The 15th annual RiverRun Film Festival begins Friday in Winston-Salem.

The RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem showcases movies and films at various locations throughout the city. This year’s festival runs from April 12-21 and features more than 140 films, from 35 different countries.

The event draws movie buffs and big Hollywood names to the Triad each year.

Actress Madeleine Martin is best known for her role as Becca Moody in the Showtime series Californication featuring David Duchovny. She also stars in The Discoverers, a family comedy that will be screened by audiences at River Run.

“The Discoverers is about a family whose grandfather goes AWOL and we all have to follow him on a Lewis and Clark re-enactment trek and each of the characters embarks on a journey of self-discovery in the course of the film,” says Martin.

The Discoverers has a Triad connection. Bob Gosse, a faculty member at UNCSA’s School of Filmmaking, is the executive producer.

Martin is one of three promising artists who will be presented with a Spark Award at the festival for her work in the motion picture world.

She says she is looking forward to visiting the city for the first time.

“I’m very excited to go to the festival because I haven’t really seen the movie at all and to see wit with an audience will be a really fun experience. I’m really proud to be a part of it and I’m looking forward to meeting the other two people who won the Spark Award,” says Martin.

This year’s festival has a budget of more than $500,000, which comes mostly through donations. Organizers estimate that River Run has an economic impact of around $2 million on the Winston-Salem area.

More than 16,000 people attended the festival in 2012.