Pam Grier to be Honored at Winston-Salem Film Festival

“It means a lot to RiverRun, but more importantly to our community, that Pam is coming this year,” said RiverRun Executive Director Andrew Rodgers. “Her influential career broke new ground for black women in the film industry, and her roles showed women around the world that they could be both fiercely independent and beautiful.”

Previous Master of Cinema recipients include Cliff Robertson (2005) and Ned Beatty (2006).

The full lineup of films, panels and parties for the 2008 RiverRun International Film Festival will be announced at 6:00pm on Wednesday, March 26 during a private launch party. Tickets for A Conversation with Pam Grier are $15 each and will go on sale Thursday, March 27, along with all other 2008 Festival tickets, at the Stevens Center box office (405 W. Fourth St.), on www.riverrunfilm.com and over the phone at 336-721-1945.

Pam Grier broke new ground in the 1970’s as the first African-American female to headline a film. Since her breakout role as a drug dealer-fighting nurse in the film Coffy (1973), she became known the world over for her starring roles in gritty black action films such as Foxy Brown (1974), Sheba, Baby (1975), Friday Foster (1975) and Greased Lightning (1975). Then in 1997, she was tapped by Quentin Tarantino to portray the title character in his movie Jackie Brown. Considered by many to be the best work of her career, the role earned hear a Golden Globe and a SAG award nomination. She has also been nominated for an Emmy in 2000. Since 2004, Grier has appeared as a regular on Showtime’s The L Word.

About RiverRun
Founded in 1998, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the annual RiverRun International Film Festival. The Festival is a competitive event that strives to present diverse cinematic voices and showcase strong new works by both established and emerging filmmakers. Each spring, RiverRun screens new narrative, documentary, short, student and animated films, offering both audience and jury prizes in competition categories. The Festival also presents a broad range of Special Events each year, including high-profile regional premieres of significant films, family matinees and classic retrospectives as well as a full complement of panel discussions and parties.