Virginia Film Festival

VFF and Violet Crown Cinema Announce Year-Round Film Series

by JennyM on March 9, 2016

VFF and Violet Crown Cinema Announce Year-Round Film Series

Series of One-Time-Only Screenings to Kick Off March 22 with The 17th Annual Animation Show of Shows

 Additional Screenings to Include Holy Hell and In the Shadow of Women

Charlottesville, VA – March 9, 2016 – The Virginia Film Festival announced today a new VFF at Violet Crown Series, a collaboration with Violet Crown Cinema to present a co-curated selection of films year-round, which kicks off on Tuesday, March 22 with The 17th Annual Animation Show of Shows.

The Virginia Film Festival is presented by the University of Virginia and the Office of the Provost and Vice Provost for the Arts.

The March 22 screening of The 17th Annual Animation Show of Shows will be followed in the series by Holy Hell on Tuesday, April 26, and In the Shadow of Women on Tuesday, May 24. Programming is currently underway for additional screenings on June 21 and July 19, which will be shared at virginiafilmfestival.org as films are confirmed. All screenings in the VFF at Violet Crown series will start at 7:30 PM, and tickets will be available one month prior to the screening date at VioletCrown.com.

“We are very excited to work with our partners at Violet Crown to launch this series,” said VFF Programmer Wesley Harris. “We have long been looking for a way to share a year-round connection and conversation with our audience. Violet Crown provides us with not only a first-class venue, but with partners who share our passion for the art form in a way that allows us to create a dynamic series that reflects what we as a Festival are all about.”

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the Virginia Film Festival by embarking on this year-round series,” said Violet Crown Cinema Marketing Director David Gil.  “We look forward to working with Jody Kielbasa, Wesley Harris, and the entire VFF team to bring VFF and Violet Crown audiences a dynamic series of memorable movie going experiences.”

Hailed by Indiewire as “one of the most profound cinematic experiences of the year,” The 17th Annual Animation Show of Shows features 11 animated shorts plus four documentary treatments highlighting some of the filmmakers. The show is curated by Ron Diamond, Executive Producer of Acme Filmworks, Inc. and co-founder and President of Animation World Network, as a way to bring the best of the best animated shorts of the festival season to the attention of major studio executives who might not otherwise get to see them. The show made its theatrical debut in 2015 and has been delighting audiences around the country with five-to-ten minute films that highlight the ultimate in technical achievement with the level of poignancy, humor, and emotional impact found in feature films. The 17th Annual Animation Show of Shows will screen at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, March 22 at Violet Crown Cinema on the Downtown Mall.

Holy Hell was one of the most talked-about documentaries at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, and features a powerful insider’s look at life within a Los Angeles-based religious cult. Just out of college, young idealist filmmaker Will Allen joined a secretive spiritualist community and documented life there for 20 years, ultimately exposing how devotion turned to paranoia, and laying bare the lifelong repercussions inflicted upon members by their mysterious leader Michel. This sneak preview screening of Holy Hell will screen at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, April 26 at Violet Crown Cinema on the Downtown Mall in advance of its national release.

Renowned French filmmaker Philippe Garrel’s In the Shadow of Women is a close look at the complex nature of infidelity and specifically the unique ways it is experienced, understood, and processed by men and women. Pierre and Manon are a married couple working together as documentary filmmakers. When Pierre feels entitled to take a lover, Manon seeks common ground with her husband, while his disdain for both women seems to grow in what becomes an unflinching look at the ripple effects of the male ego. In the Shadow of Women will screen at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, May 24 at Violet Crown Cinema on the Downtown Mall.

The 29th Annual Virginia Film Festival will be held November 3-6 and will announce its complete 2016 program on Tuesday, September 27, with tickets going on sale on Friday, September 30. For more information on the Virginia Film Festival, visit virginiafilmfestival.org.