James River Film Festival
18th James River Film Festival, April 7-13!
Guests this year include Peggy Ahwesh, Gary Lucas, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Jeff Krulik, Tammy Kinsey, Meghan Eckman, Peter Schilling, Jr., Rick Alverson, Mark Strandquist and Walker Allen; writers from Richmond Noir; and film students from VCUarts departments of Photography and Film, Kinetic Imaging and Cinema. Look for special 35mm screenings of Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter and Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, plus a program of short films by former VCUarts Photography and Film professor, Joan Strommer. Guitar-wiz Gary Lucas will perform live at the Byrd his score to a 1931 Spanish Dracula — a rare film performance, not to be missed! Several writers from the Richmond Noir collection will read as a companion to screening of Edgar Ulmer’s gritty noir classic, Detour. Peter Schilling, Jr. will introduce Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter and read from the Davis Grubb novel on which the film was based. Schilling will also present a program featuring baseball shorts, hot dogs and a reading from his novel The End of Baseball. Check back soon for a complete schedule or Like Us on Facebook to get the word on the final schedule, ticket sales, venues and more.
18th JAMES RIVER FILM FESTIVAL
AT-A-GLANCE
FRIDAY, APRIL 1
6:30 p.m.-Thirteen (dir: David Williams, 1998, 82 mins.) and “Dreams in the Night” (short) with director David Williams! at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Leslie Cheek Theatre, Admission $7/$5 VMFA members. Pre-festival screening and DVD release! FOR MORE
THURSDAY, APRIL 7
12:00 noon-Silent Film for Lunch: Juve vs. Fantômas (dir: Louis Feuillade, 1913, 64 min.) plus Mack Sennett shorts on 8mm! (Program approx. 100 min.), Richmond Public Library, Main Branch, Basement Auditorium, Free
7:30 p.m.-35th Anniversary Restoration of Taxi Driver (dir: Martin Scorsese, 1976, 113 min.) on 35mm! at the VCU Grace Street Theatre, $7/$5 JRFS Members
FRIDAY, APRIL 8
12:00 noon-Short Order Experimental Film for Lunch (Approx. 90 min.) with Richmond filmmakers Mark Strandquist and Walker Allen! Richmond Public Library, Main Branch, Basement Auditorium, FREE 2:30 p.m.-Rothstein’s First Assignment (dir: Richard Knox Robinson, 2010, 72 min., color/b&w) with filmmaker Richard Robinson! Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Leslie Cheek Theatre, Free
*** In conjunction, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond will present Rothstein’s First Assignment: a Story About Documentary Truth, a documentary photography exhibit by Richard Knox Robinson, April 1 to April 30, 2011 in the Dominion Room. ***
5:00-6:30 p.m.-18th James River Film Festival Opening Reception, Sponsored by the Virginia Film Office at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Leslie Cheek Theatre Lobby, FREE (Cash Bar)
6:30 p.m.-Return to the Garden: The Films and Videos of Peggy Ahwesh (87 min. plus Q&A) with filmmaker Peggy Ahwesh! Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Leslie Cheek Theatre, Admission: $7/VMFA members $5
Return to the Garden includes:
“the third body” (2007, 9 min, video)
“The Scary Movie” (1993, 9 min, 16mm or video)
“She Puppet” (2001, 16 min, video)
“73 Suspect Words” (1999, 3 min, video)
“Strange Weather” (1993, 50 min, video)
Don’t miss Peggy Ahwesh’s second program, Lost in the Labyrinth, on Saturday, April 9 at 12:30 p.m. at the VCU Grace Street Theatre!
SATURDAY, APRIL 9
10:30 a.m-Mix-up ou Meli-melo (dir: Francoise Romand, 1985, 60 min., English/French w/subtitles) with film critic and visiting VCUarts Professor Jonathan Rosenbaum! Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Leslie Cheek Theatre, FREE
“Françoise Romand’s Mix-up is surely one of the greatest films I’ve ever reviewed …” —Jonathan Rosenbaum
12:30 p.m.-Lost in the Labyrinth: The Films and Videos of Peggy Ahwesh (64 min. plus Q&A) with filmmaker Peggy Ahwesh! at the VCU Grace Street Theatre, Admission $7/$5 JRFS Members
Lost in the Labyrinth includes:
“Bethlehem” (2009, 9 min, video)
“The Ape of Nature” (2010, 24 min, video)
“The Star Eaters” (2003, 23 min, video)
“Tears of Eros” (1996, 6 min, video)
“The Color of Love” (1994, 10 min, 16mm)
“Beirut Outtakes” (2007, 6 min, video)
For more on Peggy Ahwesh read Return to the Garden, Friday, April 8, 6:30 p.m.
2:00 p.m.-Personal/Universal: Five Films by Joan Strommer with taped interview with the filmmaker! VCU Grace Street Theatre, FREE
4:00 p.m.-The Eros of Vulnerability: Marguerite Duras’ Hiroshima Mon Amour (dir: Alain Resnais, scr: Margueritte Duras, 1959, 91 mins., b&w, 35mm) with filmmaker and film educator Tammy Kinsey! VCU Grace Street Theatre, $7/$5 JRFS Members
7:00 p.m.-The Parking Lot Movie (dir: Meghan Eckman, 2010, 73min., color) with director Meghan Eckman! Visual Arts Center of Richmond, $7/$5 JRFS Members
9:00 p.m.-Mulleted Marylanders: 25th Anniversary Screening of Heavy Metal Parking Lot (dir: Jeff Krulik and John Heyn, 1986, 16 min., color) plus Heavy Metal Picnic (dir: Jeff Krulik, 2010, 66 mins., color) with filmmakers Jeff Krulik and John Heyn! Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Admission $7/$5 JRFS Members
SUNDAY, APRIL 10
1:00 p.m.-Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times (dir: Charles Chaplin, 1936, 87 mins, b&w), The Byrd Theatre, Admission $7/$5 JRFS Members – Restored 35 mm print!
4 p.m.-Guitar-wiz Gary Lucas Live with the lost classic, Spanish language Dracula! (dir: Alvares & Melford, ’31, 100 min., b&w), The Byrd Theatre, Admission $10
7:00 p.m.-Baseball, Hot dogs and Movies with Peter Schilling, Jr., Gallery 5, FREE (Beer, books and hot dogs available for purchase)
9:00 p.m.-The Night of the Hunter (dir: Charles Laughton, 1955, 93 min., b&w, 35mm) with reading and introduction by film critic and author Peter Schilling! VCU Grace Street Theatre, Admission $7/$5 JRFS Members
MONDAY, APRIL 11
7:30 p.m.-A Richmond Noir Detour, featuring Edgar Ulmer’s Detour (dir: Edgar Ulmer, 1945, 68 mins., b&w) plus readings from Richmond Noir with Dennis Danvers and Tom De Haven, Gallery 5, Admission $7/5 JRFS Members
TUESDAY, APRIL 12
7:30 p.m.-Hold Still, Keep Moving: Films and Videos by VCUarts Student Filmmakers, Gallery 5, FREE – A program featuring short works from students from the VCU School of the Arts Departments of Kinetic Imaging, Photography and Film, and Cinema.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13
7:30 p.m.-Virginia Premiere of New Jerusalem (dir: Rick Alverson, 2010, 92 min, color) with writer/director Rick Alverson! at the VCU Grace Street Theatre, Admission $7/$5 JRFS Members
