Author Archive for jparrish

Get your 19th JRFF tickets HERE!

Get your advance 19th JRFF Tickets HERE or click on TICKETS in the menu at the top of the page. We will sell tickets at the door, 30 minutes prior to each show.

19th James River Film Festival At A Glance

Here’s the 19th James River Film Festival schedule at a glance. For a printable PDF click here: 19thJRFFAt-a-glance.

Count down to the 19th James River Film Festival!

The 19th James River Film Festival is set to unspool April 12-18, 2012 in a variety of venues and locations in Richmond, Virginia. Featured guests include documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee, film critic and educator Scott MacDonald, animator and educator Jodie Mack, filmmaker and Richmonder Rick Alverson, writer Clay McLeod Chapman and more! For all the details, peruse our website or visit the JRFS calendar for a quick overview. To purchase advance tickets, visit the JRFS Tickets page.

James River Filmmakers Forum on Feb. 25

Come celebrate local filmmaking with our quarterly James River Filmmakers Forum on Saturday, February 25, 8 p.m. at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. This is a free event — donations encouraged!

In particular, come support these filmmakers:

Todd Raviotta, Untitled, animation photomontage, 6 minutes

Austin Journey (Lynchburg, VA), The Human Condition, 12 minutes

Hannah Sutherland Memories of Aging, Coney Island, sci-fi, 5 minutes

Evelyn Fisher, The Wanderer, experimental, 6 minutes

Joseph Weindl, clip from Antihero, comedy, 20 minutes

Carlton Kotalo, clip from Alien Face Bashers, sci-fi comedy, 10 minutes

First James River Shorts a success!

The inaugural James River Shorts film festival was a resounding success. A special thanks to guest juror and experimental filmmaker Roger Beebe for making James River Shorts one of the stops on his Fall 2011 ONE to EIGHT REDUX tour.

James River Shorts got underway on Thursday, November 10, with an eclectic program of shorts. Special thanks to Bob Kaputof, Joseph Caldwell, Christopher Harris, Fred Styles & Katherine Barnier, Mark Strandquist and H. Paul Moon for participating in our opening night’s screening. As a bonus, audience members were treated to a special tribute screening of the late George Kuchar‘s classic film, Hold Me While I’m Naked (read his NY Times obituary). We were all dazzled by the brilliant color and condition of the 16mm print provided by Canyon Cinema, one of the principal distribution sources for independent, experimental and avant-garde film today. Thanks to Dominic Angerame and the rest of the Canyon staff!

Our main event was the Friday, Nov. 11 screening of James River Shorts finalists’ films at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. More than 250 people attended a fabulous evening featuring 14 films from around the country.

Congrats to all the filmmakers selected by the James River Shorts jury as finalists. Again, they are:

The Treezilla!, 6 min., Shawn Hambright & Joey Tran (VA)
A Brief Vacation, 10 min., Ben Rinehardt (VA)
Eyeliner, 4 min., Joanna Priestley, (OR)
Mijo (My Son), 9 min. Chithra Jeyaram (MD)
Phosphena, 4 min., Maya Ederlyi (CA)
The Pervert, 4 min., Adam Rosenberg (VA)
Watercolors, 13 min., Ann Deborah Levy (NY)
Faces, 2 min., Duy Nguyen (VA)
The Good River, 18 min., Shannon Lynch (18 mins.) (CA)
Solo Piano NYC, 5 min., Anthony Sherin (NY)
Another Dress, Another Button, 3 min., Lyn Elliot (MO)
The Leaf Woman and the Centaur, 3 min., Jordan Bruner (NY )
Monarda, 8 min., Walter Ungerer  (ME)
Dolls vs. Dictators, 11 min., Martha Colburn (NY)

And the winners were …

1st prize ($600):  Solo Piano NYC by Anthony Sherin (NY)

2nd Prize ($400):  Mijo (My Son) by Chithra Jeyaram (MD)

3rd Prize (tie, $250 each):  Another Dress, Another Button by Lyn Elliot (MO) and Phosphena by Maya Ederlyi (CA)

VA Filmmaker Award (tie, $250 each):  The Treezilla! by Shawn Hambright & Joey Tran and Faces by Duy Nguyen

People’s Choice Award (voted on by the audience): Solo Piano NYC by Anthony Sherin (NY)

We closed out James River Shorts with Roger Beebe’s amazing “expanded cinema” performance of FILMS for ONE to EIGHT PROJECTORS and a beautiful music+film event featuring Jonathan Vassar & The Speckled Bird performing live with films by Matt Flowers and Kevin Gallagher.

