Richmond resident David Smith knows what it is like to survive incarceration. After his release from Norfolk City Jail in 2016, he had an eye-opening experience in the Swansboro neighborhood, where he was starting a new life.
“Growing up as a white male, I knew very little about incarceration,” he recalls. “And I saw people in the African American community having ‘coming home’ parties for folks getting out of prison, and this blew my mind. There’s no guarantee you will get out alive – that’s why I call folks incarceration survivors. They beat the system that was created to hold them down. That was a point of celebration.”
Smith explains that after release he first started looking for a way to get involved in criminal justice, starting with solitary confinement because he had spent time in solitary in the Norfolk jail. Still, life was a struggle until he started meeting other survivors such as himself. “You come into this space and say, ‘This person is living a very similar life,'” he says. “They found a way to move forward. That means I can find a way to move forward, too.”
Those shared experiences with other survivors inspired him to establish and launch the inaugural InThrive Film Festival in October 2023, organized in partnership with Richmond’s First Baptist Church and several fundraising initiatives. Conceived to celebrate individuals who have survived incarceration, the event was highly successful and is scheduled to return to Richmond this Oct. 3–6 with programming at multiple locations including Virginia Commonwealth University, First Baptist Church, the Richmond Public Library and Studio Two Three, among others.
The objective of the InThrive (“incarcerated but thriving”) Festival is to shift public perceptions related to incarceration, with a particular focus on individuals who have experienced and survived the challenges associated with it.
“The festival is all about celebrating the voices and talents of survivors so that we can change the narrative on what it means to survive incarceration and remove barriers to successful re-entry,” Smith explains. “I realize we cannot just change the big political narrative, but we can change the narrative that incarceration survivors tell themselves. And that’s just as important.”
“I had no idea what I was doing,” he recollects of starting a film festival. “I started reaching out, just making cold calls, getting one introduction that would lead to another introduction to another. I talked with festival directors from around the country, with incarceration survivors creating film, and just getting all these different ideas of what works and what doesn’t.”
In its two-year history, the festival has already expanded beyond Richmond to other cities both within the commonwealth and across the United States, such as Boston, Columbus, Ohio and South Bend, Indiana. Smith was proud that he also was able to present a recent afternoon show at Brunswick Correctional Facility in Lawrenceville, his first in-prison festival. “We had about three hours’ worth of programming,” he recalls. “A couple of survivors that we’ve worked with in the past came in and did a panel discussion about thriving after incarceration.”
He is looking forward to more presentations such as this, with the cooperation of the Department of Corrections. “We’re talking to at least one sheriff and the superintendent of another D.O.C. facility in Virginia.”
“The whole point of this festival is to humanize the incarceration experience,” Smith continues. “To help people see that these folks that are behind bars … are real people with a story to share that’s worth listening to.”
Additional expansion initiatives are currently underway. Smith is set to introduce the InThrive Film Festival kit next year, enabling local organizations nationwide to acquire the rights to screen these films within their respective communities. “Included will be best practices, marketing material and support from us here in Richmond so that they can put on an event that’s right size for their community at a level of expenditure that fits their budget,” he adds.
One of the festival’s regular participants, Louis D’Angelo, who goes by D’Lo, says that the InThrive family is special to him because it’s not just a festival, it’s a communal experience that never gets old.
“Every time, I’m reminded why I have to keep going and telling stories that matter to me. Just like the filmmakers who inspired me on my journey, I feel a responsibility to pay that forward by inspiring the next generation.”
InThrive Film Festival 2025 will showcase over 20 short films from Oct.3-6 at various venues, as well as spoken word performances, panel discussions featuring currently incarcerated authors, music videos, and hopefully live musical acts. Admission is free, but registration is requested. The full schedule and locations can be found at the website, https://inthrivefilmfestival.org/richmond.
