Lean on Pete, each one after the other was a certified tear-jerker, packed with emotionally gutting performances that elevated somewhat dubious material. Who knew horses could be key to the tear-jerker formula?
Director Euros Lyn is no stranger to the sappy emotion, having hailed from some of BBC’s finest: the David Tennant era of
Doctor Who,
Broadchurch.
Dream Horse is Lyn’s first feature, a simple, kind truer-than-life tale about a small Welsh town that raise their own racehorse, aptly named Dream Alliance, to combat the malaise of their everyday lives. The most attached to the horse is Jan (Collette), a grocery store cashier by day and bartender by night who is tired of the same day-to-day routine and yearns for something worthy of waking up in the morning.
RiverRun, based in Winston-Salem, is a competitive event that annually showcases new films from both established and emerging filmmakers around the world. RiverRun screens new narrative, documentary, short, student and animated films, offering both audience and jury prizes in competition categories.
The 2021 festival will be a combination of virtual screenings, and outdoor and drive-in screenings. It will feature 134 films representing 24 countries culled from a pool of more than 1,500 films.
Venues will include Marketplace Drive-In, SECCA, the Kilpatrick Townsend campus on Fourth Street, The Winston Cup Museum, The Ramkat and Bailey Park in Winston-Salem, with one outdoor screening at RED Cinemas in Greensboro.