CAPE CHARLES, Va. — National and international artists are gathering in Hampton Roads for a program that could go a long way to placing Virginia on the map for filmmaking.
The Virginia Commission of the Arts' program, Experimental Film Virginia is holding its "Reel & Raw" event at the Historic Palace Theatre in Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore. It happens on Saturday, August 14 at 7 p.m.
This is the ninth year that the festival has been held, despite the uncertainty from the pandemic.
There will be 12 new films presented, each being shot locally this week. Many of the filmmakers, who hail from such different places as Los Angeles, New York, Mexico, and Chicago, will be attending this event.
The stories will "cover topics from loss due to Covid, a love story gone awry, powerful dance music videos and everything in between," according the a news release.
EFV offers aspiring artists such as writers, actors, singers, dancers and other talented individuals the opportunity to participate in a two-week residency program that focuses on creating short films.
They're described as "social media influencers, professional filmmakers from LA and New York's hottest dance artists."
The local casting ended on Aug. 5.
According to information provided by EFV, the event is currently sponsored by a 501c3 organization, Global Exchange Arts Roundtable (GEAR) in collaboration with many local, national and international partners including the Rutter Family Art Foundation, The Chrysler Museum of Art Norfolk, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Work|Release, Israel Embassy Washington DC, Taiwan Ministry of Culture, Hong Kong Arts and Development Council, Virginia Film Office, Arts Enter Cape Charles and many sponsors including McWaters Family Foundation, Priority Auto, Gold Key PHR, Cape Charles Yacht Center, Hotel Cape Charles, Carahsoft Foundation and many others.
You can click here, to purchase a $20 ticket to attend the premiere or visit the Lemon Tree Gallery.
Author's Note: The video above is on file from June 21, 2019.