Thanks again to all the filmmakers, all of you who came out to watch and experience, and to the Virginia Film Office, TVJerry/Jerry Williams, VMFA, Linden Row Inn and the Visual Arts Center of Richmond for helping make James River Shorts possible.

James River Shorts, Nov. 11-12, 2011

James River Shorts is pleased to announce its 2011 line up:

THURSDAY, NOV. 10, 8:00 p.m. (VisArts)

Bob Kaputof shorts

Hold Me While I’m Naked (1966): A tribute to George Kuchar (1942-2011)

James River Shorts: Films on the Bubble
Boots, 7 min., Joseph Caldwell (VA)
Descending Figures, 3 min., Christopher Harris (FL)
Bluegrass Skyline, 30 min., Fred Styles & Katherine Barnier (VA)
Convention, 5 min., Mark Strandquist (VA)
Time Crunch, 5 min., H. Paul Moon (VA)

Tickets are $7 and may be purchased online or at the door.

FRIDAY, NOV. 11, 6:30 p.m. (VMFA)

Screening of James River Shorts Finalists

The Treezilla!, 6 min., Shawn Hambright & Joey Tran (VA)
A Brief Vacation, 10 min., Ben Rinehardt (VA)
Eyeliner, 4 min., Joanna Priestley, (OR)
Mijo (My Son), 9 min. Chithra Jeyaram (MD)
Phosphena, 4 min., Maya Ederlyi (CA)
The Pervert, 4 min., Adam Rosenberg (VA)
Watercolors, 13 min., Ann Deborah Levy (NY)

Intermission

Faces, 2 min., Duy Nguyen (VA)
The Good River, 18 min., Shannon Lynch (18 mins.) (CA)
Solo Piano NYC, 5 min., Anthony Sherin (NY)
Another Dress, Another Button, 3 min., Lyn Elliot (MO)
The Leaf Woman and the Centaur, 3 min., Jordan Bruner (NY )
Monarda, 8 min., Walter Ungerer  (ME)
Dolls vs. Dictators, 11 min., Martha Colburn (NY)

James River Shorts awards presentation (up to $2,000!) with guest juror and experimental filmmaker Roger Warren Beebe.

Tickets are $8 and may be purchased at the VMFA.

SATURDAY, NOV. 12, VisArts

CANCELLED 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Super 8mm Filmmaking/Hand Processing Workshop (films processed between 4-6 p.m.). $90. Visit the VisArts Calendar page to register (scroll down page). Will be rescheduled during our 19th James River Film Festival, April 12-18, 2012.

CANCELLED 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Direct Filmmaking Workshop (painting, scratching, collage, masking on 16mm film). $60. Visit the VisArts Calendar page to register (scroll down page). Will be rescheduled during our 19th James River Film Festival, April 12-18, 2012.

7:30 p.m. FILMS for ONE to EIGHT PROJECTORS with experimental filmmaker Roger Warren Beebe. Tickets are $7 and may be purchased online or at the door.

9:00 p.m. Live music + film performances courtesy of Jonathan Vassar & The Speckled Bird, including the premiere of the brand new music video (directed by Kevin Gallagher) for their single “Turn to Face the Wind.”  + James River Shorts after party. FREE.

VCUarts Cinematheque

Isabelle Huppert in Claire Denis' film "White Material" - which screens on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. as part of the the inaugural VCUarts Cinematheque series.

