Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

WINSTON-SALEM — The RiverRun International Film Festival will offer a free screening of “Youth v. Gov” in its Virtual Theater beginning Dec. 4, running through Dec. 19.

“Youth v. Gov” is a documentary from the 2021 festival that tells the story of America’s youngest citizens taking on the world’s most powerful government. Twenty-one courageous youth lead a groundbreaking lawsuit against the U.S. government, asserting it has willfully acted over six decades to create our climate crisis, thus endangering their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property.

If these young people are successful, they will not only make history, they will change the future. The program also includes an interview with RiverRun’s Program Manager Mary Dossinger, the filmmaker, and two of the students featured in the documentary. The film and supplemental video will be available free at riverrunfilm.com beginning Dec. 4.

This film is being presented as a part of RiverRun Rewind, which was launched following the 2021 festival. These return engagements of festival favorites in the virtual theater provide an opportunity for audiences to see films they might have missed during the festival, or to share films they particularly enjoyed with fellow film fans around the country. This screening is being sponsored by longtime RiverRun supporter Salem Smiles Orthodontics.

“Youth v. Gov” is a powerful look at the awareness that young people in our country have regarding a what seems like an adult issue,” Dossinger said. “We hope that families will take the opportunity to view this screening together and see how a group of young people can come together and be a force of action, even when it comes to the government. We’re thankful to be able to show this free-of-charge thanks to Salem Smiles and hope that means that the audience for this screening will be a substantial one.”