Red Carpet Party - 2026 Rockport Film Festival

Join us for an evening of Angels & Demons glamour and the Rockport premiere of BUCK

This year, the 20th Annual Rockport Film Festival returns October 30 – November 1, presented by Salemi's ACE Hardware. The Festival is a long-standing collaboration between Rockport Center for the Arts and the Rockport Rotary Club. Over four days, The ROCC’s state-of-the-art facilities will showcase bold independent films, filmmaker Q&As, meet-and-greets, and lively social events—all in the heart of our community.

The celebration begins Thursday, Oct. 29, with the annual Red Carpet Party beginning at 6 p.m. at The ROCC. Considered one of Rockport’s premier events of the fall season, the Red Carpet Party pairs an evening of cocktails, food, live entertainment and celebration with a special film screening to kick off the festival weekend.

This year, the festival is reaching into its 20-year history to bring back BUCK, an all-time Rockport Film Festival audience favorite. Director Cindy Meehl’s acclaimed documentary about real-life “horse whisperer” Buck Brannaman first appeared at the 2011 Rockport Film Festival, where it received the award for Best Documentary Feature.

With BUCK returning to the screen, the inspiration for this year’s Red Carpet Party theme came naturally: Coastal Cowboy. Bringing a little of the American West to the Texas Coast, the theme also gives guests another opportunity to embrace what has become a newer festival tradition. For the past two years, partygoers have taken advantage of the event’s proximity to Halloween and enthusiastically dressed to match the evening’s theme. Guests are once again encouraged to join the fun and put their own spin on Coastal Cowboy style.

Guests will enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres by Paradise Key, a full open bar and live country music from local favorite Marcy Grace, performing alongside her father. Together, the father-daughter duo will provide the perfect soundtrack for an evening of Coastal Cowboy style and celebration.

At 7:30 p.m., the Red Carpet Party will present the special 20th-anniversary screening of BUCK, returning the award-winning documentary to the Rockport Film Festival screen 15 years after its original appearance and giving longtime festivalgoers an opportunity to revisit a memorable favorite while introducing a new audience to the film.

The Red Carpet Party is made possible through the generous support of underwriters Ann Griffith Ash; Teresa & Larry Beavers; Patti & Brink Brinkerhoff; Glenda Cotner; Sandy & Jim D’Imperio; Vicki Totten & Stan Irvin; Darlene Hamilton; Janet & Gary James; Marina & Bruce Jefferis; Paulette & Max Kluge; John & Adelaide Marlatt; Dora McKelvey; Cathey Meyer & Tony Cantu; Edie Muehlberger and Warren Guffin; Pat & Cecil Rousseau; Riki Rushing & Allen Gilmer; and Susan & CJ Wax.

Together, we can keep building the momentum of Rockport Film Festival and bring more independent cinema to our community. To learn more about SPONSORING or UNDERWRITING the RFF visit us at : Film Festival — Rockport Center for the Arts.