Photo by Shootdiem iStockphoto
Two months ago, Richmond enjoyed the second annual Afrikana Independent Film Festival. Now the festival is taking a few films, and a few lucky passengers, with them on Saturday, Nov. 11, to the 30th annual Virginia Film Festival in Charlottesville.
For those who don’t want to endure the hassle of driving between Charlottesville and Richmond, the festival is offering limited seating on its “Black Magic Bus Ride,” a trip filled with fun, food and libations. This bus will drive a select few ticketholders to a screening, discussion and after-party in Charlottesville, before delivering passengers back home to RVA.
The Virginia FIlm Festival is based at the University of Virginia and runs from Nov. 9-11, showing a vast array of films of different lengths, genres and origins. The VFF reached out to Enjoli Moon, founder of Afrikana Independent Film Festival, six months ago with a goal of sharing different perspectives at this year's event, and also to include a Richmond-based organization in their programming. Afrikana is taking some of its favorite films to a "Best of Afrikana" screening at the Dickinson Center at Piedmont Virginia Community College.
Moon says that the idea of the bus trip started simply as a way to provide transportation to the festival, but the idea evolved.
“We thought we would crank it up a notch and make it a party bus,” says Moon, who wanted to present a more complete experience than a simple ride to the venue.
Some of the films at the "Best of Afrikana" screening include “The Colored Hospital,” by Terrance Daye; “Curiosity,” by Brittney Sankofa; “Don’t Touch My Hair,” by Chazz A Barracks; and more. Barracks, Daye and Sankofa will appear in a discussion panel held after the 9:30 p.m screening on Nov. 11 for an in-depth conversation about the films. Moon is curious where discussion will lead.
“It’s possible that the conversation could lean towards representation, history and what we celebrate,” she says.
With an after-party at Studio IX in Charlottesville, the journey will be packed with entertainment, food and drink, and some of the best independent films Afrikana has to offer.
Limited tickets remain for the "Black Magic Bus Ride," which begins boarding at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 11 from J.R. Tucker High School; reserve space online here. The full magic bus experience, which includes transportation, food and admission to the screening and after-party is $45; admission to the screening alone is $13 (a limited amount of free passes to the best-of screening are available online). For more information about the Virginia Film Festival and this year's events, visit virginiafilmfestival.org.
