The Bicycle Film Festival is coming to Richmond September 6 through 8. The Bicycle Film Festival includes parties and rides, in addition to film showings from around the world, all at different venues in Richmond. The Bicycle Film Festival is a platform created by Brendt Barbur in NYC (after being hit by a bus while riding his bicycle in 2001) that has been a catalyst for the urban cycling movement, sharing bicycle culture with more than 45 cities around the world. The festival merges many creative communities including fashion, music, art, design, as well as all different groups of cyclists.

“Richmond has world-class trails, world-class urban rapids, and soon we’ll have world-class events like the UCI World Road Racing Championships,” explained Matt Siegel, organizer of the Richmond Bicycle Film Festival. “It’s only fitting that we also bring a world-class film festival to RVA.”

Over the last thirteen years, the Bicycle Film Festival has been covered by the NY Times on seven different occasions.  It has screened bicycle stories from all around the world in cities like Buenos Aires, Capetown, Helsinki, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Milano, Rio De Janeiro, Stockholm, Sydney, and Tokyo.  This year, the Bicycle Film festival adds Richmond to that list, with 3 amazing programs and more than 28 films from 13 countries.

The 2013 Richmond Bicycle Film Festival will include a free opening party at Bunnyhop Bike Shop (349 South Laurel Street) on Friday, September 6, and a bicycle tour of various artisan pizzerias in the Richmond area, beginning at Carytown Bicycle Company at 5 p.m. On Sunday, September 8, spectators can enjoy documentary, narrative, experimental, and urban short bike films at the Byrd Theater, such as…

THREE-LEGGED HORSES (Dir. Felipe Bustos Sierra, 20 min.) Based on a true story, an Edinburgh rickshaw driver determined to make enough money before his knees are permanently damaged, takes on one last grueling job, a journey to the highest point in town, the Edinburgh Castle.

BOY (Dir. Justin Chadwick, 10min.) A man coping with the loss of his son, works a branch into a perfect block of wood and installs it into a velodrome, thus making the journey his son never could.  Boy stars respected British actor Timothy Spall, whose works include Secrets and Lies and Harry Potter.

PHILLIPA  AND NANCY (Dir. Paul Whyte, Ciarra Barry, Claire McInnes, & Nora Smyth, 8min.) Where does one find love in the modern world? In night clubs? On the internet? Best friends Philippa and Nancy have tried all that without success.  Now they turn to their bicycles to try a new method.

END OF AN ERA (Dir. Jordan Utley, 10 min.) A portrait of BMX icon Matt Beringer and his legendary house, which for roughly 16 years has been known as the ideal destination for BMX riders from all over the world.  The film delves into the creation, history and destruction of the house, as Matt moves on to the next chapter of his life.