The Best Film Festival for Francophiles: Richmond French Film Festival
Maria introduced me to French language and culture soon after we began seeing each other in 2014. As one of her favorite annual events had always been the French Film Festival in Richmond, Virginia, we naturally went together in 2015. Maria has attended the festival yearly since 2012, and together we’ve patronized the festival for five years in a row! Keep reading to learn more about one of the world’s biggest festivals celebrating French films and one of my personal favorite traditions.
What is the French Film Festival?
The French Film Festival presents a series of feature, short, and documentary French-language films, subtitled in English, and takes place annually over a four-day period in Richmond, Virginia. Leading up to the screenings, the festival offers free “Master Classes” that educate participants about acting, music, film production, language learning, culture, and more – straight from French experts. The festival takes place in March and usually spans from a Thursday to a Sunday. It was originally created and is currently overseen by Peter and Françoise Kirkpatrick, a married couple of French professors who teach at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond respectively. The festival began in 1993 and assembles all participants in the historic Byrd Theatre.
Attending the Festival
The first step is taking a look at the film schedule available online. If you’re interested in seeing just a film or two, you can wait in line for individual tickets that go on sale 30 minutes prior to the showing and cost $15 each. If you want to see more than just a few films, purchasing a VIP Pass is a great option. VIP Pass holders don’t have to wait in line, get unlimited access to the repertoire of films, and can attend all the question and answer sessions with actors and directors. For students, the VIP Pass costs $65, instructors can purchase one for $105, and a regular VIP Pass costs $115.
Why We Love the French Film Festival
We love going to the French Film Festival because it’s a taste of French culture right in our home state. The festival brings France to Richmond by hosting actors, directors, screenwriters, authors, music composers, and artist-technicians who worked on the films screened at the festival. Maria and I also like that there are so many people interested in the culture that we love. It’s so cool to see Cary Street, the location of the Byrd Theatre, decorated with French flags and local businesses getting in on the fun by advertising to festival-goers as well.
People travel from all over the globe to attend the festival. In fact, 2019’s “furthest-travelled” attendee came all the way from Australia! It’s a great feeling, and a rare occasion, to be surrounded by so many Francophiles.
French Film Festival 2020
Though Maria and I have made an annual tradition of attending the festival, we knew that we would not be able to make the 2020 edition as we are currently participating in the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF). Though we would have missed out on this year’s festival either way, we were saddened to learn that the outbreak of COVID-19 has postponed the festival until 2021. We are confident, however, that next year’s festival will be just as spectacular as the ones that came before.
If you have ever attended Richmond’s French Film Festival, thank you for being a part of what makes one of our favorite events possible. If you haven’t been, we encourage you to come out to Richmond, Virginia and see for yourself what an amazing opportunity it is. Want to know more or have a question? Leave us a comment!
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