Roy Barudin, director of partnership marketing with WRVA, describes the station’s new film series as “a hybrid of the Richmond Forum and a film series. … It combines the best of both worlds.”

WRVA’s Movie Forum features five classic films from the ’30s to the ’70s followed by a discussion related to the movie’s topic presented by a guest speaker. The pairings are intriguing: Jack M. Enoch Jr., managing director of Branch Cabell Asset Management, speaking on “The Open Road to Meditation” after the screening of “Easy Rider” and former Gov. George Allen presenting a talk after “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” for instance.

“We wanted classic films, but not films so mainstream that they are shown on TV all the time,” Barudin explains. “We’re trying to go back to the nostalgic era. The WRVA audience is 35 [years old] plus, so it made sense to go after the classic films.”

Barudin says the station hopes to make the film festival an annual event. This year’s line-up for the Friday night series includes:

May 22 “American Graffiti” (1974) with Academy Award-nominated actress Candy Clark (Debbie Dunham in the movie) giving a “Behind the Scenes Talk”

June 11 “Easy Rider” (1969) with Jack M. Enoch Jr., managing director of Branch Cabell Asset Management, speaking on “The Open Road to Meditation”

July 9 “Shane” (1953) with Dr. Irby Brown, professor of English at the University of Richmond, speaking on “The Idealization of the West”

Aug. 13 “The Treasure of Sierra Madre” (1948) with Carl Mahler, president of The Pinnacle Group, speaking on “The Evil in Greed and How Not to Sell Your Soul”

Sept. 10 “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939) with former Gov. George Allen speaking on “Maintaining your Idealism in the Face of Political Pressure”

Tickets are $10 per show, or $50-$60 for the series. All shows start at 7:30 p.m. at the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen. Advance tickets available at the WRVA studios, 200 N. 22nd St. in Church Hill, on the Web at www.wrva.com, or at the Cultural Arts Center on the night of the