Cinema lovers rejoice! VCUarts recently launched a new film series, VCUarts Cinematheque, which runs most Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at the VCU Grace Street Theatre throughout the fall 2011 semester. All films will be screened on 35mm film and are free and open to VCU students and the Richmond community. Admission is on a first come, first served basis so get there early to get a seat. (By the way, I attended last night’s screening of Nina Paley’s amazing animated film, Sita Sings the Blues. If you missed it, I’d encourage you to check it out. – JP) Visit the VCUarts Cinematheque webpage for dates, films and details.

Giovanni Furore/H.P. Lovecraft: “Pickman’s Model”

H.P. Lovecraft‘s 1926 short story, Pickman’s Model, was published in the October 1927 issue of Weird Tales. In 2007, Giovanni Furore adapted it into a short film of the same name. Here’s a teaser for our Oct. 20 Halloween Horror Showcase screening:

M.A. Littler and “The Kingdom of Survival” in Style

Want to know more about The Kingdom of Survival and M.A. Littler? Read Wayne Melton’s great piece, In Chomsky We Trust, in the September 14, 2011 edition of Style Weekly. See you Saturday night.

Watch “The Folk Singer” trailer

Immediately following the screening and discussion of The Kingdom of Survival, ” … rejoice in one another’s sharing of pain!” with a screening of M. A. Littler’s film, The Folk Singer - A Tale of Men, Music & America (2008, 104 min., English).

Preview “The Kingdom of Survival”

On Saturday, September 17, the James River Film Society hosts the Richmond stop on M. A. Littler’s U.S. tour with his latest film, The Kingdom of Survival. For ticket and other info, visit our Kingdom event page.

JamesRiverFilm@VisArts

During the month of August, the James River Film Society made a big step in its move from Plant Zero Art Center to the Visual Arts Center of Richmond and launched the new James River Film@VisArts 3rd Thursdays Film Series. Stay tuned for details about our exciting new partnership and film series.

Welcome to the Temple of the Lost Movies: One man’s account of the 18th James River Film Festival

Peter Schilling Jr. wrote a wonderful, personal account of his 18th James River Film Festival experience for the James River Film Journal called Welcome to the Temple of the Lost Movies. Enjoy!

James River Shorts, Nov. 10-12

Graphic created by artist and filmmaker Jordan Bruner.

The James River Film Society is pleased to announce James River Shorts. Deadline for entries is September 15; the screening of the finalists is Friday, November 11 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. To submit, filmmakers can download a copy of the James River Shorts guidelines and entry form. Entry fee is $20 ($10 for Virginia filmmakers; no fee for James River Film Festival/James River Shorts alums).

James River Shorts is a mini-festival devoted to the short. The centerpiece is a juried competition for short films (30 minutes or less) from around the globe that best embody what the James River Film Society and James River Film Festival are all about – the art of film and film as art. It’s also the James River Film Festival’s little sibling. Even a snapshot of the guests from past 18 years of the JRFF – Stan Brakhage, Karen Aqua, Charles Burnett, Ray Harryhausen, Martha Colburn, Skip Elsheimer, Albert Maysles, Ken Jacobs, the Brothers Quay, Peggy Ahwesh – shows that we have a broad concept of the art of film and film as art. Therefore, we encourage all types of short films – fiction, nonfiction, animation, experimental and more. We define short, you define art.

James River Shorts will be held Nov. 10-12, 2011 at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Join the James River Film Society!

We invite you to become a member of the James River Film Society by making a gift of $25 or more. Now, more than ever, we need support from our community to keep sharp our focus on the art of film and film as art. Help us reach our goal of 175 JRFS members and $7,500 by the conclusion of our 18th James River Film Festival on April 13. To reach our goal we need 100 people at $25-49, 50 at $50-99, and 25 at $100 or more. Your gift is tax-deductible and will go a long way. The James River Film Society is an all volunteer run organization with a very low overhead so you can rest assured that you hard-earned money will go right to the heart of what we do — bringing films and filmmakers to Richmond that otherwise wouldn’t come. To become a member of the James River Film Society make your online gift of $25 or more through Network for Good (still in our Richmond Moving Image Co-op name). Put JRFS Membership under Designation.