VCU kicks off its Southern Film Festival February 8th and 9th. Featuring full lengths and short films ranging from the 1920s to today, the festival is full of scenes that are close to home. The Festival’s fourth year brings the theme of freedom, as it simultaneously celebrates the sesquicentennial of the end of slavery.
VCU kicks off its Southern Film Festival February 8th and 9th. Featuring full lengths and short films ranging from the 1920s to today, the festival is full of scenes that are close to home. The Festival’s fourth year brings the theme of freedom, as it simultaneously celebrates the sesquicentennial of the end of slavery.
Partnering up with the Virginia Historical Society, the VMFA, and many others, The Southern Film Festival is bringing five handpicked films to different venues across Richmond. These venues include The Grace Street Theatre, The Virginia Historical Society Theatre, the VMFA, and Cous Cous restaurant.
The films, four of which have ties to Richmond, are special in that most of them aren’t available to general audiences. Jamestown, a 1923 silent film, is only available through the Library of Congress. “It’s just not something that is easily seen, and on top of that, it’s a silent film, so they wouldn’t be able to see it with any music,” says festival director Emilie Raymond. Music for Jamestown will be provided by The St. Charles String Quartet. “It gives people a chance to see a film, and hear music they wouldn’t normally be able to see,” adds Raymond.
Another film, The Making Of Lincoln, about the local production of last year’s blockbuster film by Steven Spielberg, is extremely close to home. Raymond also notes the exclusivity of the film: “We’re showing behind the scenes commentary that hasn’t been shown anywhere else, and likely won’t be available, except for at this event.”
This year’s theme of freedom also coincides with VCU’s “Year of Freedom” celebration of the anniversary of emancipation. “Some of our films deal directly with slavery and so we take the broad view of the freedom theme, so we can look at that view from a variety of angles,” Raymond says of the theme. “The theme has brought out a lot of films that are based about true events and real happenings, I think it shows the relevance and the power of the theme.”
Each screening involves a unique post-film Q&A session with people involved with either the making of the film or its history. “Each film has at least one moderator, if not a panel that will include audience questioning,” says Raymond. The Making of Lincoln panel, for example, will be made up of people involved in the production of the film, whereas the Jamestown panel will include historians familiar with the era.
Other films included in the exhibition this year include Thunder Road, a 1959 crime drama starring Robert Mitchum; The Loving Story, a documentary about the interracial couple at the center of the 1967 Supreme Court decision overturning laws preventing interracial marriage; and Stormy Weather, a 1943 musical loosely based on the life of Richmond native Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.
The Southern Film Festival looks to provide something unique for Richmond. It simultaneously educates and entertains audiences with films that have a local link. The full list of films and detailed schedule can be found on their website, HERE.
