riverrun Executive Director Michael Morin, paused for a photo before heading into TIME AND WATER directed by Sara Dosa @unadosa. A perfect opening night documentary—visually stunning, poetic, and deeply thought-provoking.

What a fantastic kickoff to the @riverrunfilm Festival! 🎬

@chriszaluski
@newmadwriterhere
@ryancbroussard
@dgkoproductions

#riverrunfilmfestival #wfudocfilm

Congratulations to Sheridan Coats @sheri_1124 on successfully defending her MFA thesis film, STEPPIN` DOWN THE LINE. 👏

Growing up in a family steeped in the traditions of Black Greek life, stepping has always been a part of her world.

STEPPIN` DOWN THE LINE explores the power of expanded family bonds through sisterhood, brotherhood, and legacy. As family members Tim Jones, Janice Coats-Hardy, and Arnold Coats share their stories, each offering a different perspective on what stepping has meant to them, the film becomes a reflection on memory, tradition, and the generational impact of Black Greek life.

We are looking forward to screening the film during our upcoming graduation thesis showcase! 📽🎓🎉

#wfudocfilm #wfugrad #dfpalum

A double celebration today! 🎉

Christine Dudley @chrelidud successfully defended her MFA thesis film HEAVY METAL, HOLY MACHINE — on her birthday!👏

HEAVY METAL, HOLY MACHINE follows the personal and professional journey of fabricator Britt Clark — a heavily tattooed, college-educated, truck-driving woman who hails from a rural South Carolina town, where Baptist churches stand tall and farmland stretches for miles. By working on both production pieces and custom — often commissioned — sculptures at Cricket Forge, a North Carolina metal shop, Britt has become a highly skilled craftsperson. While finishing up the fabrication of a piece for a newly renovated fire station in Virginia, she reckons with her identity as an artist and her religious upbringing. One she can reconcile with. The other is more challenging.

Through Britt`s lens, the film offers a commentary on the trades, the art world, and the academic system, while challenging us to think not of the gender identity of the person doing the work, but how incredible and interesting that work is, period.

We are looking forward to screening the film during our upcoming graduation thesis showcase! 📽🎓🎉

Happy Birthday, Christine! 🎂

#wfudocfilm #wfugrad #dfpalum

Congratulations to Kai McNeil @thekaimac (MFA ’25) on successfully defending his MFA thesis film, IN MEMORY OF HER.👏

After losing her mother to an overdose, Nola, a young Black Gen Z student, turns grief into purpose, embarking on a journey to understand her mother`s life through the world of harm reduction. Told through the lens of family members who share in that loss, the film weaves together memory, vulnerability, and hard-won honesty. Blending intimate observational footage, honest interviews, and childhood archival footage that gives us a glimpse of what Nola`s world looked like before she knew loss could reshape it, In Memory of Her asks what it costs us when we decide whose suffering is worthy of care.

We are looking forward to screening the film during our upcoming graduation thesis showcase! 📽🎓🎉

#wfudocfilm #wfugrad #dfpalum

We’re thrilled to welcome back Elizabeth Miller-Derstine @legitabeth (MFA ’23) to Winston-Salem! 🎬

Her film ONCE UPON A WETLAND will be screening this Sunday at the RiverRun International Film Festival.

As restrictions tighten across the country, Durham, NC prepares for the annual Beaver Queen Pageant—a campy, un-beaver-lievable celebration of LGBTQIA+ activism, environmental conservation, and outrageous critter cosplay. 🦫✨🌈

📍 Presented as part of @riverrunfilm`s North Carolina Shorts Program 1 – Documentaries
🕓 4:00 PM
📍 Reynolds Place Theatre

Come out and support!

Join us this Sunday for a special pre-screening reception and the North Carolina premiere of BACK ON TRACK @backontrackfilm at the RiverRun International Film Festival! 🎬

Directed by Pete Tcak @tictkac10 (MA ’25), BACK ON TRACK—which premiered at the 2026 Slamdance Film Festival—follows three members of the Triad Trackers Wheelchair Basketball Team: Chris Rivera, Tamirat Ives-Rublee, and Bri Solomon. The film captures their 2025 season alongside powerful personal journeys, beginning with Rivera’s story. After a shooting left him paralyzed at 18, he found renewed purpose through basketball—and now, 20 years later, leads the team with a vision of success beyond wins and losses.

