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“A Sound River” — Sound Rivers’ short film celebrating 40 years of fighting for clean water — is an official selection of the 2023 RiverRun International Film Festival, festival representatives announced this week.

The short film was released in the fall of 2021 and explores Sound Rivers’ history of activism, from its humble beginnings around kitchen tables to court battles against industrial polluters, as told by the voices of Sound Rivers — its founders and partners, those continuing the fight for clean water and environmental justice, and the Riverkeepers guarding the waterways that cover nearly a quarter of North Carolina.

It’s notable that the film was accepted into RiverRun, considered one of the Southeast’s premier film festivals, which this year features more than 100 films from 30-plus countries.

“The RiverRun Film Festival has been a staple of the North Carolina film community for a quarter-century,” said “A Sound River” filmmaker (and Washington native) Rain Bennett. “It will be extremely helpful in continuing to share the story and mission of Sound Rivers with a wider audience and as a North Carolina filmmaker, I’m so very honored our film was chosen to be a part of this year’s festival.”

“A Sound River” will be screened in-person at 8 p.m. April 19 at Kilpatrick Townsend in downtown Winston-Salem and at 5:30 p.m. April 20 at Red Cinemas in Greensboro. It will also be available for virtual viewing from April 14 to April 20.

Watch the trailer for Sound Rivers below.