A film lover would be hard pressed not to find something unexpected, compelling or downright intriguing to check out at the Richmond International Film Festival.

The environmental documentary “The Cigarette Surfboard” addresses ocean stewardship while holding Big Tobacco accountable for their toxic, plastic waste. A story of young female empowerment, “If That Mockingbird Don’t Sing” was written as Roe v. Wade was being overturned and is directed by Sadie Bones, a 19-year-old screenwriter, director and actor. “Join the Club” follows activist Dennis Peron as he launches the first public cannabis dispensary in the country after losing his lover to AIDS.

English director Michael Grooms’ “Between the Lights” tells the spiritual story of what happens when a skeptical scientist falls for a reluctant medium. “Charlie Tango” by Canadian director Simon Boisvert follows a suspended air traffic controller looking for a fresh start in life with a secret lover. Sci-fi lovers can sink their teeth into director Eric Esau’s “Saturn,” a tale of choosing between a man’s familiar life and an ancient call to save the world.

In other words, something for everyone is being screened at RIFF.

For this year’s festival, which runs Sept. 24 through 29, the theme is Rooted RVA, a nod to how RIFF is rooted in a variety of cultures and backgrounds in all artistic disciplines as well as the importance of extending a hand to share and exchange ideas. In addition to more than 170 film premieres from directors representing 25 countries, over two dozen music performances and signature events are scheduled throughout festival week.

The festival offers premieres across several categories of both feature and short films with special guests taking questions after screenings. The audience is invited to engage in a Q&A with the filmmakers and starring cast directly following the premieres.

RIFF’s founder and producer, Heather Waters, makes a case for film shorts, which she considers fun and engaging for young people who tend to be drawn to shorter length formats. But she also points out that shorts appeal to any age who just love a great story.

“In a short, there’s less time to develop the premise and execute the story, so there’s definitely an art to it,” she says. “It pushes the filmmaker to get the most utility out of each word on the page and get every beat they can out of the film.”

Another factor is how some shorts double as proof-of-concepts for feature films. “For the audience, that can be really fun,” she adds. “The audience gets to be a larger part of the filmmaking experience and observe firsthand how the filmmaker transformed it into a feature length film.”

Like just about everything else in life, the pandemic changed the tone of filmmaking. Waters says that the first two years after the pandemic, a lot of films touched on the subject and there were many actors wearing masks in the production itself. One of the more interesting things Waters noticed is that the pandemic seemed to have been a bit of a springboard for independent film.

“I think many people who were sheltered in place pulled out their cameras, invited close friends or family over, and got creative together to pass the time,” she says of films that often had one or very few locations, and focused more on character building than big special effects. “I think it was a good thing for the industry as some went back to the basics of good old-fashioned storytelling and got resourceful. A lot of first-time filmmakers were birthed during that time.”

Because Waters’ background was in film and music, she chose to make music a key component of RIFF. But she’d begun to notice years ago that those two industries didn’t have a lot of public platforms for audiences to take part in, or even industry platforms where the two types of artists could meet.

Bringing in music seemed to her a great way to get these groups in a room together to create, entertain audiences and to forge relationships that might lead to new gigs between the musicians and filmmakers. “Filmmakers are always on the prowl for great composers or that special song they need to complete a scene or the title song of their film,” Waters says. “And for musicians, having their song selected by a filmmaker not only helps further their career, it’s also one of the greatest compliments.”

Attendees can count on expanded live music showcases at the Vagabond, NY Deli Rooftop, The Foundation and In Your Ear Studios, starting on Wednesday and running throughout festival week. Other notable events include the annual special edition of RIFF + Shockoe Sessions Live, plus RIFF’s Flow Collective Conference Series at In Your Ear and the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Looking to the future, Waters hopes that in 20 years the Richmond International Film Festival has become one of the go-to festivals in the U.S. and internationally.

“We want to be known as a dynamic festival for artists to come and refuel their creativity,” she says. “And one that continues to be known for its hospitality, innovation, and as a dynamic place for talented creatives to come and engage with some of the best audiences in the world.”

Richmond International Film Festival runs Sept. 24-29 at various venues.  Advance individual tickets and VIP All Access festival badges at: https://riff.eventive.org. Full schedule of the films and music events: www.rvafilmfestival.com