The 27th Annual James River Short Film Showcase

Tune in right here on Friday, January 28th at 7 PM for this year’s presentation!


Congratulations to this year’s finalists!
(In order of appearance)

Beyond the Shadows - Steven J. York & Jacob Dodd (New York) TRT: 12:33

Miles & Kilometers - Sonali Gulati (Virginia) TRT: 2:06

Rogue: The Western - Carly Miller (California) TRT: 17:50

Your Time is Up! - Leon Truong (Virginia) TRT: 2:30

Peaches - Benjamin Hunt (Virginia/California) TRT: 10:25

Pedigree - Brittney Harris & Russ Fulmore (Virginia) TRT: 8:46

Snow Angel - Evie Metz (Virginia) TRT: 3:30

Pottero - Lindsey Martin (Ohio) TRT: 10:00

Gas Station - Olga Torrico (Italy) TRT: 10:00


2021 JAMES RIVER SHORT FILM SHOWCASE JURORS:

CARYL BURTNER is an award-winning conceptual artist whose movie-loving mother took her to see her first movie, "The Snow Queen", at the age of two.  Thousands of films later, and despite a growing collection of ticket stubs, she still screens avidly.  She's proud to be a long-serving juror of the James River Showcase.

SHANE BROWN is a photography and film instructor at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, and the recent programmer/director of operations for the Bijou Film Center. A collector of film prints in all genres and gauges,  he's happiest when projecting films in his backyard for friends and family.

TOM CAMPAGNOLI remembers watching Moby Dick and Hitchcock movies with his father as a youth and later worked as manager/projectionist at Richmond's repertory Biograph Theatre.  He starred as Kosmo in Steve Segal and Phil Trumbo's animated-indie epic, Futuropolis.  He is recently retired from the University of Richmond Libraries.

JERE KITTLE is an award-winning photographer, artist, and filmmaker based in Richmond, where she attended VCU's Mass Communications Dept. and School of the Arts. She was a finalist in the London International Super-8 Festival: Straight 8, and one of six finalists in the Phillips Collection juried show, "American Moments", in Washington DC in 2015.

RAASA LEELA DE MONTEBELLO is an award-winning filmmaker and actress who divides her time between NYC and Ashland, VA.  An NYU film grad, she currently freelance edits and directs, when she's not busy foraging or conducting retreats. Her films, including Decay, are past winners in Richmond's 48 Hour Film Projects.

TODD STARKWEATHER holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he studied film theory.  He has taught literature, writing, and film studies at various universities in the past twenty years, and currently teaches the English language at Manchester Middle School.  He is a supporting member and volunteer of the JRFS.

2021 AWARDS JUDGE: KEVIN DOWNS was educated at VCU's Dept. of English and NYU's graduate film program and has taught a variety of courses--film production, film history, screenwriting--at Georgetown, George Washington, and Virginia Common-wealth Universities, as well as Watkins College of Art &  Design and Randolph-Macon College.  As a producer/director/D.P./editor his clients have included Epic Records, Lost Highway Records, and WVA Public Television.  He has also optioned several original feature screenplays as well as developed treatments for numerous clients including several Oscar/Grammy/Emmy award-winning producers and directors.

SPECIAL THANKS to finalists judge Kevin Downs, the jurors, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  The event is co-sponsored annually by the Virginia Film Office and the James River Film Society, a non-profit organization for the independent moving image arts.   www.jamesriverfilm.org