Location

1993

17 features & 13 shorts (2015)[1]

March (annually)

French

Festival[edit]

The festival is host to a variety of French films, both short and feature-length.[7][8] to promote French language, cinema, and culture in the U.S. and in American educational institutions. French directors and starring actors engage the audience in question and answer sessions following the screening of their films.


The Festival is sponsored by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Unifrance, l'ARP (French acronym for "Guild of French Directors and Producers"), and the SACD (a French acronym for "Guild of Authors, Composers and Directors"). The Community Idea Stations (PBS), as well as the TV channel TV5Monde also are partners of the festival.


The Byrd Theatre, rated by USA Today in 2011 as one of the best film palaces remaining in North America,[9] is the annual venue for the Festival. Each year, the French Film Festival brings to the Byrd Theatre the very same technicians and projectionists responsible for the screenings at the International Cannes Film Festival, ensuring the highest quality of both sounds and images [10]

Feature and Short Selections

Byrd Theatre

Master Classes – Each year, the festival organizes several master-classes with distinguished guests from its French delegation, each centered around one central theme as well as the guests's career. All master classes are free and open to the public and either take place at the or at the Byrd Theatre.

University of Richmond

Each year, the festival showcases a selection of features, shorts and masterclasses in various sections:

Delegation[edit]

A large delegation of French directors, actors and producers of feature and short films come to the Festival each year to present their films and also interact with the audience through question-and-answer sessions after each showing.

Official Festival homepage

Coverage of the 2007 Festival