Terry McAuliffe to give opening speech at Pocahontas Reframed Native American film festival

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe will deliver the opening night address at the Pocahontas Reframed Native American Storytellers Film Festival Friday evening.

The festival, part of the legacy project of Virginia’s American Evolution 2019 Commemoration, includes films by American Indian filmmakers as well as narratives and documentaries about their contributions to early and ongoing American culture.

“This film festival is the first of its kind in Virginia and is bound to become the premier American Indian film festival on the East Coast,” Mr. McAuliffe said in a statement provided to The Washington Times.

Mr. McAuliffe, who will leave office in 2018, was quick to point to the state’s burgeoning film industry, which Richmond aims to increase with a tax credit to lure Hollywood productions. According to the Richmond Post Dispatch, the Old Dominion’s spending on tax incentives for film productions doubled under Mr. McAuliffe to $14.3 million during fiscal 2015-16 alone.

“Loving,” the Oscar-nominated film based on a real-life interracial Virginia couple who challenge to miscegenation laws went all the way to the Supreme Court, was filmed near where the couple lived.

“Today, Virginia is a leading destination for film production, which contributes to our new Virginia economy through tourism and tax revenue,” Mr. McAuliffe said. “I’m proud to support film festivals like this one that celebrate our Virginia Indian population, who are an integral part of Virginia’s rich cultural tapestry.”

A film about the festival’s namesake, called “Pocahontas: Beyond the Myth,” produced by the Smithsonian Channel, will screen Saturday.

“I hope all Virginians will take this opportunity to learn more about Virginia’s indigenous population and history,” Mr. McAuliffe said.

The festival is being sponsored by “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” director Francis Ford Coppola in conjunction with Virginia’s American Evolution 2019 Commemoration.