RIVER VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL Names Winners as Sean Young Will Present Top Award
Founder Cory Baney and jurors including Ray Izad-Mehr helped select winners across documentary and narrative categories.
The River Valley Film Festival in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, wrapped its second annual edition with a slate of jury and audience awards, capping a weekend of screenings and community events presented by Lycoming Arts. Actress Sean Young, who served on the festival's Grand Jury, presented the Millionaire Award, the festival's top audience honor, to Raging Midlife, recognizing the film with the highest overall audience rating of the weekend.
The River Valley Film Festival, presented by Lycoming Arts, concluded its second annual edition last weekend, capping three days of screenings, conversations, and red-carpet energy as the Williamsport community turned out to celebrate independent films and the filmmakers who made them. The festival, held July 17-19 in downtown Williamsport, continued its mission of building a vibrant local film culture while welcoming stories and storytellers from beyond the valley.
'The most exciting thing about year two was watching our audience lean into these films, carrying these stories out into the community. While at the same time the filmmakers fully immersed themselves into our city,' said River Valley Film Festival founder and director Cory Baney. 'RVFF was built on the idea that a film festival can feel like a small-town block party and a world-class showcase at the same time, and this year really proved that.'
Over the course of the weekend, attendees packed screenings ranging from intimate documentary portraits to crowd-pleasing comedies, with many sessions turning into extended discussions on craft, representation, and how to amplify each film's impact beyond the festival. Local businesses, artists, and volunteers helped create a welcoming atmosphere that made visiting filmmakers feel at home in Williamsport, including panels hosted at The Otto Bookstore.
Jury & Audience Award Winners
The River Valley Film Festival's juried awards recognized standout storytelling across both documentary and narrative categories. Building on the star-studded jury from their inaugural year, the festival hosted actress Sean Young, publicist Sara Vahabi, filmmaker Ray Izad-Mehr, and film professor and marketing guru Russell Schwartz.
- Best Documentary Feature: Crime & Parody
- Best Documentary Short: The Dying Business
- Best Narrative Feature: Delco: The Movie
- Best Narrative Short: Plush Monkey
RVFF's audience continued to play a central role in the festival, casting ballots throughout the weekend to determine the Audience Award winners:
- Audience Award – Documentary Feature: The Witchdoctor and the Windmill
- Audience Award – Documentary Short: PEST
- Audience Award – Narrative Feature: Raging Midlife
- Audience Award – Narrative Short: Job 51
In keeping with RVFF tradition and the history of Williamsport, the Millionaire Award, given to the film with the highest overall audience rating across the festival, went to Raging Midlife, underscoring the film's resonance with local moviegoers and visiting guests alike.
In one of the weekend's most memorable moments, actress Sean Young personally handed the Millionaire Award to the Raging Midlife filmmaker, sealing the award celebration with a big kiss from the star to the shock and applause of the audience. The playful, spontaneous gesture captured the spirit of RVFF: intimate, joyful, and focused on the connection between filmmakers, their work, and the audience.
'Our audience awards and the Millionaire Award are really the heartbeat of RVFF,' said festival producer Jonathan Decker. 'They're a reminder that the people in the seats, from longtime cinephiles to folks walking into their first festival screening, are what make this weekend special. Their votes and reactions help filmmakers see, in real time, how their work is landing.'
Support for filmmakers
To further support filmmakers beyond the festival weekend, Grand Jury winners also received a certificate from The DCP Works for a complimentary 20-minute 4K DCP, helping them prepare their films for theatrical exhibition and future festival play. This partnership reflects the festival's commitment not only to showcasing films, but to giving creators practical tools that help their work travel farther.
Throughout the festival, filmmakers spoke highly of the engaged crowds, the thoughtful questions during Q&As, and the chance to connect with other creators in a setting that feels intimate, accessible, and proudly rooted in central Pennsylvania. Many films sparked ongoing conversations about regional storytelling, independent production, and the growing potential for film work throughout central PA.
About River Valley Film Festival
Founded in 2019 by Williamsport native and film publicist Cory Baney, the River Valley Film Festival is an annual independent film festival in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, presented by Lycoming Arts. After a pandemic delay, RVFF launched its inaugural festival in July 2025 with 20 films from four countries, a jury of industry veterans, and the debut of Red Carpet Friday, a street festival-style opening night event that drew engaged audiences and visiting filmmakers to downtown. RVFF celebrates both established and emerging filmmakers through competitive jury awards, audience awards, and the Millionaire Award, and is committed to building a vibrant film community, one frame at a time.
About Lycoming Arts
Lycoming Arts is a nonprofit organization based in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, dedicated to advancing arts and culture throughout Lycoming County by supporting local artists, presenting exhibitions and events, and fostering community engagement. In addition to presenting the River Valley Film Festival, Lycoming Arts coordinates Williamsport First Friday and other arts initiatives that bring residents and visitors into downtown for performances, galleries, and creative experiences year-round.
The festival's jury, which also included publicist Sara Vahabi, filmmaker Ray Izad-Mehr, and film professor Russell Schwartz, selected Crime & Parody, The Dying Business, Delco: The Movie, and Plush Monkey as category winners, while audience voting determined honors for films including The Witchdoctor and the Windmill and Job 51.
