The 17th annual James River Film Festival, sponsored by the Richmond Moving Image Co-op, begins on Fri., Mar. 19. It runs through Thur., Mar. 25, with many films being screened at various locations.

A highlight of this year’s program will be the first local screening of “An Unlikely Weapon: The Eddie Adams Story” (2009). It was directed by Susan Morgan Cooper. (85 minutes). Producer and ex-Richmonder/VCU student Cindy Lou Adkins will be on hand to discuss the film after it shows.

An Unlikely Weapon is an insightful profile of late Pulitzer-winning photojournalist Eddie Adams, whose fame rested largely on a single photograph he took in the streets of 1968 Saigon. One of the most-recognized photographs of the 20th century – a Vietcong prisoner being executed by Saigon police – changed history and the life of the man who took it. His brilliant career spanned thirteen wars and the biggest names in entertainment and politics, but somehow that never seemed enough for the iconoclastic Adams. Narration by Kiefer Sutherland; interviews with Tom Brokaw, Gordon Parks and Peter Jennings.

When: Sat., Mar. 20, at 2 p.m.
Where: – Plant Zero Art Center
Admission: $5.00

Click here to see the JRFF schedule at the RMIC’s web site.