Hollywood is coming to Roanoke. The past, present and future will come together for a star studded Film Festival at the historic Grandin Theatre. The four-day event will honor Roanoke’s rich film history including a special screening of Oscar Micheaux’s Body and Soul. Micheaux is considered one of the country’s first African American filmmakers.
He made several silent films in Roanoke in the 1920s. The Grandin will also turn a spotlight on the present with a special screening of Virginia Voices, a documentary about Virginia’s history and Big Moccasin, which tells the story of four residents living along the trail in Virginia of the same name. The opening day of the festival will be all about the future, as the Theatre will be inviting local teens from several area schools to learn about basic film composition with the hope of inspiring future filmmakers.
In addition, the Grandin Theatre Foundation will be hosting the Roanoke Regional Commission’s Ride Share 5th Annual Bike Shorts Film Competition as part of the festival. This juried event on Friday night, May 1 is a celebration of amateur filmmaker’s submissions from around the world using bicycles as the theme. Previous submissions have come from as far away as Cuba and China.
“The staff and board of the Theatre are incredibly excited about the opportunity to revisit some classic films from as far back as 1925, and to have some national filmmakers come and answer questions about films made as recently as last year. We have a very wide array of offerings we are programming for the weekend,” said Grandin Theatre Foundation Executive Director Ian Fortier. “We are looking forward giving the community multiple opportunities to engage the Theatre during the festival run.”
Advanced tickets and weekend passes for the festival are on sale now online and can be purchased at www.grandintheatre.com/calendar/film-festival. Tickets will also be available at the Box Office of the Theatre during regular hours beginning on April 3rd.
