The French Film Festival - Richmond, VA was an annual film festival held in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, focused on recently produced French-language films. It was created in 1993 by Drs. Peter and Françoise Kirkpatrick, professors of French literature, culture and film studies at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

and

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

, respectively. It is billed as the largest festival of French film in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Since then, and as of 2015, it has welcomed a delegation totaling more than 380 directors, producers, actors, film scholars, critics, and French government officials. At the 2004 Festival, the Festival's founders and directors, Drs. Peter and Françoise Ravaux-Kirkpatrick, were decorated as "Chevaliers de l'

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

", a high honor in the arts in France, and in 2011, the Médaille Beaumarchais by the French

Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques SACD, founded as Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques () on 7 March 1829, is a French collecting society, undertaking collective rights management for authors. The Society manages, promotes and protects the performance rights of theatr ...

. The festival usually takes place the last weekend of March, during which the city is filled with French speakers and aficionados of French cinema. It is held at the historic

Byrd Theatre The Byrd Theatre is a cinema in the Carytown neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. It was named after William Byrd II, the founder of the city. The theater opened on December 24, 1928 to much excitement and is affectionately referred to as "Richmo ...

. At the 2014 Festival, there were approximately 22,000 attendees/tickets sold. According to Richmond.com, in 2024 the newly retired and emeriti founders of the festival "said it was the right time for the beloved festival to end."

Festival

The festival is host to a variety of French

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

s, both short and feature-length. to promote French language, cinema, and culture in the U.S. and in American educational institutions. French directors and starring actors engage the audience in question and answer sessions following the screening of their films. The Festival is sponsored by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

Unifrance Unifrance is an organization for promoting French films in France and abroad. It is managed by the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée. It has several hundred members who include filmmakers, directors, screenwriters and agents. Fou ...

l'ARP La Société civile des Auteurs Réalisateurs et Producteurs, acronym L'ARP is France's "Guild of Authors, Directors and Producers." It is a Copyright collective that ensures Collective rights management. L'ARP co-sponsors City of Lights, City of A ...

(French acronym for "Guild of French Directors and Producers"), and the SACD (a French acronym for "Guild of Authors, Composers and Directors"). The Community Idea Stations (PBS), as well as the TV channel

TV5Monde TV5Monde (), formerly known as TV5, is a French public television network, broadcasting several channels of French-language programming. It is an approved participant member of the European Broadcasting Union. The network is available across ...

also are partners of the festival. The

, rated by ''USA Today'' in 2011 as one of the best film palaces remaining in North America, is the annual venue for the Festival. Each year, the French Film Festival brings to the Byrd Theatre the very same technicians and projectionists responsible for the screenings at the International Cannes Film Festival, ensuring the highest quality of both sounds and images

Programme

Each year, the festival showcases a selection of features, shorts and masterclasses in various sections: *Feature and Short Selections – The main attraction of the festival **''Feature Films Selection''– A selection of around 15 US and world premieres of recently produced French features (fictions and documentaries) all presented by their directors, screenwriters or starring actors and screened at the

. **''Classics'' – A selection of a few award-winning restored French classics, also introduced by their director, cast or technicians. **''Special Screenings'' – exclusive screenings of newly found and restored French silent films by the likes of

Georges Méliès Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès ( , ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French magic (illusion), magician, toymaker, actor, and filmmaker. He led many technical and narrative developments in the early days of film, cinema, primarily in th ...

or the

Lumière Brothers Lumière is French for 'light'. Lumiere, Lumière or Lumieres may refer to: Buildings * Lumière, a building used by the Bibliothèque publique d'information in Paris, France * Lumiere (skyscraper), a cancelled skyscraper development in Leeds, ...

, lent to the Festival by the French Cinémathèque. **''Short Films Selection'' – A selection of around 15 French short films screened at the ''Byrd Theatre'' and introduced by their directors and/or main actors. *Master Classes – Each year, the festival organizes several master-classes with distinguished guests from its French delegation, each centered around one central theme as well as the guests's career. All master classes are free and open to the public and either take place at the

or at the

Delegation

A large delegation of French directors, actors and producers of feature and short films come to the Festival each year to present their films and also interact with the audience through question-and-answer sessions after each showing.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official Festival homepage

Coverage of the 2007 Festival
Film festivals in Virginia French Film Festival Culture of Richmond, Virginia Tourist attractions in Richmond, Virginia Film festivals established in 1993 1993 establishments in Virginia