Ken Burns at 2004 Full Frame Film Fest, photo by Renee Wright

Filmmaker Ken Burns gives
the Full Frame
Documentary Film
Festival thumbs up.

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RiverRun 2005

Cliff Robertson reveals that he did his own surfing when he played "The Big Kahuna" in Gidget.
photo © 2005 Renee Wright

Cliff Robertson received the first annual Master of Cinema award at RiverRun International Film Festival in Winton-Salem, NC, Saturday April 23, 2005 at the Stevens Center.

photo © 2005 Renee Wright

The award ceremony was followed by a screening of Charly, the film that gained him the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1968.

Robertson most recently appeared in both Spiderman movies, playing "Uncle Ben."

Rosemary Harris, who played opposite him as "Aunt May" in Spiderman, presented the award. She lives in Winston-Salem.

[Cliff Robertson Filmography]

Complete list of 2005 winners...

Founded in 1998, the RiverRun International Film Festival screens new independent dramatic documentary, short, student and animated films, including many critically acclaimed works seen at other top festivals around the world. An official event of the North Carolina School of the Arts, RiverRun serves as a living laboratory for the more than 200 students attending the undergraduate program at the School of Filmmaking.

NC School of the Arts Studio Village
photo © 2005 Renee Wright

Studio Village, home of the NC School of the Arts Film School, captures the flavor of Hollywood's Golden era.

Read Allan Maurer's interview with Dale Pollock, Dean of the NCSA School of Filmmaking.

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Next year's RiverRun March 16-19, 2006

Rosemary Harris presents first Master of Cinema award to Cliff Robertson.
Photo by RWright ARR 2005.

RiverRun fest boosts donations and attendance

Attendance shot up to the 10,000 range at 2005's Riverrun Film Festival in Winston-Salem, compared to last years 8,000 to 9,000 and 2003's 7,500-8,000.

The festival's new sponsor, the Winston-Salem Convention and Visitor's Bureau, expanded marketing outside the state and regional marketing was also strong.

The festival also received a fivefold increase in donations.

In our personal opinion, the festival also had the best posters of the season: two of them, both top notch. The Kudzu poster by Doug Marlette is just outstanding, but the second with a glossy unspun role of film is also excellent.

2005 Parties

OpenHire Blue Plate Opening Night Party at Millennium Center featuring the Vagabond Saints Society presenting a tribute to the rock-u-mentary film THIS IS SPINAL TAP.
The Filipowski Foundation Gala at the Millennium Center featuring live music performances by Kill Henry Sugar and Melva Houston.