UNCSA School of Filmmaking, a/perture cinema and RiverRun International Film Festival launch new screening series with inaugural event featuring Director Boots Riley
The School of Filmmaking at UNCSA, a/perture cinema, and RiverRun International Film Festival have partnered to launch Scene & Heard, a new annual film series that will bring filmmakers and other creative voices to Winston-Salem each fall for screenings and public conversations. The series begins Friday, Sept. 18, with Scene & Heard with Boots Riley, featuring a screening of Riley’s “I Love Boosters” followed by a discussion with the director, moderated by Abrea Armstrong, executive director of Triad Cultural Arts.
The event begins at 7:30 p.m. at the ACE Exhibition Complex, 1533 S. Main St. in Winston-Salem. Tickets are $25 for general admission and $5 for students with valid ID. VIP tickets are $50, limited to 50 guests and include a pre-event meet-and-greet with Riley. Tickets go on sale starting today at riverrunfilm.com.
Scene & Heard
As dean of the School of Filmmaking at UNCSA, Deborah LaVine has forged closer ties with the professional film community in Winston-Salem, helping students benefit from the city’s working artists and institutions alongside their training.
“Winston-Salem has so much to offer students and audiences with its robust array of film organizations,” said LaVine. “I am excited to work together with new leadership at a/perture and RiverRun to expand the range of film screenings and conversations in our city. Working together allows our organizations to bring notable filmmakers to the city and strengthen connections within the local film community.”
Michael Morin, executive director of RiverRun International Film Festival, has been steering the organization toward what he calls a “community-first” next chapter, expanding RiverRun’s role beyond a single spring festival and deepening its presence in the Triad’s year-round film and arts community. Scene & Heard is envisioned as a gathering point for the region’s entire creative ecosystem: filmmakers, artists, students, educators, arts organizations, industry professionals, audiences and anyone who believes in independent film.
“Scene & Heard is an invitation to the entire creative community to come together,” said Morin. “We want students new to the Triad to discover the incredible filmmaking and arts community that already exists here, while making sure the people who have been creating, building and supporting this community for years feel that this event belongs to them, too. The goal is to bring people together, share ideas, discover new work and build relationships across generations and disciplines.”
Morin said those connections are central to RiverRun’s vision. “A thriving filmmaking community doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens when filmmakers, artists, students, audiences, educators, institutions and organizations have opportunities to find one another. If someone walks into Scene & Heard and discovers a collaborator, mentor, friend, film they love or simply a sense that they belong here, then we’re doing what RiverRun should be doing. This is about building community, not simply creating another event to attend.”
Morin said the choice of Boots Riley to launch the series was deliberate. “Boots Riley is exactly the kind of artist we want to bring into this community. From ‘Sorry to Bother You’ to ‘I’m a Virgo’ and now ‘I Love Boosters,’ his work is bold, politically sharp, deeply funny and visually unlike almost anything else being made right now. He reminds us there is no single way to be a filmmaker or artist, and that some of the most exciting work happens when you refuse to do the expected thing. Boots is proof that you don’t have to make the film everyone expects you to make. You can make a film that only you could make.”
For LaVine, the evening’s value lies in exposure to an artist fully committed to a singular vision. “Students will see an authentic voice onscreen and during Boots’ post-screening Q&A,” LaVine said. “They may not agree with his political stance or his approach to making films, but they will see artistic courage in action, and a true model of artist/citizen.”
Leigh Dyer, executive director of a/perture Cinema, sees Scene & Heard as a chance to widen the circle well beyond the three presenting organizations. “As the ‘City of Arts & Innovation,’ Winston-Salem is extremely fortunate to have such a deep well of film-related resources,” said Dyer. “This stretches beyond the three core organizers of this event — we also want to welcome everyone from Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem State University, Salem College, Triad Cultural Arts, NCMA-WS, Sawtooth, OUT at the Movies, and the many other academic and cultural institutions who have a stake in celebrating cinema alongside all the other forms of art that make our city so vibrant.”
About Boots Riley
Boots Riley is a writer, director, activist, screenwriter, producer and musician. His second feature film “I Love Boosters” had its world premiere at the opening night of South By Southwest and was released in theaters nationwide on May 22, 2026. Starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, LaKeith Stanfield, Poppy Liu, Eiza Gonzalez, Will Poulter, Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle and Academy Award nominee Demi Moore, “I Love Boosters” centers on a crew of professional shoplifters who take aim at a cutthroat fashion maven.
Boots Riley made his acclaimed directorial debut with “Sorry To Bother You,” a dystopian satire that premiered at Sundance and sparked wide discussion on income inequality and followed it with the critically praised series “I'm A Virgo,” starring Jharrel Jerome and a cast including Walton Goggins and Mike Epps. He is also a musician, fronting The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club (the latter with Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine).
A dedicated community-based activist, Boots was deeply involved with the Occupy Oakland movement and was one of the leaders of the activist group The Young Comrades. He is the author of the critically acclaimed collection of essays “Tell Homeland Security-We Are the Bomb” (Haymarket Books).
Boots Riley is represented for public speaking appearances by Evil Twin Booking Agency https://eviltwinbooking.org/speakers/boots-riley.
About the Moderator
The post-screening conversation will be moderated by Abrea Armstrong, executive director of Triad Cultural Arts. She holds degrees from Wake Forest University and St. John’s University and is the author of “Ferry Tales: The Recollection.”
About the Presenting Organizations
UNCSA School of Filmmaking
Consistently recognized among the nation’s best training programs for filmmakers, the UNCSA School of Filmmaking, led by Dean Deborah LaVine, offers undergraduate and graduate training in animation, cinematography, directing, picture editing and sound design, producing, production design and visual effects and screenwriting. Students create more than 130 films each year with university-provided equipment and financing, explore emerging technologies through the Media and Emerging Technology Lab (METL) and gain industry connections through festival, international and cross-campus partnerships. Notable alumni include Danny McBride (“The Righteous Gemstones”), David Gordon Green (“Halloween”), Jeff Nichols (“The Bikeriders”), Vera Herbert (“This Is Us”), Will Files (“The Batman,” “Stranger Things”) and Zoë White (“Will & Harper,” “The Handmaid’s Tale”), among many others.
a/perture cinema
a/perture cinema is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit art house cinema in downtown Winston-Salem
whose mission is to entertain and engage the community through the art of film by
showcasing informative, educational, thought-provoking and inspiring films and programming.
The only year-round art-house cinema in the Piedmont Triad, a/perture presents more
than 4,000 screenings annually.
RiverRun International Film Festival
RiverRun International Film Festival is a nonprofit cultural organization dedicated
to showcasing a wide range of narrative, documentary, animated, short and student
films. Founded in 1998, RiverRun presents its annual festival each spring and offers
year-round programming for the community.
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August 25, 2026