19th Annual African Film Weekend 2026
September 11-12, 2026 - Ukrop Auditorium
Guest Presenter: Matene Toure
Black diasporic and continental African films that examine and survey ecological issues tied to colonialism, racism, and extractive capitalism
Hosted by the Department of Languages, Literatures, & Cultures, with support of the College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office and the Cultural Affairs Committee.
Please contact Prof. Kasongo Kapanga or Jaime Rung if you have any questions.
Spielabend & Frühlingsfest
February 4 & April 16, 2026- 5:30-7 p.m. in Jepson 127
Gather for an evening of German dinner, games, prizes, and Delta Phi Alpha honor society induction hosted by German Studies.
German welcome, but not required!
Please contact Prof. Caroline Weist, caroline.weist@richmond.edu, if you have any questions.
Hard Light Cinema at UR
Hard Light Cinema is a Richmond-based collective of cinephiles bringing arthouse and non-mainstream films to central Virginia’s young professionals. The collaboration with the Film Studies Program and Italian Studies at the University of Richmond aims to connect UR students with Richmond city film fans and provide additional Italian films playing on campus around the inaugural Italian & French Film Festival held on March 27–30, 2026. Hard Light as a microcinema focuses on repertory films and new international or indie films typically unavailable in standard movie theaters. From Spaghetti Westerns to Neorealist road films, this semester will have a wide variety of Italian classics that deserve to be seen on the big screen.
All screenings will be held in Jepson Hall, Room 118.
Films start at 7 p.m., followed by a Q&A discussion.
Italian & French Film Festival at Richmond
March 27–30, 2026
Join us for four days of Italian and French cinema on campus and in the city!
Building on the success of our 2025 Italian Film Festival, we are inaugurating the very first Italian & French Film Festival, organized by Anthony Russell and Sonja Bertucci (University of Richmond) in collaboration with Luca Peretti (University of Cambridge). For this groundbreaking edition, we will showcase nine thought-provoking contemporary films from Italy and France, as well as a landmark classic.
The festival is designed to bring together UR students, faculty, and staff, as well as the wider Richmond community. It will include a screening of Gillo Pontecorvo’s classic The Battle of Algiers (1966) in celebration of the film’s 60th anniversary, followed by a roundtable, a second roundtable on the current state of Italian and French cinema, as well as a screening concluding the festival at the Byrd Theatre — followed by a reception in the sumptuously renovated mezzanine of the iconic theater.
Guest scholars and filmmakers will introduce screenings, lead roundtable discussions, and engage audiences in conversation. Across four days, the festival will bring together French and Italian cuisine, intellectual exchange, and the magic of cinema, making each screening a celebration of culture and community.
The 2026 festival will feature:
- Screenings of nine films from Italy and France on the University of Richmond campus and at the historic Byrd Theatre.
- Two roundtables with filmmakers and guest scholars.
- An opening and a closing reception celebrating French and Italian cuisine.
- A special 60th-anniversary screening of Gillo Pontecorvo’s masterpiece The Battle of Algiers (1966).
- Reserve a spot at a closing night screening and reception at the Byrd Theatre on Monday, March 30.
All events are free and open to the public.