This screening is part of @riverrunfilm`s Limitless: Stories Without Restraint, a shorts block highlighting films by, starring, and centered on people with visible and non-visible disabilities—bold works that challenge outdated narratives and champion inclusion in storytelling.

✨ EVENT DETAILS ✨
🥐 Reception + Light Brunch
Sunday | 12:00 PM
Hanesbrands Theatre Lobby (209 N. Spruce Street)
RSVP: https://www.goelevent.com/RiverRun/e/LIMITLESS-Brunch

🎥 Film Screening
Sunday | 1:30 PM
Hanesbrands Theatre
Tickets: https://riverrunfilm.com/events/limitlessshorts/
Note: A screening ticket includes access to the reception.

We hope to see you there! 🎉

The countdown to the Riverrun International Film Festival @riverrunfilm is on—and it’s shaping up to be a big first weekend for DFP alums! 🎬

We’re proud to share that three DFP alums will be screening their work on Sunday, April 19, and we’ll be highlighting each of them over the next few days.

✨ First up: WE ARE, BECAUSE WE WERE, directed by Rodney Wilds @rwilds_4 (MFA ’23)

Inside the Winston-Salem African American Archive, two dedicated guardians work to preserve nearly two centuries of Black history to reconnect a community with stories that were forgotten, and some that were never told.

🎥 The film screens as part of the North Carolina Shorts Program 3: Winston Stories block, alongside:

POWER TO THE PEOPLE, Y’ALL
A character-driven documentary that explores aging, legacy, and resistance through interviews with five founding members of the Winston-Salem Chapter of the Black Panther Party: Hazel Mack, Dr. Larry Little, Nelson Malloy, Cynthia Norwood, and Bradford Lilley. Directed by Tressie McMillan Cottom and Holland Randolph Gallagher

🔥 The Saturday screening SOLD OUT!
Due to popular demand, a second screening has been added:
🗓 Sunday, April 19 at 2PM
📍 a/perture

🎟 Grab your tickets now at riverrunfilm.com!

#wfudocfilm #riverrunfilmfestival #winstonsalem

Congratulations to Isaac Weinberg @zickweinberg on successfully defending his MA thesis film, LA FUNDACIÓN: BASEBALL`S ISLAND ⚾ 👏

In a nation where a baseball glove is seen as the only ticket out of poverty, the youth baseball system in the Dominican Republic recruits children with promises of MLB millions - often at the cost of an education. LA FUNDACIÓN: BASEBALL`S ISLAND follows a revolutionary nonprofit fighting to change the DNA of youth baseball on the island. While one talented athlete battles a bureaucratic nightmare for a U.S. student visa, and another becomes a ghost in MLB`s International Complexes, the film asks: what happens to the 99.96% of Dominican athletes who don`t make the league?

We are looking forward to screening the film during our upcoming graduation thesis showcase! 📽🎓🎉

#wfudocfilm #wfugrad

🎬 Meet our 2026 PitchFest competitors!

We’re proud to announce that MFA students Emily Allgair @emilyallgair and Xiaoya “Wilsury” Wei @Wilsury_Wei will represent the DFP at the RiverRun International Film Festival’s PitchFest competition!

📽️ PitchFest brings together student documentary filmmakers from across the Southeast to pitch their projects to industry professionals—offering valuable feedback and a chance to win cash prizes.

🙌 Save the date and come support Emily and Wilsury!

📍 Hanesbrands Theatre
📌 April 25
🕐 1 PM
🎟️ Free tickets: RiverRunFilm.com

The @RiverRun International Film Festival runs April 17–25. Explore the full festival lineup at: riverrunfilm.com

#wfudocfilm #RiverRun #PitchFest #StudentFilmmakers

We had a total retro tech geek-out moment at the DFP recently when @ryancbroussard shared his newest purchase with us.

He is now the proud owner of his own microfilm machine. 🎞️

And he crossed state lines to get it!

We can’t wait to see the cinematic treatment he gives the new “star” of his archival film.

Gotta love going the extra mile for your thesis project! 👏

#wfudocfilm #archivalstorytelling