Elephant Run District’s latest film, The Save, has been selected to screen at the Richmond International Film Festival (RIFF). The dark romantic comedy will officially screen on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at 4:45 p.m. at Movieland 2 (Movieland at Boulevard Square, 1301 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd, Richmond, VA), as part of the festival’s 15th annual lineup running from September 22 through September 27.
tickets and more screening information
This screening marks New York City-based Chris Harcum’s return to Richmond’s performing arts scene where he was once named “Best Actor” by Style Weekly for his solo show Some Kind of Pink Breakfast. Harcum brings his signature sharp wit and surprising narrative sensibility back to Virginia with this film, which was inspired by a bizarre, real-life plot involving a man who hired incompetent operatives to abduct his own estranged wife.
The Save takes that seed of domestic desperation and transforms it into a dark romantic comedy: Jason makes a misguided decision to repair his rocky marriage to Donna by hiring two fixers, Tony and Len, who use extreme measures. The fixers bring their own odd-couple work marriage dynamic, which mirrors the partnership friction that Jason and Donna are trying to survive.
“With The Save, we wanted to explore how divisions can imperceptibly creep into close relationships and how achingly difficult it can be to repair them,” says writer and director Chris Harcum. “I hope audiences walk away laughing at the sheer absurdity of the situation, while recognizing some of the complicated and flawed aspects of their own relationships in the words and actions of these characters. Bringing this film to Richmond—a city that shaped so much of my early work as an actor and creative artist—makes this festival screening incredibly meaningful to me.”
Built on a foundation of trust and collaborative indie spirit, the film showcases powerful performances from a cast deeply rooted in New York’s theatre and film scene, including:
- Francis Mateo (The Holdouts, El Alto) as Jason
- Shauna Blaize (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, New York Homicide) as Donna
- Joel Nagle (Hello Tomorrow!, Do the Right Thing) as Tony
- David Carl (The Tender Bar, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Len
- Nihara Nichelle (Hot Angry Mom, Law & Order: Organized Crime) as the Therapist
The project was executive produced by Harcum’s longtime artistic and life partner, Aimee Todoroff, who is the Artistic Director of Elephant Run District and a member of the Actors Studio Playwright/Directors Unit. This means a work marriage within life marriage made a film about a life marriage indelibly changed by a work marriage.
Electronic press kit and photos
tickets and more screening information
Elephant Run District 
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