Riverbend (film)
| Riverbend | |
|---|---|
VHS cover | |
| Directed by | Sam Firstenberg |
| Written by | Samuel Vance |
| Produced by | Regina Dale Troy Dale Norman Stevens Samuel Vance |
| Starring | Steve James Margaret Avery Julius Tennon Alex Morris Tony Frank |
| Cinematography | Ken Lamkin |
| Edited by | Marcus Manton |
| Music by | Paul Loomis |
Production company | Prism Entertainment Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $2 million USD |
Riverbend is a 1989 American independent action-drama film directed by Sam Firstenberg. It was written and produced by Samuel Vance and Valerie Coleman Vance (uncredited). Set in the segregated South during the Civil Rights era, it stars Steve James. The film follows three Black Vietnam War soldiers who, after escaping a corrupt court-martial, arrive in a small Georgia town terrorized by a racist sheriff and lead the Black residents in an armed uprising for justice and self-determination.
Shot on location in Texas, Riverbend was independently financed and distributed on VHS by Paramount’s Prism label. A 6K restoration, produced by Reelblack Renaissance and supervised by Firstenberg and Valerie Vance premiered theatrically in 2025, followed by a Blu-ray release.