If you fondly remember the French Film Festival that took over Carytown for many years, you’ll be excited to learn there is a new festival coming to the University of Richmond and the Byrd Theatre from March 27-30: The Italian & French Film Festival at Richmond. Even better, all events are free and open to the public.
The festival is being organized by University of Richmond’s Anthony Russell, associate professor of English and Comparative Literature and the coordinator of the Italian program, and Sonja Bertucci, associate professor of Film Studies and French. The inaugural addition will feature nine films and several roundtables; among the films is one classic, “The Battle of Algiers” (1966), and mostly acclaimed modern works such as “La Grazia” (2025) and “Sirât” (2025). The theme of this year’s inaugural festival is “passages” insofar as “the films consistently call attention to the different crossings, transitions, and transformations that characterize human life and the creation of art.” (Tentative schedule listed after story).
The organizers held a recent reception for media, friends and supporters on Monday, Feb. 23 at Chez Nous downtown.
“Our intention is for this festival to be open to the entire city,” Russell told those gathered, explaining that the festival began last year as the Italian festival and was extremely successful. They had great participation, so they decided to expand it to include French films. “The storied French Film festival has now been absent for a few years, and we want to make up for that,” he said, adding that the festival plans to showcase the best in contemporary Italian and French plus one past masterpiece each year.
“We will celebrate the 60th anniversary of ‘The Battle of Algiers,’ which is a landmark political film,” said Bertucci. “The festival is a place of passages, but we also hope that it will be a place of connections.” She noted that Italian director Sophie Chiarello, director of the award-winning documentary film, “Il Cerchio (The Circle)” (2022) will be this year’s guest of the festival. Her film, which won the prestigious David di Donatello award for Best Documentary, documents the lives and growth of Italian primary school children over five years; Chiarello will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.
Russell thanked supporters from various parts of the university, as well as the Italian Cultural Institute (Washington, DC), French Embassy, the Byrd Theatre, and the Virginia Film Office.
Bertucci told Style this was her first time organizing (or rather co-organizing with her “absolutely wonderful” colleague Anthony Russell) something like this from scratch: finding the funding, selecting the films, reaching out to guests and distributors, creating a launch party, designing a flyer and other promotional materials, curating the reception menus, and navigating all sorts of issues, roadblocks, and anxieties along the way.
“At the beginning, nothing seems to coalesce into anything tangible — and then, little by little, a shape and a direction start to emerge, and you know you have something special in your hands,” she said. “Something rooted in a legacy (the French film festival), but also reaching toward something new.”
She added that what she’s most excited about is watching “Sirât” at the Byrd Theater, which screens on Monday, March 30 at 7 p.m. She described that opportunity as “a collision of two completely different realities — on the one hand, the ornate, baroque atmosphere of the Byrd; on the other, a desert film that opens with an eight-minute rave! I expect something surreal, electric — a spark, in the Breton sense!”
On the French side, she recommends all four films, but says her personal favorites are “Sirât” and “Four Daughters.”
“I’m also excited to see how the Richmond community responds. Can we bring people back to the movies — not just to watch, but to share something together?”
Tentative program schedule
Friday, March 27 | Precarity
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Center for the Arts
4 p.m. Film Screening: Il Cerchio (Sophie Chiarello, 2022)
6 p.m. Reception featuring French and Italian cuisine.
7:30 p.m. Film Screening: Météors (Hubert Charruel, 2025)
Saturday, March 28 | Displacements
Ukrop Auditorium, Robins School of Business
2 p.m. Film Screening: The Kingdom (Julien Colonna, 2024)
4 p.m. Film Screening: The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966)
6 p.m. Roundtable: The Battle of Algiers 60 Years Later
7 p.m. Film Screening: Napoli–New York (Gabriele Salvatores, 2024)
Sunday, March 29 | Aftermaths
Ukrop Auditorium, Robins School of Business
1 p.m. Film Screening: Fuori (Mario Martone, 2025)
3 p.m. Film Screening: Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania, 2023)
5 p.m. Roundtable: Contemporary French & Italian Cinema
6 p.m. Film Screening: La Grazia (Paolo Sorrentino, 2025)
Monday, March 30 | Closing Film at The Byrd Theatre
7 p.m. Film Screening: Sirât (Oliver Laxe, 2025)
9 p.m. Closing Reception at the Byrd Theatre
Reserve a spot/Eventbrite: Click here to reserve a free seat at Byrd for closing night screening and reception.
