Riverbend

The story behind the restoration and reemergence of Sam Firstenberg’s cult film Riverbend is one of the most astounding and fortuitous in recent memory. Once relegated to being a VHS-era cult curio, archivist and filmmaker Michael J. Dennis’s detective work has resurfaced the film in a sparkling new version! Set in the segregated south of the 1960s, Riverbend follows three Black soldiers on their way to be court-martialed for refusing to destroy a village in Vietnam. They escape and hide in a small, heavily segregated town in Georgia run by a brutal sheriff and corrupt judge. Relying on their military training, the soldiers secretly organize the local townspeople to fight against the oppression they face on a daily basis. Starring Steve James, Margaret Avery, Julius Tennon, and Tony Frank.

Dennis, founder of Reelblack production company, and actor Julius Tennon discuss the film and its restoration in a Q&A following the screening. (101 mins., 4K DCP)

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Riverbend, courtesy of Reelblack.