Among this year's films at RIFF is "Welcome to the Show," filmed around Richmond. For a full schedule of films, concerts and programs, visit rvafilmfestival.com. (Image courtesy Richmond International Film Festival)
Richmond itself is the focus of the Richmond International Film Festival opening night on Sept. 7, with two featured productions that touch on events in the city in the past year.
“Opening night is the festival’s love letter to the city,” says Heather Waters, RIFF founder and producer. “We kick off with the ‘Mending Walls’ feature documentary that we are premiering, paired with ‘The Good Road,’ which is an episodic premiere.”
Both projects, which touch on protests on Monument Avenue and other events in Richmond over the last year, are defined by the pandemic’s trying times, and examine how the city is redefining itself, showing what Waters calls an underground renaissance.
Local patrons also will recognize the scenes in the opening-night feature film “Welcome to the Show,” which showcases Virginia Commonwealth University talent. VCU acting professor Dorie Barton’s script, written for her students, was shot around the city during the pandemic. The whodunit thriller has the potential to be a cult classic, Waters says. Three Richmond-centric opening-night presentations are a first and mark the festival’s 10th anniversary.
The festival runs through Sept. 12. Festival-goers can bank on films that haven’t hit theaters or streaming services yet — 160 movies from more than 20 countries, 40 bands and panels with visiting filmmakers and musicians.
“We want it to be a huge party for the whole city and also for people who haven’t yet come out to experience the festival, to celebrate all of us coming out of a very challenging time between the pandemic and the political unrest, to recognize no matter what side of the fence people are on, one thing that we can celebrate is that we’re all Richmonders and we made it through this together.”
Many films react to and reflect on the pandemic.
“We got an overwhelming amount of those films submitted this year, showing that while people were shut down in their homes, isolated with very little contact, they were still desperate and longing to create and find that creative outlet by any means necessary,” Waters says.
The free, outdoor after-party on opening night features Congolese rumba music and a mural creation as part of the Mending Walls public art project. A virtual reality station, provided by the Hidden in Plain Sight project, will allow party-goers to see the history behind different sites across the city.
Other offerings for families include a block of animated films and shorts, inspiring documentaries for kids on the environment and sustainability, as well as “The Machinery of Dreams,” a Virginia film about a young girl who goes on a fantastical journey to save her hospitalized mother.
Music performances at various venues around the city feature bands from across the country.
The festival also offers pitch sessions for producers to hear from screenwriters and for bands to pitch to record labels. Panels and workshops give insight into creatives who are involved in filmmaking and the big picture of collaboration on sets.
“Throughout our expansion, we saw a leap in productions coming back here or visiting and local filmmakers forging new relationships, work being funded and being optioned by producers,” Waters says.
