We consider a free boundary value problem for a viscous, incompressible fluid contained in an uncovered three-dimensional rectangular channel, with gravity and surface tension, governed by the Navier-Stokes equations. We obtain existence results for the linear and nonlinear time-dependent problem. We analyse the qualitative behavior of the flow using tools of bifurcation theory. The main result is a Hopf bifurcation theorem with ${\mathbb{Z}}_k$-symmetry.