The Virginia Historical Society will host fifteen films as part of the Richmond International Film Festival. Four of the films have strong Virginia ties. For a complete list of films and to purchase tickets, visit rvafilmfestival.com.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27 @ 6:30PM
VIRGINIA CURRENT AFFAIRS *Panel discussion with J.D. Lette will follow screening
TARGET OF OPPORTUNITY (107 min, USA)
(Doc Drama) Directed by J. D. Lette
In 1995, Dustin Turner and his best friend Billy Joe Brown were in the final weeks of fifteen months of training to become U.S. Navy SEALs. On a balmy summer night in Virginia in 1995, they went to a nightclub and met a young woman named Jennifer Evans. They were the last two people to see her alive. First time filmmaker and former U.S. Navy Chief J. D. Lette turns his attention to this front page news and comes up with startling discrepancies, judicial oversights, and shocking consequences that have changed these two men’s lives forever.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28 @ 12:00PM
AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND VIRGINIA SPOTLIGHT *Panel discussion with Corey and Robert Trench will follow screening
A FORTUNATE SON (25 min, USA)
(Drama, Family, African American, LGBTQ, Mystery)
Directed by Corey Trench and Robert Trench, Starring Corey Trench
A father and son go on a journey to discover the mysterious circumstances of a grandfather’s tragic death in the rural town of Goochland, Virginia. Their discoveries reveal more than just the truth, as they uncover what it means to be a fortunate son.
COLORS: BANGING IN SOUTH CAROLINA (56 min, USA)
Documentary, Directed by Terry Davis
Former Monacan High School student Terry Davis details the deadliest gang feud in the history of South Carolina, highlighting his personal experience beginning in 1999 with a gang in Richmond, Virginia.
SUNDAY, MARCH 1 @ 2:00PM
VIRGINIA AND WORLD SPOTLIGHT *Panel discussion with Eduardo Montes-Bradley and John Borden Evans will follow screening
WHITE: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOHN BORDEN EVANS (30 min, USA)
Directed by Eduardo Montes-Bradley
The old farmhouses and surrounding rural area of North Garden, Virginia, are obvious influences in the subject matter of John Borden Evans’s paintings. Evans depicts rural landscapes and animals in his thickly painted works, creating texture through build-up and scrape-away techniques.
