15th
ANNUAL
JAMES RIVER
FILM FESTIVAL
Virginia’s Festival for the Independent-Minded |
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 THE MYSTERY OF PICASSO (1956, 86 min., French with subtitles)
Title courtesy of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
12:00 noon, Richmond Public Library Main Branch,
Basement Auditorium
FREE
This rarely seen film by Henri-Georges Clouzot (Wages of Fear, Diabolique) captures the charismatic Picasso at work on a series of glass canvases for the camera/viewer – all of which were destroyed after the shoot! A fascinating look of a true master at work, from first line to finished piece. |
STUDENT FILMS from the APPOMATTOX REGIONAL GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL for the ARTS and TECHNOLOGY (Approx. 80 min.)
3:30 p.m., The Firehouse Theatre
FREE
In the past six years more than 200 students have produced over one hundred short and not-so-short films. Please join them for a screening of recent works! The school boasts one of the largest public film programs in the U.S. |
VIRGINIA FILM OFFICE RECEPTION
4:30 – 6:30 p.m., The Camel
FREE (Cash bar)
Meet the festival guests and enjoy hors d’oeuvres courtesy of the Virginia Film Office. |
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JRFF JURIED COMPETITON FINALISTS
Co-sponsored by the Virginia Film Office and the Virginia Production Alliance
7:00 p.m., The Firehouse Theatre
FREE (Approx. 90 min.)
Every year the James River Film Festival, the Virginia Film Office and the Virginia Production Alliance co-sponsor a national invitational of recently produced short films in any genre – animation, drama, experimental, documentary. And every year we screen the jurors’ selections and award $2,000 in prizes.
| The 2008 James River Film Festival Finalists are: |
First Place
$600 |
Nunna Mia e la Barca (My Grandmother and The Boat) by Jacob Dodd (VA) |
Second Place
$400 |
Once Upon a Train by Paul Hugins (VA) |
Third Place
(tie)
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The Green Grass of Twilight by Richie Sherman (PA) $200; Sapsucker by Christopher Holmes (NC) $200 |
Forth Place
$150 |
Fish, But No Cigar by Lyn Elliot & Tara White (PA) |
Honorable Mention
$75
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Messenger by Mark Scalese (CT) |
Honorable Mention
$75
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Not Enough Night by Dan Boord & Luis Valdovino (CO) |
Virginia Filmmaker Award
$300 |
Watch on the Rhine by Nathan Hall (VA) |
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 KEN JACOBS RETROSPECTIVE, PART I with Ken, Flo & Azazel Jacobs (Approx. 76 min.)
9:00 p.m., The Firehouse Theatre
Admission $5
Mr. Jacobs was a major participant in the “underground film” explosion of NY in the early to mid-1960s, a movement that included Jack Smith, Jonas Mekas and Andy Warhol. His seminal works – Blonde Cobra, Little Stabs at Happiness, The Sky Socialist – pushed the ongoing discovery of cinema’s possibilities even further. In the spirit of First Fridays, we offer Richmond a little taste of the New York underground spirit.
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- Nymph (2007, 3 min., silent)
- Blonde Cobra (1963, 33 min., 16mm w/sound)
- His Favorite Wife Improved (2008, 2 min., sound)
- Pushcarts of Eternity Street (2006, 10 min., silent)
- The Surging Sea of Humanity (2006, 11 min., silent)
- Capitalism: Slavery (2006, 3 min. silent)
- Capitalism: Child Labor (2006, 14 min., music by Rick Reed)
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 CONTROL (2007, 105 min.)
Co-sponsored by WRIR, 97.3 FM
12:00 midnight, The Byrd Theatre
Admission $5
A must-see for all Joy Division fans, Control is essentially Ian Curtis’ tale – the gloom-punk quartet’s rising popularity and the singer’s suicide on the eve of U. S. tour – as told by wife Deborah, and interpreted by director Anton Corbijn. Corbijn directed Joy Division in some early videos and knew the musicians now played by his actors. (Note: The members of film band play all their instruments and sound remarkably like the real thing.) All the acting is top notch and cast to perfection, especially Sam Riley as Curtis. Filmed in stark black and white like their album covers – a Richmond premiere!
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