Organisers at the Winston-Salem-based RiverRun International Film Festival are expanding the 2010 event to run for 11 days from April 15-25.

The change means that for the first time in its 12-year history RiverRun will straddle two weekends, an experiment that executive director Andrew Rodgers said he hoped would become permanent.

“It’s something that we’ve talked about for a long time,” Rodgers said. “Based on the feedback we receive from our audiences and supporters each year, we like to make adjustments so that our festival fits the needs and wishes of the community.”

Rodgers added that the gradual expansion of the festival – it ran mostly for three or four days in the early years until it expanded to six in 2008 and eight in 2009 – had “dramatically impacted” the organisation’s bottom line. Ticket sales have more than doubled from $42,146 in 2006 to $85,720 in 2009.

In addition to many of the existing venues, the 2010 RiverRun International Film Festival will use the a/perture cinema in downtown Winston-Salem.

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