Festivals galore: weekend calendar extended

With the 16th annual VCU French Film Festival
starting Friday, Richmond is preparing for a tidal
wave of travelers. Although this event alone has
done a great deal to increase Richmond tourism and
cultural enrichment, the weekend ahead has evolved
into a spectrum of events. This veritable festival of
festivals provides ample opportunity to experience
nearly any art form one so desires, be it French film,
Brazilian music, American theater, modern dance or
bicycle porn. Cheers!

VCU French Film Festival: Taking place
Friday through Sunday, this festival has
been heralded repeatedly as the largest
and most important French film festival
in the U.S. by the French film industry.
Offering a selection of 11 feature films
and 14 shorts with question-and-answer
sessions with the directors and actors,
this year’s event looks to rival last year’s
attendance of 20,000 people.

Friday 3/28

3 p.m. “Jacquou le Croquant”
Discussion with French actor Léo Legrand

6:45 p.m. “La Vérité ou presque”
Followed by the master class “From best seller to
box office: adapting a novel for the screen” and
discussion with French director Sam Karmann,
American novelist Stephen McCauley (author of
“True Enough”) and French actress and lyricist
Catherine Olson

10:10 p.m. “Deweneti,” a short by Dyana Gaye
“Ulzhan” by Volker Schl