Presented by the James River Film Society: join us at the Poe Museum on Sunday, October 18th at 7:00 PM for The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) w/ Silent Music Revival, Richmond’s enduring live music silent cinema series, featuring “wonder-inducing therminist and songbird” Caroline Scruggs.
Now accepting submissions!
Back for our 33rd Year! Va's longest running juried film competition is once again accepting submissions and giving away $3000 in prizes to filmmakers!
if you have a film (20min or less!) you’d like to submit, you can do so at the link below. The deadline is November 20th 2026!
One night. One film. One unforgettable live score.
Join us for Silent Music Revival as The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) comes to Dogwood Dell. Widely recognized as the world's oldest surviving animated feature film, this magical adventure still captivates audiences nearly 100 years after its premiere.
The evening will feature a live musical score by Plunky, a Dogwood Dell favorite, Richmond cultural icon, and global jazz ambassador whose music has inspired audiences around the world for more than five decades.
📅 June 28 🕣 8:30 PM 📍 Dogwood Dell Amphitheater
🎟️ Free Admission
Presented by James River Film Society and the Dogwood Dell Festival of Arts, Silent Music Revival has been pairing classic cinema with live music for Richmond audiences for decades.
Bring a lawn chair, pack a picnic, and join us for a truly unique summer evening where film and music come together under the stars.
This event is free to attend. Donations to Friends of Dogwood Dell are encouraged and help support free arts programming at the Dell.
Free. Live. Local.
THE 32nd JRFF THANKS OUR AUDIENCE, DONORS, SPONSORS,
ADVERTISERS, VOLUNTEERS & GUESTS FOR ANOTHER GREAT YEAR!
Announcing The 32nd Annual James River Film Fest
Tickets for all paid events CLICK HERE!
Full PDF of Schedule CLICK HERE
Want to volunteer this year? Volunteers get access to all events for free and a festival t-shirt!
Email: kerri@jamesriverfilm.org for more info!
32nd Short Film Showcase Award Winners
Congrats to all of this year’s winners! We had an amazing turnout and look forward to the next!
First Place $600
Monument
J.J.
Second Place $400
Computer Blue
Work from Home
Third Place $200
Jane Brinton | Water Bearers to Indigenous Tribes of Ecuador
As You Liked It! A Reflection on Waste Culture and Community Action
Bird Movie
The Kennel
Texas Strange
People’s Choice
J.J
VA Filmmaker Award
Monument
32nd Annual James River Short Film Showcase
Jane Brinton: Water Bearers to Indigenous Tribes of Ecuador,
Dir. Hernán Salcedo, Ecuador, EP. Albert H. Crane, Virginia 10:00
Monument, Jeremy Drummond, 16:45, Richmond, VA
Bird Movie, Lauryn Lingenfelter, 5:30, VA
Computer Blue, Nathan Conrad Piskator, 13:38, Richmond, VA
The Kennel, Julian Banks, 11:28, Newport News, VA
Intermission
J. J., Adam Dietrich and Elliott Gilbert, 17:00, Corsicana, TX
Work From Home, Justin Lamb, 5:38, Washington, D.C.
Texas Strange, Justin Eugene Evans, 9:23, Taipei, Taiwan
As You Liked It! A Reflection on Waste Culture,
Emmy Weldon, Cat McCarthy, 13:00, Richmond, VA
Come Join US!
Friday, January 16, 6:30–9:00 PM
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Leslie Cheek Theatre
Tickets can be found: HERE
AWARDS PRESENTATION: $3,000 in prizes! Plus, the Kathryn Stephens VA Filmmaker, & People's Choice Awards TBA at the screening's conclusion.
2026 James River Showcase Judge:
Don Harrison as a journalist and critic has been covering music, art and film for over three decades. A multiple VA Press Association winner, Mr. Harrison's writ-ing has been featured in Style Weekly, Richmond Magazine, 64 Magazine, The Washington Post, Virginia Pilot among others; he also hosts a popular interview program at WRIR, “Open Source.”
2026 JAMES RIVER SHOWCASE JURORS:
Caryl Burtner is an award winning conceptual artist who saw her first movie—The Snow Queen—at age two at the behest of her mother. Thousands of films later, and despite a growing collection of ticket stubs, she still screens avidly.
Tom Campagnoli watched Moby Dick and Hitchcock with his father as a boy, and later managed and projected films at Richmond's Biograph Theatre. He also starred as Kosmo in the RVA animated epic, Futuropolis.
Raasa Leela De Montebello is an award-winning filmmaker and actress who divides her time between NYC and Ashland, VA. An NYU film grad, her film have won numerous awards in Richmond's 48 Hour Film Projects.
Kevin Downs is a screenwriter and producer/director of numerous music videos. Edu-cated at VCU and NYU, he currently teaches screenwriting at Georgetown University.
Mine Eren is Chair of Modern Languages and Director of Film Studies at R-MC, holds a PhD from Brown U., and has organized several festivals to introduce German & Turkish filmmakers to new audiences.
Ken Hopson oversees The Workshop at VCU Libraries, which collaborates with academic research and design via emerging media technologies. His own narrative is a loose adaptation of an unscripted true story..
Jere Kittle is an RVA award-winning photographer, artist and filmmaker. Her work was a finalist in the London Int'l. Super-8 Fest: Straight 8, and also the Phillips Collection“American Moments” in DC in 2015.
Jeff Roll has a BFA in graphic design/photography, has served as Volunteer Co-ordinator and Vice-President of the JRFS, and for eight years curated/hosted the James River Filmmakers Forum; in 2019 he founded Cinema Niche at Studio Two Three.
Janet Scagnelli worked in commercial animation in NYC producing spots for Sesame St. and later with Nickelodeon. In Richmond she co-produced/edited the documentary Gentle Woman of a Dangerous Kind on peace activist Marii Hasegawa.
Todd Starkweather has PhD. in English, Univ. of Illinois-Chicago, where he also studied film theory. Having taught literature, writing, and film studies at various colleges the past twenty years, he currently teaches English in middle school.
Special thanks: Don Harrison, the jurors, & VMFA. The JR Short Film Showcase is sponsored annually by the VA Film Office, and JRFS. More info @ jamesriverfilm.org
Deadline Extended to November 24th!
Deadline Extended to Monday November 24th
We are pleased to announce that submissions for our 32nd Annual James River Short Film Showcase are now open. WE implore to share your work with the world! 20mins Max all, all Genres accepted, $3000 in total prizes!
Check out the details and submit your film via our FilmFreeway Page
Experience cinema the way it all began! On Sunday, Oct. 26th 8PM at Dogwood Dell, The James River Film Society bringing back the magic of the Silent Movie era with the Silent Music Revival showing of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" with a live score by Miramar.
Bring a blanket, pack some snacks, and settle in for a cozy fall evening filled with nostalgia, laughter, and the timeless charm of classic film.
Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind RVA tradition!
SILENT MUSIC REVIVAL
(Richmond’s enduring live music silent cinema series)
silent era films based on the works of:
Edgar Allan Poe
at the POE MUSEUM!
@poemuseum
1914 E Main St
w/ live score by: GULL!
@gull_face
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19th
$5-20 (suggested donation) •7PM doors •7:30 film