Acclaimed Short Film ‘Rainbow Rider’ Announces 10-City Screening Tour Across the American Heartland and South

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Tran Hoang Calvin, rainbowriderfilm@nodehaus.co

Grassroots roadshow pairs high-profile festival slots at NewFest, Santa Fe International, and Tallgrass with community co-ops, queer cultural spaces, and university forums.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – October 10, 2026 – NODEHAUS today announced an ambitious 10-city, multi-state screening tour for its acclaimed short film, Rainbow Rider. Spanning October 15 through October 29, 2026, the tour represents a bold hybrid distribution model that takes the film directly to regional audiences, combining appearances at premier film festivals with one-night-only grassroots screenings in cultural hubs, indie theaters, campus auditoriums, and community spaces.

“Our film Rainbow Rider is about Shelle Lichti, the outspoken lesbian woman at the wheel of her big, pride-wrapped freight truck,” said the film’s director Georgia Krause. “One of the main reasons I had to make this film was to share the power of queer visibility in places that aren’t exclusively America’s superstar cities. What better way to share this documentary with a wider audience and spread the impact of the Rainbow Rider than with a road trip?”

The tour kicks off on October 15 in the Southwest at the Santa Fe International Film Festival, followed by a Heartland stop at the Tallgrass Film Festival in Wichita, Kansas. The film then heads East for high-profile New York presentations during NewFest —including the New Voices Filmmaker Grant Showcase (presented by Netflix) at Nitehawk Cinema in Brooklyn and the Heartlands, USA program (presented by The American LGBTQ+ Museum) at the SVA Theatre in Manhattan, before briefly heading back west to Portland, Oregon for the Q-DOC Film Festival.

Departing from the traditional, passive festival-only model, Rainbow Rider will continue southward for a week of bespoke community screenings and filmmaker discussions across Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Stops include historic gathering spots such as Babes of Carytown in Richmond, DIY arts venues like Shadowbox Studio and Dupp&Swat, radical queer hubs like Fluid Community Garage and Q-Hall in Asheville, and an academic forum at Wake Forest University.

“We have been blown away by the response we’ve received from folks who have seen Rainbow Rider and want to bring it to their communities,” said film producer Tran Hoang Calvin. “With this 10-city tour, we are bringing this story directly to people across the country, building real community in the room, meeting audiences where they live, and pairing major festival showcases with authentic, grassroots cultural spaces. We anticipate this is only the first tour of many for this film.”

Director Georgia Krause, Producer Tran Hoang Calvin, and documentary subject Shelle Lichti will be in attendance for screenings, talkbacks, and community discussions throughout the tour.

‘Rainbow Rider’ Fall 2026 Screening Tour Schedule

• SANTA FE, NM — Thursday, October 15 | 7:45 PM
  Santa Fe International Film Festival (Queer Shorts Program)
  Venue: CCA Studio (1050 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87505)
  Tickets & Info: SFIFF Eventive

• WICHITA, KS — Sunday, October 18 | 11:00 AM
  Tallgrass Film Festival (Kansas Shorts Program)
  Venue: Boulevard Theatre 3, Old Town (353 N Mead St, Wichita, KS 67202)
  Tickets & Info: Tallgrass Eventive

• BROOKLYN, NY — Tuesday, October 20 | 7:30 PM
  NewFest Film Festival (New Voices Filmmaker Grant Showcase, Presented by Netflix)
  Venue: Nitehawk Cinema Prospect Park (188 Prospect Park W, Brooklyn, NY 11215)
  Tickets & Info: NewFest Showcase

• NEW YORK, NY — Friday, October 23 | 9:15 PM
  NewFest Film Festival (Shorts: Heartlands, USA, Presented by The American LGBTQ+ Museum)
  Venue: SVA Theatre (333 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011)
  Tickets & Info: NewFest Heartlands

• RICHMOND, VA — Saturday, October 24 | 2:00 PM
  Sat-Ur-Gay Cinema Club
  Venue: Babes of Carytown (3166 W Cary St, Richmond, VA 23221)

• PORTLAND, OR — Sunday, October 25 | 1:30 PM
  Q-DOC Film Festival (Q-Shorts Program)
  Venue: Cinema 21 (616 NW 21st Ave, Portland, OR 97209)
  Tickets & Info: Q-Docs Q-Shorts Block

• DURHAM, NC — Sunday, October 25

  • 3:00 PM Matinee: Fluid Community Garage (103 E. Rockway St., Durham, NC)

  • 7:00 PM Evening Screening: Open Screening Durham at the Shadowbox Studio (2200 Dominion St, Durham, NC 27704)
    Info: Shadowbox Studio Events

• WINSTON-SALEM, NC — Monday, October 26 | 4:30 PM
  Wake Forest University Special Presentation & Discussion
  Venue: Carswell Hall 111 – Annenberg Forum, Wake Forest University (2320 Gulley Dr., Winston-Salem, NC)

• CHARLOTTE, NC — Tuesday, October 27 | 7:00 PM
  Community Screening & Creative Exchange
  Venue: Dupp&Swat (1824 Statesville Ave #105, Charlotte, NC 28206)

• ASHEVILLE, NC — Wednesday, October 28

  • 6:00 PM Community Gathering: Firestorm Books Co-Op (1022 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806)

  • 7:30 PM Nightcap Screening: Q-Hall (81 Coxe Ave, Asheville, NC 28801)

• KNOXVILLE, TN — Thursday, October 29 | 8:00 PM
  Tour Finale Screening & Panel
  Venue: CORE Knoxville (7211 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919)

Local audience members, press, and regional organizers interested in attending or connecting during tour stops can find ticketing links, location details, and behind-the-scenes dispatches by visiting nodehaus.co.

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FILM SPECIFICATIONS & CREDITS

Title: Rainbow Rider
Runtime: 25 minutes | Country: USA | Language: English

Director: Georgia Krause
Executive Producer: Sav Rodgers
Producer: Tran Hoang Calvin
Cinematography: Sam Wolff, Keon Abbott, Georgia Krause
Edited by: Georgia Krause, Mikayla Irle
Original Score: Spencer Peppet
Featuring: Shelle Lichti, Cy Kellogg, Tim Sander, Amanda Saumier

Rainbow Rider is a production of NODEHAUS. Following its premiere at Mountainfilm, the film will continue its festival circuit, bringing its message of visibility and "queer joy on wheels" to audiences nationwide.

WINNER: MountainFilm 2026: LGBTQ+ Impact Award
NOMINATED: Cindependent 2026: Best Documentary Short
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Sidewalk 2026
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Tallgrass 2026
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Santa Fe International 2026
OFFICIAL SELECTION: NewFest 2026
OFFICIAL SELECTION: OUT At The Movies 2026
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Queer Appalachian 2026
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Q-DOC Film Festival 2026

Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/6cK93pj0qGA

Learn more about the film here: https://www.nodehaus.co/films/rainbow-rider

About NODEHAUS Media: NODEHAUS is a production company and impact studio. Previous credits include A Clean Slate (Cleveland International), Shoot, Shovel and Shut-Up (Indy Shorts International), Has Heart (GI Film Festival), and Arbitrary Lines: The Free Spirit of Caroline (Better Cities Film Festival).

Learn more about NODEHAUS here: https://www.nodehaus.co/

Media Contact:

Tran Hoang Calvin, Producer
rainbowriderfilm@nodehaus.co

Electronic Press Kit: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ULlIT-8nEMefmopUQQ5EWMh7uC3DzbpN/view?usp=sharing

Film stills available for use: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lF3s8eBRK-Gp_ALNWpIpumKDIFgc1_6x?usp=sharing