Though Virginia remains a relatively small player in the film industry when compared to national powerhouses such as Georgia and California, it continues to grow as a filmmaking destination, particularly for independent projects. A new film series, Scene in Virginia, is looking to support moviemakers in the commonwealth whose creations are linked to the people and places within its borders. The event debuted in July and takes place every second Monday of the month, with the screenings offering stories with local origins as well as cultivating community through discourse and human connection.
Held at The Byrd Theatre, Scene in Virginia is presented by the Emmy-winning nonprofit film company Belltower Pictures. The organization’s president, Craig Martin, has a versatile media background, including working as a documentarian, a partner at independent music label Shockoe Records and cohost of PBS’ “The Good Road.” Martin also hosts the RVA Faith & Film Forum, a monthly networking meetup of local leaders in media and art. Following each Scene in Virginia screening, he moderates a discussion with the featured filmmaker.
“Our executive director, Kimberly Jennings, came up with this great idea,” Martin says. “The films are in some way connected to Virginia; either the crew is from Virginia, the production happened here, or it’s somebody who did a piece about Virginia.”
He notes that Richmond’s nearly century-old movie palace is the perfect setting for celebrating the region’s cinema. “There’s something about having [Scene in Virginia] screened at The Byrd that is just so Richmond,” he says.
Belltower Pictures President Craig Martin
Martin volunteered to run Belltower after founder David Powers stepped down. “Belltower Pictures is kind of a work of passion for me,” Martin says. “[David] and I were good friends, and when he told me he was going to retire, he didn’t know what to do with Belltower. … I took it on, and we’ve had a lot of fun coming up with things to help encourage people to be a good citizen in the city of Richmond, and helpful to the creators that do these amazing films.”
The company held a trial run with separate screenings of the Emmy-winning documentaries “Heard” and “Anahita — A Mother’s Journey” at The Byrd in late 2025. “It was a template for Scene in Virginia,” Martin says, “which is to show films that people may not have seen on the big screen, or that they’ve seen but haven’t seen in a while.”
Scene in Virginia kicked off with “By the Grace of Bob” in July, a 2016 comedy directed by Powers. On Aug. 10, the series turns its attention to a culinary legend. “‘Finding Edna Lewis’ was a VPM film that chronicles, through food, the incredible history of Edna Lewis,” Martin says.
A renowned Virginia-born, Black chef, she authored the celebrated cookbook “The Taste of Country Cooking.”
The 2025 VPM wildlife documentary “Shenandoah” is also on the schedule for a future showing.
Martin says the ultimate goal of Scene in Virginia is to bring the community together for a gathering away from AI, phones and laptops while spotlighting Richmond. He says, “This is a great way for people to be able to go enjoy the human experience together.”
Belltower Pictures presents the Scene in Virginia film series, featuring a screening of “Finding Edna Lewis“ ” on Aug. 10 at 6:30 p.m. at The Byrd Theatre. Tickets are $10.
