The Byrd Theatre lands a national film festival spotlighting autistic filmmakers

A five-day film festival dedicated entirely to the work and stories of the autistic community is coming to Carytown next week, and it’s the first time the event has touched down in Virginia.

The Marvels of Media Festival, now in its fifth year, runs April 1 through 5 at the Byrd Theatre. Organized in partnership with the Museum of the Moving Image in New York, the festival brings a curated lineup of features, shorts, and animation programs that span genres from horror to comedy to cyberpunk. The connecting thread is that every film is created by, for, or about autistic people.

Richmond is one of eight cities nationwide selected for this year’s festival expansion, which was previously held at MoMI. The Byrd Theatre Foundation is serving as a premier national partner for the rollout.

A lineup built to challenge assumptions

The festival’s narrative centerpiece is Flying Lessons, a drama directed by Sarah Waldron about an autistic teenager named Beatrice who dreams of learning to fly while adjusting to life with her estranged sister. It screens on Thursday, April 2, at 7 p.m.

But the programming stretches well beyond a single feature. Wednesday’s opening night, “Across the Spectrum,” kicks things off with a broader survey, while Friday’s double feature pairs two unconventional works: the cyberpunk-flavored Autistic Mode: Dreamcatchers and the avant-garde relationship study Preface to a History.

Saturday night’s “Laugh, Cry, Scream” short series makes a deliberate point about range. It includes Don’t Look Out, a horror short from Tal Anderson of Atypical, the sensory-rich roller rink film Watch Your Tone by Dylan Carbonell, and Too Many Options, a comedic animation by Jacob Lenard.

Sunday afternoon belongs to DaniMation Entertainment, the studio founded by Dani Bowman, known from Love on the Spectrum, which provides professional training and production opportunities for autistic animators. A showcase of DaniMation’s award-winning shorts runs at 2 p.m., with Bowman in attendance.

Family-friendly programming and a closing night feature

Families get a dedicated slot on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. with an all-ages animation program featuring whimsical shorts, including the premiere of Tim S. Turtle by Harry Schad. The festival wraps Sunday evening at 7 p.m. with the closing night screening of Lone Wolves.

All screenings take place at the Byrd Theatre, 2908 W. Cary St. Tickets and full schedule details are available at byrdtheatre.org.