WILLIAMSBURG — The Kimball Theater will host this year’s Virginia Black Film Festival Feb. 19 through 22, centering on the theme “Black Excellence: Past, Present and Future.”
Founded in 2024, the festival first took place at Hampton University before expanding in 2025 to the American Theatre in Hampton, with additional screenings held on campus. Since then, the festival has seen rapid growth.
“Between 2024 and now, we’ve probably quadrupled our size,” festival founder and CEO Bryan Thompson said.
Over the years, the Virginia Black Film Festival has served as a space for independent filmmakers and film enthusiasts to experience new content while engaging directly with artists and actors. Past guests have included Clifton Powell, Tim Reid, BK Fulton, Jesse Vaughn, and Kimba Smith. This year, Daphne Maxwell-Reed will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.
“This is a way to highlight the culture to a community that I believe often doesn’t realize how rich its culture is,” he said. “When I say community, I mean the entire state.”
While many of the films are produced outside Virginia, including submissions from across the country and internationally, Thompson said the festival’s mission is to celebrate Black creators during Black History Month while recognizing Virginia’s role in American history.
“It really feels like the perfect storm,” he said. “Our whole focus is not only positive representation of Black culture through film but also reuniting the community around the culture.”
According to Thompson, the City of Williamsburg reached out after the festival’s second year in Hampton to discuss bringing the event to the city as part of its VA250 commemoration.
“They said, ‘We recognize the importance and the significance of Black contributions to the founding of our nation and we want to demonstrate that on the world stage,’” Thompson said.
After touring multiple venues, Thompson selected the Kimball Theatre for its atmosphere and capacity.
“The thing [about] the Kimball Theatre that attracted me to it was the elegance,” he said.
Thompson said he wants audiences to view the festival as a high-level cultural event. The festival will also feature a special category highlighting Hampton Roads productions, with screenings taking place on Sunday.
“This category was designed to bring in productions that met a minimum standard,” Thompson said, adding that the goal is to encourage local filmmakers and help grow the regional film industry.
Several local and regional films will be showcased, including “The Remarkable Story of James Apostle Fields,” “History Half Told Is Untold,” “The Blood of Saltville” and “Rise of the Legion.” Thompson will also screen the director’s cut of his film “Blowback.”
“What we’d love to do is bring the film industry to this area,” he said. “There is a lot of great talent here.”
In addition to screenings, the festival will include panels, masterclasses and talks on topics such as filming in Virginia, film distribution, screen combat, entertainment law and acting for film. An awards gala with live music and entertainment will conclude the event.
Thompson said he hopes attendees leave feeling transformed.
“I want them to feel like they got way more than what they bargained for,” he said. “I want them to feel like they went on a journey.”
