James River Film Society

James River Film Society The James River Film Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media arts organization dedicated to the art of film and film as art.

STOKED! to be a part of the Dogwood Dell’s 69th Festival of the Arts !  6/28 : Silent Music Revival presents:“The Advent...
05/17/2026

STOKED! to be a part of the Dogwood Dell’s 69th Festival of the Arts !


6/28 : Silent Music Revival presents:
“The Adventures of Prince Achmed” (1926)
w/ live musical score by:
PLUNKY

8:30PM
FREE

I honor of 4/20 we will be screening;“Reefer Madness” (1936) at the after party hang / post show  DM for addy
04/15/2026

I honor of 4/20 we will be screening;
“Reefer Madness” (1936)
at the after party hang / post show
DM for addy

32nd James River Film Festival is a WRAP! and what a good year it was.Gratitude to all the film makers, venues, voluntee...
04/07/2026

32nd James River Film Festival is a WRAP!
and what a good year it was.
Gratitude to all the film makers, venues, volunteers, organizers and of course YOU! Whether you attended in person or virtually, we are grateful for the great cinema scene in RVA!

Photos by:
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 - still from “Wavelength” (‘66)
5 -
6- .by.saige
7 - Mary Worth
8 -
9 -

SATURDAYAPRIL 4th7:00PMSTUDIO TWO THREE Admission: $7“Land of Look Behind” (‘81, 90 min)Directed by the late Alan Greenb...
04/04/2026

SATURDAY
APRIL 4th
7:00PM
STUDIO TWO THREE

Admission: $7
“Land of Look Behind” (‘81, 90 min)
Directed by the late Alan Greenberg, who was a friend of reggae star Bob Marley, began the film as a record of Marley’s funeral, but became something more - a deep searching meditation on
Jamaican music and culture.
Live Music Intermission w/
THE WRONG WORSHIPPERS


9:00PM
STUDIO TWO THREE
Admission: $7
“Head” (‘68, 86 min)
W/ The Monkees, Annette Funicello, Frank Zappa, Teri Garr, Toni Basil & more. Directed by Bob Rafelson (5 Easy Pieces) and scripted by then screenwriter Jack Nicholson, Head was conceived as a
cult film from the get-go, and captures the zaniness of the late-60’s pop-psychedelic culture. Rafelson, as a writer , had “created” The Monkees first for television, and later starred them in this directorial debut. But Monkees fans were disappointed, perhaps the satire was too barbed. Michael “Wool Hat” Nesmith credited the film for “the
end of The Monkees”, perhaps because of the films opening. This film hasn’t screened Richmond since 1985 as a midnight show at the Biograph Theatre. Hey, hey it’s The Monkees!

A many thanks Style Weekly  and Brent Baldwin  for highlighting film maker Sasha Waters  and her newest documentary “Mar...
04/04/2026

A many thanks Style Weekly
and Brent Baldwin
for highlighting film maker Sasha Waters
and her newest documentary
“Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World.”
Which was screened to a SOLD OUT crowd as part of the James River Film Festival
April 3rd @ the Grace Street Theater

The Multitudes Of Mary

Documentary filmmaker Sasha Waters explores one of America’s most celebrated poets in “Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World.”

Don’t look now, but Richmond’s thriving documentary scene continues to impress.
One of its best-known filmmakers is Sasha Waters, a professor of film at VCU’s School of the Arts, whose 2018 feature “Garry Winogrand: All Things are Photographable” was named one of the year’s best by The New Yorker, and won a special jury prize at SXSW Film Festival. This Friday, April 3, Waters will attend the local premiere of her new film, the first documentary portrait of beloved American poet Mary Oliver, who won both the Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award en route to becoming one of the country’s best-selling poets

FULL ARTICLE LINK IN BIO

So much gratitude to Don Harrison and Style Weekly  For the amazing Article and Film Festival Guide in the “Movies + Tel...
04/04/2026

So much gratitude to Don Harrison and Style Weekly
For the amazing Article and Film Festival Guide in the “Movies + Television” section: “The People’s Festival”

“In years past, the JRFF has specialized in bringing to Richmond rarely-screened music-related films, and this year is no exception.
The James River Film Festival “the people’s festival, the no red carpet festival. We honor the work. That’s kind of our mission. We’re honoring the artists, the creators.”

