The best of independent global and local cinema.

WRIF has joined forces with CATV to form JAM – Junction Arts & Media. JAM's mission is to build community through media arts. JAM leads media education workshops for all ages, supports Upper Valley residents in video and audio production, delivers independent access to local political issues, and hosts public, film and media arts centered events such as WRIF.

Founded in 2004, White River Indie Films was created by a small group of film lovers who wanted to bring works from outside the mainstream to an appreciative audience. The first three-day festival was held in White River Junction, Vermont in 2005. From the beginning, our focus was on screening issue-oriented films, hosting discussions, and partnering with community organizations with the goal of inspiring change. Alongside this mission was the aim of bringing filmmakers and audiences together to enjoy groundbreaking, provocative, entertaining cinema.

Schedule of Events

February 14, 2024

9:00 PM - The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Briggs Opera House

February 15, 2024

10 AM - 6 PM: Opera Action Figures at JAM - Junction Arts & Media
Stop motion animations by Thetford-based twin sisters Amy and Terry Lawrence will be on display alongside their various sets and figures inside JAM. You can view this instillation throughout WRIF and during JAM office hours (9-5) until the end of March.

6 - 7:30 PM: Pitchfest at Briggs Opera House
JAM is elated to once again host #PitchFest a shark-tank style competition where local film and media makers have 5 minutes to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges with the hopes of winning money to bring their vision to life.

8 - 9:30 PM: Custodian at Briggs Opera House
2024 Pitchfest winners will be announced after the screening! | Travis, a musician living in his car, gets a job as a custodian at a music studio and starts recording his album in secret. Shot in Vermont and New Hampshire for a shoestring budget of $1,000, this is the debut feature by filmmaker and musician Loren Howard.

February 16, 2024

9 - 10:15 AM: Master Class: Storytelling on Screen Workshop with Samantha Davidson Green at JAM - Junction Arts & Media
Workshop your in-progress feature or short film script.

9 AM - 5 PM: Opera Action Figures at JAM - Junction Arts & Media
Stop motion animations by Thetford-based twin sisters Amy and Terry Lawrence will be on display alongside their various sets and figures inside JAM. You can view this instillation throughout WRIF and during JAM office hours (9-5) until the end of March.

10:30 - 11:45 AM: Master Class: Sound Design with Daniel K. Felicetti at JAM - Junction Arts & Media
Enroll to gain access to all 5 WRIF Master Classes for $25 total or included with any WRIF pass.

12 - 1:15 PM: Film Financing Discussion & Brown Bag Lunch at JAM - Junction Arts & Media
Learn how filmmakers finance independent productions over a lunch discussion with Nora Jacobson, Bill Stetson, Jay Craven, and Jane Applegate.

1:30 - 2:45 PM: Master Class: Directing Actors with Camera with Richard Waterhouse at JAM - Junction Arts & Media
Enroll to gain access to all 5 WRIF Master Classes for $25 total or included with any WRIF pass.

3 - 4:15 PM: Master Class: Documentary with Chad Ervin at JAM - Junction Arts & Media
Enroll to gain access to all 5 WRIF Master Classes for $25 total or included with any WRIF pass. About Chad Ervin Chad Ervin has worked in nearly every facet of video production since 2001. As an editor, he has crafted over 30 documentary films, including three Emmy-winners for the PBS series FRONTLINE, two episodes of the Emmy and Polk award winning "Money, Power & Wall Street," four films for PBS's preeminent history series American Experience, and the Peabody Award winning Sighted E...

5 - 6 PM: WRIF Opening Gala at Briggs Opera House
Mingle with filmmakers and film lovers alike as the festival kicks off.

6:15 - 8:15 PM: The Taste of Things at Briggs Opera House
France, 1889: Simmering passions between a master chef and his longtime partner bubble over in this sumptuous award-winning period love story.

9 - 11 PM: Mami Wata at Briggs Opera House
Vermont folk horror short, "The Thaw" will accompany this screening! | In the oceanside village of Iyi, the revered Mama Efe acts as an intermediary between the people and the all-powerful water deity Mami Wata. With the sudden arrival of a mysterious rebel deserter named Jasper, a conflict erupts, leading to a violent clash of ideologies and a crisis of faith for the people of Iyi.

February 17, 2024

10 AM - 6 PM: Opera Action Figures at JAM - Junction Arts & Media
Stop motion animations by Thetford-based twin sisters Amy and Terry Lawrence will be on display alongside their various sets and figures inside JAM. You can view this instillation throughout WRIF and during JAM office hours (9-5) until the end of March.

10 - 11:30 AM: Emerging Filmmakers Breakfast at Putnam's Vinyard
A breakfast celebrating WRIF's regional Emerging Filmmakers and local filmmakers from The Upper Valley. All WRIF attendees are invited to join and meet cool people making cool stuff!

12 - 2 PM: Join or Die at Briggs Opera House
A film about why you should join a club—and why the fate of America may depend on it.

3 - 5 PM: Perfect Days at Briggs Opera House
Hirayama seems utterly content with his simple life as a cleaner of toilets in Tokyo. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past.

6 - 8 PM: Four Daughters at Briggs Opera House
This feature will be accompanied by the short film, "Daughters of the Fire." | Between light and darkness stands Olfa, a Tunisian woman and the mother of four daughters. One day, her two older daughters disappear. To fill in their absence, the filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania invites professional actresses and invents a unique cinema experience that will lift the veil on Olfa and her daughters' life stories.

8:30 - 9:45 PM: Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person at Briggs Opera House
Sasha is a young vampire with a serious problem: she's too sensitive to kill.

10 PM - 12 AM: Vampire Dance Party at JAM - Junction Arts & Media
Don your velvetiest capes, sharpen those fangs, and come dance the night away to dark wave classics at our Vampire Dance Party. Immediately following our screening of Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person . Costumes deathly encouraged.

February 18, 2024

10 AM - 6 PM: Opera Action Figures at JAM - Junction Arts & Media
Stop motion animations by Thetford-based twin sisters Amy and Terry Lawrence will be on display alongside their various sets and figures inside JAM. You can view this instillation throughout WRIF and during JAM office hours (9-5) until the end of March.

11 AM - 1 PM: Robot Dreams at Briggs Opera House
Dog lives in Manhattan and he's tired of being alone. One day he decides to build himself a robot, a companion.

2 - 4 PM: Orlando, My Political Biography at Briggs Opera House
Virginia Woolf's "Orlando" tells the story of a young man who grows up to become a 36-year-old woman. Almost a century after its publication, Paul B. Preciado speaks to Virginia Woolf to tell her that her fictional character has become a reality.

5 - 7 PM: Joonam at Briggs Opera House
This feature will be accompanied by the short film, "I Signed the Petition." | Spurred by a provocative family memory and a lifetime of separation from the country her mother left behind, a young filmmaker delves into her mother and grandmother's complicated pasts and her own fractured Iranian identity.

8:30 - 10:30 PM: The Sweet East at Briggs Opera House
A picaresque journey through the cities and woods of the Eastern seaboard of the U.S undertaken by Lillian, a high school senior from South Carolina.

Date: February 14-18, 2024

Location: Various Venue in White River Junction, VT 05001

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