Documentary by Richmond art gallery earns top honors in national film festival.
A documentary about Richmond’s thriving art scene was the winner in the Best Special Interest Film category at the 2020 Art is Alive Film Festival. The Builder is a story about friendship and the powerful way the interconnectivity of people living and moving throughout a city can help to build culture, with a focus on Oregon Hill native and contractor Don Childress, curator of an incredible contemporary art collection, including work from Francesco Clemente, Ron Johnson, Heidi Trepaneir, and Bill Fisher.
The film was produced by Shockoe Artspace, a community supported, artist-run, large-scale, nonprofit gallery founded in 2011 in Richmond. “It really is an honor to win this award in a field of such fantastic films as the ones we saw at the festival,” says Ryan Lauterio, the director of Shockoe Artspace and one of the co-directors of the film, alongside Nicholas Seitz. “We thought we had a great story to tell, and this award is an affirmation of all of the people, relationships, and hard work that made this possible.”
The Builder focuses on Childress’ passion for collecting born out of working with Tom Papa, a Richmond developer and committed patron and art collector himself. Also featured is an impressive list of Richmond luminaries who have had a local and international influence on art and art making. The cast includes the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Bill and Pam Royall, Sally Bowering, and more.
The documentary competed in a varied field of numerous films that was reduced to approximately 40 nominees before taking top honors. The documentary was also nominated in the Best Feature and Best Director categories. The Art is Alive Film Festival is held annually in Milwaukee and showcases some of the world’s best independent filmmakers. “I couldn’t be more proud that The Builder won,” says Cindy Mich, the founder of the Art is Alive Film Festival. “It holds a special place in my heart.” Visit the gallery: ShockoeArtspace.com. Watch the film: Vimeo.com.
This article originally appeared in the February 2021 issue.
