‘The Art of Cinema Since 1994’ annual short film showcase held at VMFA
Illustration by Killian Goodale-Porter.
Carolyn Slingluff, Contributing Writer
The James River Film Society held its 30th annual short film showcase at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on Jan. 17.
The JRFS is a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film arts enrichment. It was founded over 30 years ago in 1994 in the VCUarts department by president Michael Jones and his colleague Joan Strommer.
The James River Short Film Showcase is a juried competition that was originally part of the James River Film Festival, held annually in the spring. The short film showcase became a separate event in 2011 and has been held every winter since at the VMFA, Jones said.
The judge and jurors for the competition this year were coordinated by Jones, submissions and tech were handled by Coleman Jennings, and Jameson Price and Laney Sullivan were in charge of social publicity.
This year, the prize pool of $3,000 was considerably larger than in previous years. The showcase featured films from 10 finalists, selected by local jurors from about 80 submissions from around the world, Jones said.
Judge Jerry Williams watched the films for the first time with the rest of the audience and then awarded prize money as he saw fit, according to Jones.
Prizes included the Kathryn Stephens Virginia Filmmaker Award, a People’s Choice Award, which was voted on by the audience, an honorable mention and finally, the top three films of the night, with the winner taking home $1,000.
The James River Short Film Showcase is modeled after the Ann Arbor Film Festival, which is notorious for giving a platform to independent filmmakers of all genres, according to Jones.
“Our festival started with the idea of focusing on independent film, experimental animation, things like that, documentaries, and we still kind of have that vent. So the jurors like an entry that’s kind of experimental,” Jones said.
The showcase’s mission is to provide a vehicle for filmmakers to have their films seen and to offer a cash prize, which is not standard at film festivals, according to Jones.
“We just want to put money in the pockets of the filmmakers,” Jones said.
Although none of the finalists this year were VCU students, Jones said the competition has been popular with film students in past years. It isn’t uncommon for a student filmmaker to walk away with a share of the prize money in past years, according to Jones.
Richmond newcomer Nathan Kostelac, who was a cinema student at Virginia Tech, attended the showcase and said he has always been interested in film.
“I was impressed by pretty much everything there,” Kostelac said.
Finalist Sarah Klearman said she saw her film “Strawberry Milk” on a big screen for the first time. Directed by Klearman and her best friend, Valerie Veteto, the film focused on the complexities of female friendships in the digital age, Klearman said.
“Writing the dialogue and trying to make certain parts of it comedic or hit certain ways emotionally — it was sort of like feeling that response from people was just really awesome,” Klearman said.
The winners of the JRFS film showcase can be found at the JRFS website.
