French film festival to grace Byrd Theatre

This weekend, you might notice a huge influx of people chattering in a language you vaguely remember from high school wandering around the city. That’s because it’s time for Richmond’s 17th annual French Film Festival.

According to their mission statement, since 1993, VCU and University of Richmond have held the French Film Festival to “promote French language cinema and culture in the United States” and “create a tradition of Franco-American corporate and cultural partnerships.”

Nineteen short and 12 feature films will be screened at the Byrd Theatre in Carytown. If viewers are concerned about Carytown parking, space will be available behind the Byrd. Though Carytown is small, festival director and founder Peter Kirkpatrick said it’s sufficiently sized.

“We’re fortunate to have Carytown and the Byrd,” Kirkpatrick said. “We’ve thought about (moving) but we haven’t moved on anything because venues aren’t ready to be expanded to.”

The Byrd seats 1,400 French and Richmonders alike; and if past years are any indication, those spots will be filled.

Each film or film set will include a talk with central crew members, such as the director, producer, screenwriter or main actor so the audience can learn about some of the behind-the-scenes work that went into making each film. Names such as directors Claude Miller and Jean Becker, as well as actress/director/producer/writer Josiane Balasko are to be expected.

“Even people who come from New York tell us about how they run festivals there,” Kirkpatrick said. “They screen film several times over a week or two and it’s not really a festival, just a series of screenings of films.”

In addition to films and talks, the festival will feature master classes led by several directors and professors, including VCU Director of Cinema Rob Tregenza, French Film Festival Director Peter Kirkpatrick and co-director Fran