With deep VCUarts ties, ‘Saturnalia’ to screen April 9 at the ICA

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Vivian Owen remembers talking to her cinema students in 2024 about the work she was doing on the horror film "Saturnalia" - and then rushing to the set.

Now, she hopes some of those Virginia Commonwealth University students will be in the audience when "Saturnalia" premieres locally April 9 during the New Richmond Filmmakers series at the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU.

"Four of us on the film were teaching at VCU at the time of filming," said Owen, adjunct professor of cinema in the School of the Arts and one of the producers of the film. "Because I was involved with VCU when we started our project, I looked to the Cinema Department to begin filling any holes and gaps in the crew list."

"Saturnalia" serves as a testament to VCU's cinematic talent, as 10 of the department's adjunct professors - and 10 VCUarts alums - have roles behind and in front of the camera.

The horror film is set in 1979 at the prestigious Alstroemerias Academy, a preparatory school for America's elite orphaned children where Miriam Basconi has been sent. Knowing that something isn't right at the academy, she sets out to discover what is happening to her fellow students behind closed doors - and finds more than she bargained for.

The film falls under the horror genre but goes beyond typical graphic body horror and jump-scare techniques.

"'Saturnalia' is a high-concept homage to the cerebral world of Italian Giallo films and Italian supernatural horror of the 1970s," said Danny Lerch, the film's writer and director.

Lerch, Owen and the film's producer and director of photography, Max Fischer, are all fans of the horror genre.

"Horror films are more popular now than they were 25 years ago," Fischer said. "Our film has more mental games and emotional horror to it."

Fans of the genre "are passionate about the films," added Owen, who started her company, Third Eye Films, in 2025 to produce indie horror films.

"Horror is one genre where women appear in the film more than their male counterparts. They are the ones coming up with the plan. I love that. I am focused on supporting women in front of and behind the camera," Owen said. "Also, horror films are one genre where you can make a film and be profitable."

The idea for "Saturnalia" took hold in 2023 during the writers and actors strikes. Lerch and Fischer, who were unemployed like others in the industry, decided to collaborate on a film.

Fischer's rental business, Gearhead Camera, served as the production company for "Saturnalia." The main filming location was Dover Hall in Manakin-Sabot, which was built as a private residence but now serves as a wedding venue. Nine other locations were used to stand in for Dover Hall when shooting couldn't occur there.

Lerch wrote the script around the characters and the location, which was an ideal fit for the film.

"For me, I would approach any script from the character point and write about those people. By focusing on the character first, it gives a breath of life to the script," he said.

"Saturnalia" had its world premiere at the Raindance film festival in London last year and its U.S. premiere at the Dances with Films festival in New York early this year. Terror Films will release "Saturnalia" across digital platforms in North America beginning April 24.

Having its Richmond screening at the ICA serves as a thank-you to VCU and the Richmond community, Owen said.

"We wanted to have it there because so many faculty members were involved," she said. "We wanted to share it with the community that helped us build it. We are honored to be in this series and to bring it back to VCU."

VCU Cinema adjunct faculty and VCUarts alums who worked on "Saturnalia"