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. A few founding members include Bill Bittinger, Nora Jacobson, Bill Stetson, and Matt Bucy, who designed the WRIF logo.
WRIF screened films from independent and local filmmakers at the Center for Cartoon Studies and the Tip Top Cafe, developing the film community in the Twin States.
Following WRIF’s mission on screening issue-oriented films and bringing audiences together to enjoy groundbreaking and provocative cinema, WRIF was the third entity to screen The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear (2006, dir. Adam Curtis), a controversial documentary asserting that fundamentalist Islam and American neo-conservatism have more in common that one might think. The documentary series was never shown on U.S. television.
For its opening night, WRIF screened Liz Canner’s groundbreaking documentary Orgasm Inc (2011), a film following reveals a drug company’s fevered race to develop the first FDA-approved Viagra for women.
WRIF begins a partnership with CATV, White River’s public access channel, creating a festival showcase for the WRIF-CATV Film Slam, inspiring hundreds of developing film directors.
WRIF launches a Regional Showcase festival program to highlight the work of local filmmakers, a favorite with the WRIF community.
WRIF introduces “WRIF 365,” year-round programs to bring timely, issue-oriented films and the best from neighboring festivals to the region. Screenings grow from modest programs at the Main Street Museum to overflow crowds at the Briggs Opera House.
WRIF festival moves to the beautiful new Barrette Center for the Arts, home of Northern Stage, an outstanding, state-of-the-art facility, to house a growing audience and provide flexibility in festival programming.
WRIF becomes the parent organization for the Freedom & Unity Youth Film Contest, which invites young Vermonters to create films exploring the life and culture of the Green Mountain State. Winning films screen at WRIF and other festivals, and are broadcast on Vermont PBS.
WRIF hosts its spring festival and partners with Vermont International Film Festival and Vermont PBS to present MADE HERE, a showcase of regional filmmaking, at the Briggs Opera House. WRIF’s Freedom & Unity Youth Film Contest welcomes young Vermonters to create films exploring the life and culture of the Green Mountain State again.
WRIF weathers the Covid-19 pandemic, transitioning to virtual theater screenings and events in April and fall special series, RACE AND ELECTIONS, reaching audiences nationwide. WRIF’s Freedom & Unity Youth Film Contest expands to welcome young New Hampshire residents with Vermonters to create films exploring the life and culture of their states. Winning films broadcast on Vermont PBS April 2021. WRIF pilots “Light” River Junction Festival of Cinema Light in December.
WRIF hosts a mix of virtual and outdoor screenings during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
WRIF invites director Vera Drew to screen her film The People’s Joker, which was shown in a secret screening at WRIF after other screenings of the film were canceled due to copyright issues. Watch the talkback after the film here.
WRIF screens No Other Land (dir. Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor), a film made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective showing the destruction of the occupied West Bank’s Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers. The film later won the 2025 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.
