Riverviews Artspace was chosen by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation as a host site for On Screen/In Person, a program designed to bring the best in new independent American films and their respective filmmakers to communities across the mid-Atlantic region.
Whether referred to as movies, flicks, film or cinema, motion pictures have long captivated the imagination of the American public. While not solely rooted in its soil, film has become as associated with the United States as its indigenous art forms of jazz and modern dance, and continues to attract some of the country’s most creative artists and produce some of its most compelling works of art. Independent filmmakers in the United States have made an immeasurable contribution to the development of this dynamic art form through their idiosyncratic investigation of subject matter and aesthetic experimentation. The On Screen/In Person program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation at Riverviews will bring the vision of some of the country’s best independent filmmakers to Lynchburg.
On Screen/In Person will bring new independent American films including animation, documentaries, experimental and narrative work accompanied by their creators to Riverviews. Visiting filmmakers will work with Riverviews to develop their participation in community activities that provide context and greater appreciation for their respective work and the art of film. Riverviews will announce a call for local organizational partners early this summer.
Riverviews was one of two organizations in Virginia chosen through a competitive application process and will be one of 15 organizations in Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia and West Virginia participating in the program. Riverviews will participate in film selection and receive six films a year for screening over two three-month intervals (September-October-November; February-March-April).
The purpose of On Screen/In Person is to provide exhibition opportunities for independent filmmakers; provide access to film programming of excellence to audiences across the mid-Atlantic region; and to provide communities with opportunities that engender greater understanding of the filmmakers work and enhance the viewing experience. On Screen/In Person is intended to reach a diverse constituency across a broad geographic distribution within the mid-Atlantic region.
About Film Programs at Riverviews Artspace
Film programs further Riverviews mission to provide and sustain creative opportunities for artists, arts-related businesses and the general public. Riverviews launched its first film program in 2005 with the 1st Annual CINEviews film festival with the help of a hard-working volunteer committee chaired by June Britt, Pat Doyle, Joan Jones and Rosel Schewel. Dylan Baker, star of film, stage and television came back to Lynchburg as a guest of honor that first year along with his mother, Marion Baker, a well-loved former resident who made her own screen debut at age 85 in a short film, Belle. Since 2005, CINEviews has grown to an annual event with participation from notable film professionals such as Mike White, Connie Britton, Tuck Tucker, and Paul Fitzgerald and great public support. The CINEviews Film Festival is made possible through a combination of public and private support including the Virginia Film Office, local businesses and restaurants. A grant from the Easley Foundation and an in-kind donation from the Holiday Inn Select helped support the excellent film facilities.
Riverviews has expanded its film repertoire to include monthly films, typically foreign films and documentaries as well as films by local film-makers. Riverviews uses film programs to create partnerships; film partners include: the Alliance Francaise, the Dante Society, Opera on the James, Virginia Legal Aid, Black Theatre Ensemble, and the Humane Society
About Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation fosters and supports arts programming for the benefit of arts organizations, artists and audiences and encourages exchanges that link the arts resources of the mid-Atlantic region to the rest of the nation and the world. The Foundation was created in 1979 and is a private non-profit organization that is closely allied with the region’s state arts councils and the National Endowment for the Arts. It combines funding from state and federal resources with private support from corporations, foundations, and individuals to address needs in the arts from a regional perspective. The region includes nine states and jurisdictions: The District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, the U.S.Virgin Islands, Virginia and West Virginia.
On Screen/In Person is made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program.
