FILM & TV




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Photo | What Suitcase Joe Found at Skid Row University

I hadn’t seen him in years. Then I caught his pop-up photo show in an alleyway gallery in Oregon Hill a few months back. The images were real life. Honest. Some of them tough to even look at. Street people, prostitutes, gang bangers, punks mid-fight, scenes in bars,...

The Lights Are On! Richmond’s Tacky Lights Season Has Begun

Tacky Lights season has officially kicked off, and the region is glowing again. From tight city blocks to wide Powhatan backroads, homes across Central Virginia have thrown the switch and settled into that familiar holiday tradition of trying to outshine the...

Equity vs. Access: Explaining Virginia’s New Cannabis Framework

The Joint Commission on the Future of Cannabis Sales held its final public meeting before lawmakers begin drafting the next version of Virginia’s adult-use cannabis bill. The bill will be introduced when the General Assembly returns in January and, if it passes...

CONEX and the Strange New Gravity of Carver

The Carver neighborhood sits tucked between the highway and the downtown sprawl, close enough to reach everything and overlooked long enough to feel like its own island. So when CONEX appeared there a few weeks ago, rising out of a sunken concrete pit built from cargo...

Support Richmond Independent Media This Giving Tuesday

Everyone in the media business will tell you it has been a tough year. In some ways it has been, but it was also the year we found another gear. As newsrooms froze up, we kept shining a light on the people who make Richmond what it is. The musicians, artists,...

Our Drinksgiving Guide to Richmond’s Favorite Dive Bars in 2025

Drinksgiving isn’t on any calendar, but it behaves like a holiday anyway predictable, chaotic, and oddly comforting, the way familiar mistakes often are. This year, instead of guessing which dive bars would be overflowing, we just asked the city. Our 2025 Support...

Tearing Down Toxic Masculinity with The Art of Self Defense

In his latest film, director Riley Stearns takes on deceptive ideologies to shock audiences with humor and horror.  In our modern age of fast information and lack of fact-checking, it has become easier than ever to indoctrinate and brainwash populations. This is seen in the rise of the Alt-Right in particular, as well as the general rise of...

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The Technicolor Horror Of Midsommar

In Midsommar, the horror of a Swedish cult ritual takes a backseat to the horror of a decaying, toxic relationship. Nothing is worse than hanging out with a couple at the end of their relationship. The snide remarks, the palpable tension in the air, the frustrating lack of action. These situations can be unbearable, and only seem worse once the...

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The Souvenir Is A Heartfelt and Insightful Memento

When going back through memories of past events, old friends, and lost loves, it’s easy to get lost in them like a daydream. Trying to remember and re-experience every emotion and sensation like the first time, making sure you can recount as many details as possible. These experiences are not just fun to look back on, but they can also be...

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Nightmare Van Brings Skateboard Carnage To The Big Screen

Will Rosenstock, Bust Crew, and Venue Skateboards are bringing Richmond's best skateboarders to the Byrd Theatre next Friday with Nightmare Van. The crusty, gritty streets of Richmond are a haven for a familial group of skaters that seems to keep on growing. And on June 28, they'll hit the big screen, as Nightmare Van, a video by Will Rosenstock,...

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Who Loves Galaxy Con? Kel (and RVA Mag) Loves Galaxy Con.

Is it true? Mmhm, we do, we do, we do-oooooo... Conventions are easy to get lost and overwhelmed in. Between Pikachu and Ms. Frizzle cosplayers on your left and volunteers on your right screaming to see your badge, it’s a lot. But they are absolutely worth it. A couple weeks ago, one of the biggest fan conventions in rotation right now,...

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Harold Lloyd’s The Kid Brother: More Than Just Slapstick

The Criterion Collection edition of silent-era comic Harold Lloyd's classic film, The Kid Brother, proves that Lloyd could absolutely stand alongside his more well-remembered peers, Chaplin and Keaton. Few silent-era comedy personas could top the legendary career that was Harold Lloyd’s. There were, of course, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin,...

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Opinion: TikTok Can’t Hold A Candle To Vine

Vine is dead, I know. But the recent onslaught of TikTok ads on the internet has left me feeling nostalgic for the once beloved video app. So in the spirit of love, Vine, and my opinions, “welcome back to... me, screaming.” In search of the right herbal tea, or bubble bath, or Netflix series, I have discovered that nothing eases my anxiety better...

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