FULL ARTICLE and FILM FEST GUIDE by: Don Harrison

LINK IN BIO

IN-PERSON CINEMA SATURDAYAPRIL 4th12:00PMRICHMOND MAIN PUBLIC LIBRARY Admission: FREE “Devil is a Woman” (‘35, 85 min)Jo...
04/04/2026

IN-PERSON CINEMA
SATURDAY
APRIL 4th
12:00PM
RICHMOND MAIN PUBLIC LIBRARY
Admission: FREE
“Devil is a Woman” (‘35, 85 min)
Josef von Sternberg’s seventh and final film with iconic screen muse Marlene Dietrich, is
a pre-noir, surrealistic take on the intricacies of love and obsession, set during the frenzy
of Carnival season. Directed by Luis Bunuel

2:00PM
RICHMOND MAIN PUBLIC LIBRARY
Admission: FREE
“Futuropolis” (‘84, 37 min)
Steve Segal & Phil Trumbo’s animated sci-fi epic, Futuropolis, was produced right here in
Richmond over a period of nine years, and features many Richmond locales as well as
dazzling studio sets and special effects -
Plus animated shorts including the prize-winning “Pandora’s Box”. Mr Segal also worked on Toy Story, and will be present for a Q&A after!

IN-PERSON CINEMA FRIDAYAPRIL 3rdGRACE STREET THEATER 7:00 PMAdmission: $7“Wavelength” (‘66, 45 min) “Mothlight” (‘63, 3....
04/03/2026

IN-PERSON CINEMA
FRIDAY
APRIL 3rd
GRACE STREET THEATER
7:00 PM
Admission: $7
“Wavelength” (‘66, 45 min)
“Mothlight” (‘63, 3.5 min.)
An avant-garde double feature on 16mm film!
Michael Snow’s Wavelength, a slow zoom
from one end of a NY loft to the other, which despite its “structural” bent is also a bit of a
detective story; with Stan Brakhage’s Mothlight, a meditative abstract film made without a camera. Snow and Brakhage refused to endorse digital, so see these prints as they were meant to be seen!

GRACE STREET THEATER
8PM
Admission: $7
“Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World” (2025, 90 min)
w/ guest filmmaker Sasha Waters PREMIERE SCREENING!
SOLD OUT!
American poet and essayist Mary Oliver is profiled in director Sasha Water’s latest film,
which focuses on Oliver’s deep affinity for Nature as a source of salvation - credited for helping her deal with life’s realities.

Stills from:“The Magic of Melies”3/29  George Melies was an ex-magician who brought his “magic” to the primitive screen ...
03/31/2026

Stills from:
“The Magic of Melies”
3/29
George Melies was an ex-magician who brought his “magic” to the primitive screen as the Father of Special Effects. The program includes A Trip To The Moon (1902), The Live Playing Cards (1905), The Enchanted Sedan Chair (1907)

Photos by: Kathryn Whitley

IN-PERSON CINEMA THURSDAY APRIL 2ndSTUDIO TWO THREE 7:30PMAdmission: $7“Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk” - Serpideh ...
03/31/2026

IN-PERSON CINEMA
THURSDAY
APRIL 2nd
STUDIO TWO THREE

7:30PM
Admission: $7
“Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk”
- Serpideh Farsi
(2025, 112 min, FR/PAL)
Director Sepideh Farsi’s documentary is a first hand perspective of life under Israeli
siege in Gaza, via video calls with Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna. The film now stands as a memorial, as well as a testament - Farsi and her family were killed by an Israeli airstrike in April 2025, just one day after the film was announced as a selection of the Cannes Flim Festival.

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1812 W Main Street
Richmond, VA
23220

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