Editor’s Note: RVA Magazine is proud to partner with Virginia PrideFest, happening this Saturday, September 12, and to produce the annual Pride Guide celebrating Richmond and Virginia’s LGBTQ+ community. You can download the 2026 Pride Guide HERE. We’d also like to...
“Everything seemed the same, but it wasn’t. It was a nightmare.” By 1978, the American Dream was officially dead. The counterculture of the ’60s and early ’70s had been absorbed into the mainstream, packaged and sold through a matrix of unlimited consumerism and second-rate marketing. The Vietnam War ended disastrously. Nixon had just...
When it comes to creating visual work that uplifts Richmond’s music scene, The Sunroom has quickly become a trusted name. I caught up with Michael Thibodeau, the founder, creative director and producer at The Sunroom, to talk about how they started, their growing body of work with local artists, and what’s coming next. “So I’m Michael Thibodeau....
The enchanting world of Studio Ghibli returns to Richmond this week as Studio Ghibli Fest takes over the historic Byrd Theatre. Kicking off Monday, March 31 with a screening of Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), the fest brings a lineup of beloved animated films that have defined generations — and there's more magic ahead all week long. A bit of a...
Another screening of No Other Land—an Oscar-winning documentary directed by both Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers—is set for Friday, March 28, at 4 p.m. at The Byrd Theatre. Recently winning for Best Documentary Feature at the 97th Academy Awards, the film has been described by its directors as “an act of resistance on the path to justice...
Let’s get down to business: This film is fucking bananas. Not your average store-bought bananas, not even your farm-to-table free range bananas, this is 160 metric tonnes of high-explosive, slow-motion, dual pistol, Hong Kong bullet spraying bananas; shipped directly to you from the inner recesses of Director John Woo’s unfathomable id. Whatever...
Given our current political predicament, no line in cinema feels more relevant than when Bob Hauk, the police commissioner in Escape from New York, says to Snake Plissken, “The president’s gone missing.” To which Plissken coolly responds, “President of what?” Released in 1981 and directed by John Carpenter, Escape from New York, is arguably...
One of the best things about being a Film and Digital Media teacher is seeing alumni continue to create and grow in this art form. In today’s digital landscape, where competitive algorithms impact the arts and audience engagement across constantly shifting platforms, filmmakers must innovate to connect with collaborators and viewers. The...
On Tuesday, February 25, Bucha will be screened at The Byrd Theatre, presented by FREEDOM | Ukrainian Community and the Leonid Foundation, immersing Richmond in a reality most Americans only know from news headlines. But this isn’t just a film screening—it’s an urgent act of remembrance, a call for awareness in a world already shifting focus to...
Richmond’s history is layered with stories of resilience, reinvention, and, in some cases, outright injustice. The Clear Redline, a new documentary by filmmaker Myles Black, peels back those layers to expose the lasting impact of redlining in Richmond and across the United States. For Black, this isn’t just a historical exploration—it’s...
