The Three Rivers Film Festival is an annual film festival, held in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and is presented by Film Pittsburgh. Founded as part of the

Three Rivers Arts Festival Three Rivers Arts Festival is an outdoor music and arts festival held each June in the Downtown district of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The festival features live music and performance art, as well as visual art and vendors who sell their wares. The ...

in 1981, the first annual festival was June 4, 1982. Thirteen films premiered that year, including the locally shot ''

Knightriders ''Knightriders'' is a 1981 American drama film written and directed by George A. Romero and starring Ed Harris, Gary Lahti, Tom Savini, Amy Ingersoll, Patricia Tallman, and Christine Forrest. It was filmed entirely on location in the Pittsbu ...

'' starring

Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award n ...

Patricia Tallman Patricia J. Tallman (born September 4, 1957) is an American actress, stunt performer, and studio executive best known for her starring roles in ''Night of the Living Dead'', '' Star Trek'' and ''Babylon 5''. She is the former CEO and executive ...

and

Tom Savini Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and film director. He is known for his makeup and special effects work on many films directed by George A. Romero, including ''Martin'' ...

. In 1993 the festival moved its programming to the fall. The festival briefly reconnected for one year with the

in 2018. The festival is the oldest and largest annual film festival in

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...

. The Festival's 15th anniversary in 1996 featured ''

Flirt Flirting or coquetry is a social and sexual behavior involving spoken or written communication, as well as body language. It is either to suggest interest in a deeper relationship with the other person or, if done playfully, for amusement. It ...

''. The 2012 festival featured over 50 films, was 3 weeks long and included visits by

Curt Wootton ''Pittsburgh Dad'' is an online series of short films featuring the observations of a "blue-collar" father from Pittsburgh who speaks with a thick Pittsburghese dialect. The series was created by Chris Preksta and Curt Wootton in 2011. Wootton ...

and Chris Preksta. Among the locations were the Harris Theater in Pittsburgh's Cultural District among others. Festival sidebars for 2012 included Polish Cinema, Women Filmmakers and Coming-of-Age films and had major sponsorships from the

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (PCT) is a nonprofit arts organization formed in 1984 to promote economic and cultural development in Downtown Pittsburgh. The "Trust" has focused its work on a 14-square block section called the Cultural District, wh ...

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

, the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

, the Art Institute,

Avis Avis is Latin for bird and may refer to: Aviation *Auster Avis, a 1940s four-seat light aircraft developed from the Auster Autocrat (abandoned project) *Avro Avis, a two-seat biplane *Scottish Aeroplane Syndicate Avis, an early aircraft built by ...

, and

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

. In 2019, the festival screened 40 films, over 16 days. Opening night featured three film screenings, '' Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress'' directed by

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for ''Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), ''The Best Years of O ...

at the Rangos Giant Cinema, with special guest Catherine Wyler, the filmmaker’s daughter. ''

The Green Fog ''The Green Fog'' is an experimental film directed by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson, that loosely revisits the plot of Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 film ''Vertigo'' through a collage of found footage repurposed from old movies and telev ...

'' an experimental film directed by

Guy Maddin Guy Maddin (born February 28, 1956) is a Canadian screenwriter, director, author, cinematographer, and film editor of both features and short films, as well as an installation artist, from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since completing his first film in ...

screened at Regent Square Theater with the filmmaker present. ''

Say Amen, Somebody ''Say Amen, Somebody'' is a 1982 documentary film directed by George Nierenberg about the history and significance of gospel music as told through the lives and trials of its singers. Included are Thomas A. Dorsey, considered the "Father of Gosp ...

'', George Nierenberg's 1982 look at gospel music screened at Harris Theater.

History

*1982 June 4- *1983 *1984 June 15–24 *1985 -June 23 *1986 *1987 *1988 -June 4 *1989 May 26 – June 4 *1990 *1991 May 31 – June 16 *1992 *1993 Oct. 29 – Nov. 7 *1994 -Nov. 14 *1995 Nov. 10–21 *1996 Nov. 1–14 *1997 *1998 *1999 *2000 Nov. 2–18 *2001 -Nov. 18 *2002 *2003 Nov. 7–23 with Stephanie Beroes in attendance. *2004 Nov. 5–18 *2005 Nov. 4–17 *2006 Nov. 2–16 with the premier of the film

*2007 Nov. 2–7 *2008 Nov. 7–22 *2009 Nov. 6–21 *2010 Nov. 5–20 *2011 Nov. 4–19 *2012 Nov. 2–17 *2013 Nov. 8–23 *2014 Nov. 7–22 *2015 Nov. 6–15 *2016 Nov. 16–20 *2017 No Festival *2018 Jun. 1–10 *2019 Nov. 8–23

External links

Official site2007 Article on effect of Festival

References

{{Pittsburgh Festivals in Pittsburgh Film festivals in Pennsylvania Film festivals established in 1981

History

External links

See also

References