From George Kuchar's "Hold Me While I'm Naked."

James River Shorts kicks off Thursday, November 10 at 8:00 p.m. at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond with an eclectic screening that includes:

- 5 very short shorts by VCUarts Kinetic Imaging associate professor and filmmaker, Bob Kaputof. Films include: Birds of Hong Kong, Bob In Front of the Camera, I Visited Italy Once, I’ll Change Someday and A Sea Turtle is Like What.

- A tribute to the life and career of George Kuchar (1942-2011) with a 16mm screening of his 1966 classic, Hold Me While I’m Naked. Ken Kelman had this to say about the film: “A very direct and subtle, very sad and funny look at nothing more or less than sexual frustration and aloneness. In its economy and cogency of imaging, HOLD ME surpasses any of Kuchar’s previous work. The odd blend of Hollywood glamour and drama with all-too-real life creates and inspires counterpoint of unattainable desire against unbearable actuality.”

- A screening of five James River Shorts “films on the bubble” — films that weren’t selected as James River Shorts finalists (which will screen Friday, November 11 at the VMFA) but the jury asked that we program. Films included are:

Boots, 7 min., Joseph Caldwell (VA)
Descending Figures, 3 min., Christopher Harris (FL)
Bluegrass Skyline, 30 min., Fred Styles & Katherine Barnier (VA)
Convention, 5 min., Mark Strandquist (VA)
Time Crunch, 5 min., H. Paul Moon (VA)

Tickets may be purchased in advance via Eventbrite (bottom of this page) or at the door 30 minutes prior to the show.