WELCOME TO THE RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
SUBMISSIONS
The Richmond International Film Festival (RIFF) is a competitive festival that accepts features and shorts of all genres and niches for both produced film and screenplay categories. More than 20 international countries were represented at last year's festival where more than 50 films were selected as the Official Selection, and competed for top awards with the Grand Jury.
FESTIVAL EVENTS
The festival takes place in Richmond, VA at the historic Byrd Theatre February 27-March 2, 2014. In a 2011 article in USA TODAY, the 1,300 seat Byrd Theatre was said to be "One of the top 10 places to still see a movie in splendor in the United States."
In addition to screenings of top films that will be competing for various category awards, the festival hosts a variety of events throughout the week including filmmaker & screenwriter breakfasts, mixer party events, industry panel and Q&A events, music showcases, a red carpet awards ceremony with special guest entertainment, and more. Last year's musicians included Scott Burton of Glows in the Dark, Reggie Pace of Bon Iver, Heather Mae, the American Youth Harp Ensemble, among others.
All entrants are encouraged to attend the festival. Official Selection filmmakers and writers receive free admission to all festival events and screenings. Many are also invited to participate in panel discussions and Q&As. If not chosen as Official Selection or a top script finalist, we offer free admission to all screenings, space permitting. Notification of festival acceptance will be given to entrants by December 15, 2013.
MISSION & HISTORY
In addition to its competition focus, part of RIFF's mission is to bring talented writers and filmmakers together to collaborate on the production of future projects. RIFF is unique in that it offers potential production opportunties during the festival year for those interested in taking part. RIFF also grants awards for projects that use film as a powerful medium for social change.
Participating in the competition grants entrants a free premium listing in the Media Industry Xchange (MIX), a resource directory and collaborative forum for film and media related industries, which fosters the development and packaging of projects.
Production Award: We were thrilled to enter a production partnership with Strive Tennis Academy and The Media Industry Xchange for previous year's Corporate/Individual Production Awards. This category is a special category that is free for writers and filmmakers to enter as they compete on a strict time limit to create a winning short film script and director's vision for the individual or corporation. The writers and directors have exactly two weeks to turnaround their submissions. After the winners are selected, the project is shot in Virginia in the winter, and then premieres at the festival during festival week. Stay tuned for more information. A decision will be announced this summer regarding whether the fest will do the Corporate Production Award again in 2014.
Community film: As a part of the festival's community impact project each year, RIFF produces a documentary feature where we collaborate with the Virginia film community, and as in the case last year, with a film relevant to the annual topic. In past years, RIFF produced the feature documentary, TRADING AGES, which explored dynamics of generational identities, healthcare challenges, and community interactions between various generations. Last year's feature documentary was THE YOUTH ROUNDTABLE PROJECT, which will be produced again in 2014 on a community and statewide basis.
