Our Mission
The Raleigh Film and Art Festival is an organization dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences. Through its programs, we discover, support, and inspire independent film, theater, poetry and visual artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work.
Latest Arts Activities
Special Message from N.C. Governor Roy Cooper
The Raleigh Film & Art Festival is a creative explosion and a wonderful exploration of the arts. This three-day event includes amazing venues showcasing the best Shorts, Feature, Mid-length, High School & Collage Student, New Music Videos, Animated, Experimental, Cinematography, Special Effects, Documentary films and more. At the largest University in North Carolina.
Experience the excitement with over 200 independent films, networking, panel discussions and Q&As, conversations with award-winning film makers, visual artists, captivating spoken word performances, live music, crafters and much more.
The Raleigh Film and Art Festival is also excited to launch its 'Reignite the Arts' fundraiser initiative as part of this year's festival activities. The goal is to raise $251k and make an impact on the independent Arts community, both locally and abroad! All donations and proceeds will go towards creating grants for independent film, theater, spoken word, visual artists and to create more opportunities for the arts.
You don't want to miss out on this opportunity to celebrate the power of creativity!
October 6th-8th
The place to be for creators and appreciators to see the best talent of 2023!
Remember to ask your Financial Aid department or look for Raleigh Film and Art Festival in your campus job search. Let the fun and exciting adventures begin!
Our Voice
Academy Voice is a series of in-depth discussions with various award-winning Oscar Academy members throughout the year leading up to the festivals. This is a chance for Academy members to share their experiences as professional filmmakers with our subscribers, arts community, students & more.
 Michele StephensonMichèle Stephenson As co-founding member of the Rada Film Group, filmmaker, artist and author, Michèle Stephenson, pulls from her Panamanian and Haitian roots and international experience as a human rights attorney to tell compelling, deeply personal stories in a variety of media that are created by, for and about communities of color and resonate beyond the margins. Her work has appeared on a variety of broadcast and web platforms, including PBS, Showtime and MTV. |  Bianca Oana (Photo by Alex Gâlmeanu)Bianca is a young Romanian screenwriter and producer. Since 2009, she has been working on the development, production and promotion of multi-awarded art-house films, including Toto and His Sisters, Turn off the Lights. |  Yoruba RichenYoruba Richen is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. Her work has been featured on PBS, New York Times Op Doc, Frontline Digital, New York Magazine’s website -The Cut, The Atlantic and Field of Vision. |
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 Seung-Jun YiSeung-Jun Yi is a documentary director/producer born in Busan, South Korea, 1971 and based in Seoul. He studied East Asian history at university and has been working as a documentary director/producer since 1999. His work focuses on the life of unseen minorities, which has informed his signature style of filmmaking. |  Sophie SartainSophie Sartain is the co-director and producer of the Netflix Original Documentary Seeing Allred, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and is described as "remarkably entertaining" (The New York Times) and "an ideal companion to the #MeToo Movement" (Variety). |  Peter & Petra Lataster (Photo by GertjanPetra Czisch grew up in Dessau, East Germany. In the mid-1970s she attended the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen (HFF) in Potsdam-Babelsberg. There she met Peter Lataster in 1976. They follow different directions: Petra screenwriting and film science, Peter camera. After graduating, Petra joined the East German film company DEFA as a screenwriter. Of the screenplays she writes, one has been made into a film: an adaptation of the very popular children's book Das Eismeer Ruft (1936) by Alex Wedd |
 Peter en Petra Lataster Photo by CarinePeter & Petra Lataster Peter Lataster grew up in an artistic environment in Amsterdam. His father is painter Ger Lataster and mother is photographer Hermien van Hall. Around the age of fifteen, Peter develops a passion for photography. Because he didn't get a chance at the Dutch film academy, he went to the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen (HFF) in Potsdam-Babelsberg in East Germany in the mid-seventies. During this training he met Petra Czisch in 1976 . |  Richard LadkaniAs director and cinematographer, Richard Ladkani has gained international recognition for numerous award-winning films. "Sea of Shadows", a National Geographic documentary, executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival 2019. |  David FranceDavid France is an award-winning American investigative reporter, non-fiction author, and Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker. |
 John HaptasIs a documentary filmmaker and editor. Among his editing credits are Soundtrack to a Riot for Frontline World (Emmy Nomination), Hunting the Hidden Dimension, a program on fractal geometry for PBS Nova ("Pierre-Gilles de Gennes" Science Film Prize), Inside Guantanamo Bay, a two-hour National Geographic Explorer special (editor/co-writer; Emmy nominations for Best Documentary and for Writing). He is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. |  Jason StalmanJason Stalman is known for his work on Isle of Dogs (2018), The Boxtrolls (2014) and Corpse Bride (2005). |  Julia BachaJulia Bacha is a Peabody and Guggenheim award-winning filmmaker, media strategist, and the Creative Director at Just Vision, a nonprofit that highlights the power and reach of Palestinians and Israelis working to end the occupation and build a future of freedom, dignity and equality. |
 Wanjiru NjenduAn award-winning Kenyan-American filmmaker based in Los Angeles and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (2020). |  Lucy AlibarDon't miss all the amazing interview's as Jordan sits down with the super talented. Lucy Alibar An American screenwriter and playwright best known for co-writing the 2012 film Beasts of the Southern Wild with Benh Zeitlin. |  Ka'ramuu KushDon't miss our interview with Oscar Academy member: From high school drop out to university professor, Ka’ramuu Kush earned his reputation as a self-taught creator of independent short form cinema before earning top honors at AFI Conservatory. |
 Bette GordonAn American filmmaker and professor at Columbia University School of the Arts. She is best known for her films Variety (1983) and Handsome Harry (2009) |  Andy LondonAndy London is a writer, director, animator, educator, and co-founder of London Squared |  Pamela PettlerPamela Pettler is an American screenwriter, television producer and television writer. In television, she has written episodes for ABC Weekend Specials, Charles in Charge, CBS Summer Playhouse, Clueless, Saved by the Bell |
Volunteers, Vendors & Festival Happenings
Volunteers are an important component of the Raleigh Film and Art Festival. We rely on dedicated volunteers locally and from around the world to generously devote their time and commitment to the arts.
UpComing Events
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Our History
Our Community
The RFAF Film and Art Program has supported and championed many of the leading independent creatives of the past years whose distinctive, singular films and solo shows have engaged audiences worldwide. The unique vision of each filmmaker is embraced, encouraging a rigorous creative process with a focus on original and deeply resonant storytelling.
The guiding values of risk-taking, experimentation, and freedom of expression have broadened the program to include American and international artists in more meaningful and vibrant dialogue across cultural and geographic boundaries. Over the years, the Art and Film Program has evolved to provide in-depth and year-round support to the next generation of artists and filmmakers, from development through distribution, and has become an international and local model for supporting artists around the world.
Our supporters are a community of passionate individuals and organizations that are united in their support of our mission to advance the work of independent artists in film, theater, spoken word poetry and music and to share their stories with the world. A community that understands a fresh perspectives from visionary storytellers are essential for a healthy and vibrant society.