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Richmond District

The Richmond District offers opportunities for all of Central Virginia. Our location in the state capital helps facilitate the Alliance’s advocacy efforts.

Richmond and its surroundings have hosted several major film and television productions, such as: Spielberg’s Lincoln, Homeland: Season 7, Jeff Nichols’ Loving, the AMC series TURN: Washington’s Spies, the PBS series Mercy Street, and the HBO mini-series John Adams just to name a few. Because of its history in film, television, commercial, and documentary production, Richmond has developed an experienced crew base along with a community of talented independent filmmakers and film festivals.

Richmond and Petersburg are historic cities, that offer exceptional locations for filming. Located nearby is a historic backlot featuring a farm set, period ships, a wharf area and acres of undeveloped land. Richmond is known for its eclectic architecture, nearby rural areas, and burgeoning culinary scene, among the best in the nation.

Upcoming events

    • 28 Jul 2026
    • 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
    • Visual Arts Center - 1812 W Main Street Richmond, VA
    Register


    FILM & BROADWAY PRODUCER BK FULTON INTERVIEWED BY MAD SKILLZ – THEY TAKE YOUR QUESTIONS ON PRODUCING and the BUSINESS OF FILM

    We will see you Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at 6 PM, at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, located at 1812 W Main Street in Richmond, for an evening with Award -winning Producer BK Fulton and Grammy-award winning musician and filmmaker Mad Skillz. BK is founder of Soulidifly Productions and is a producer of PBS’s recent documentary film: W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With A Cause, featuring Viola Davis, Common, Jeffery Wright, and Courtney B. Vance. Learn more from BK about producing and the changing film industry. See BK’s and Mad Skillz’s bios below!

    BK FULTON’S BIO

    BK’s productions have been nominated for 14 Tonys, winning four, including best musical, for the The Outsiders, in 2024. In addition to WEB DuBois: Rebel With A Cause he is slated to release Lions of the Sea, an epic adventure film produced alongside Oscar winners Adam Leipzig, Meredith Blake, and Jim Sheridan. The film is a successor to the March of the Penguins film. Other films produced by BK include River Runs Red with Taye Diggs, 1 Angry Black Man, Love Dot Com: The Social Experiment with LisaRaye, Kym Whitley, and Raheem DeVaughn, and A Day to Die with Bruce Willis and Leon Robinson. His films have won several awards including multiple IndiFEST Awards and an AMAA Award.

    Before becoming a film producer, BK led multibillion dollar operations as President for Verizon Virginia & West Virginia, held positions in the U.S Dept. of Commerce, AOL Time Warner, and the National Urban League. BK has been recognized as one of the “50 Most Influential African Americans in Technology”. He is a Sloan Fellow and a recipient of the Computerworld Smithsonian Awards International Technology Laureates Medal.

    He earned his Law Degree from the New York Law School, his Masters from The New School, his BS Degree from Virginia Tech with certifications from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. BK sits on the boards, TowneBank, the Central Region Airport Commission, VA250/Virginia Commemorations Inc., and the Library of Virginia. He Chairs the Board of the Lewis Latimer House and the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation. He previously served as the founding Director of Technology Programs & Policy for the National Urban League. His honors also include: the Oscar Micheaux Award for Excellence in Filmmaking, the Renaissance Award in Media, and a National Book Award in nonfiction. 

    Learn more about BK here: www.bkfulton.com

    MAD SKILLZ’s BIO

    Mad Skillz is a Grammy award-winning rapper, songwriter, producer, documentarian, television creator, and educator whose influence on hip hop spans more than three decades. Since releasing his acclaimed debut album From Where??? in 1996, he has recorded 7 studio albums and built a distinguished career as one of the music industry's most respected lyricist and ghostwriters collaborating with and writing for artists including Timbaland, Missy Elliott, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Will Smith, and Jay-Z. Mad Skills is known for his annual hip hop Rap Up series and a 20-plus year holiday tradition that became a national cultural phenomenon and as the creator of the television series Hip Hop Confessions featuring candid conversations with hip hop legends including Q-Tip, Salt-n-Pepa, MC Lyte, Naughty by Nature, and Joe Budden. He is the creator of the award-winning documentary Mad Skillz and the 90’s Girl Brunch which chronicles the online community he built during the COVID-19 pandemic to connect music lovers through nostalgia and shared experiences. As Artist-in-Residence at the University of Richmond, Mad Skillz taught The Voice of Hip Hop in America exploring the history, culture, and impact of hip hop. He earned back-to-back Grammy nominations for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album in 2025 and 2026 before winning the 2026 Grammy Award for Words for Days Vol. 1, further cementing his legacy as one of hip hop's most innovative and enduring voices 

    Learn more about Mad Skillz here: www.gotmadskills.com

DISTRICT CHAIR

STEVE TAYLOR

After two terms as vice-chair of VPA Richmond District, Steve was elected chair last year. Since joining the VPA as a film fan, he has eagerly leapt into local filmmaking and has been involved in projects including commercials, shorts that screened at the Brooklyn, Richmond International, and Cannes film festivals. Steve has expanded his work in the film as a member of the board of directors of the Byrd Theatre Foundation, helping develop the iconic theater's "center for film." 

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