VIRGINIA FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2025 LINEUP
Highlights Include Christy, The Choral, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Hedda, Jay Kelly, A Private Life, Rental Family, Sentimental Value, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, and Train Dreams
Keynote Guests Include Nicholas Britell, Cara Brower, Miles Caton, Jay Duplass, Alexa L. Fogel, Ben Foster, HIKARI, Ben Mankiewicz, and James Schamus
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – September 23, 2025 – The Virginia Film Festival has announced the lineup for its upcoming 38th year, set for October 22-26 in Charlottesville, VA.
The Festival’s Opening Night Film is Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere (20th Century Studios), starring Jeremy Allen White and directed by VAFF Advisory Board member and Virginia native Scott Cooper. The film tells the captivating story behind the making of the worldwide musical and cultural icon’s celebrated album Nebraska at a time when he was battling mental health issues and working to come to terms with his growing fame.
The Centerpiece Film is Train Dreams (Netflix), based on the beloved Denis Johnson novella of the same name and featuring a stellar cast including Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy. The ethereal, beautiful, and sweeping film captures the extraordinary story of an ordinary life lived amidst the sweeping and revolutionary change that marked the early days of the 20th Century.
The Closing Night Film is Rental Family (Searchlight). Set in Tokyo, the latest film from acclaimed director HIKARI stars Academy Award-winner Brendan Fraser (The Whale) as an American actor who lands a gig with a Japanese “rental family” agency playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he forms real relationships that blur the lines between performance and reality and allow him to rediscover purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection. Director HIKARI will be on hand to accept the Breakthrough Director Award and to participate in a post-screening discussion.
“This year’s Virginia Film Festival delivers the kind of rich, deep, and highly engaging program that has made it one of the nation’s leading regional film festivals and one of the premier cultural events in the Mid-Atlantic region,” said VAFF Executive Director and UVA Vice Provost for the Arts Jody Kielbasa. “The breadth of storytelling and artistic talent among this year’s filmmakers and special guests allows us to uniquely celebrate the power of cinema while at the same time providing a vehicle to examine our own lives and the world where we live.”
Christy (Black Bear) stars Sydney Sweeney in a career-defining performance as trailblazing professional boxer Christy Martin with Ben Foster (Hell or High Water) as Jim Martin, her coach and husband, in a tale of an unforgettable woman’s historic battles both in the ring and on behalf of fellow domestic violence victims everywhere. Actor Ben Foster will be on hand to accept the Achievement in Acting Award and participate in a post-screening discussion.
Frankenstein (Netflix) – Decades in the making and fulfilling the filmmaker’s lifelong dream of making his own adaptation of Mary Shelley’s beloved Gothic novel, three-time Academy Award-winning writer/director Guillermo del Toro’s most sweeping film to date stars Oscar Isaac as Dr. Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi as The Creature in a widely acclaimed, larger-than-life role, Mia Goth as Elizabeth and Christoph Waltz as Harlander.
Hamnet (Focus Features), from Academy Award-winning writer/director and former VAFF honoree Chloé Zhao, stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal in a powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet. The film, based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell, who co-wrote the film with Zhao, recently earned the People’s Choice Award at the 50th Annual Toronto Film Festival, often seen as a leading indicator for the Academy Awards. The cast also features Emily Watson and Jacobi Jupe, and producers include Sam Mendes, Steven Spielberg, Pippa Harris, Liza Marshall, and Nic Gonda.
Hedda (Amazon Prime), from noted writer/director Nia DaCosta (Candyman, Little Woods), stars Tessa Thompson in a tour-de-force performance as the title character in a provocative, dark, wicked, and modern reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s classic Hedda Gabler, set in the 1950s. Production Designer Cara Brower will be on hand to accept the Craft Award for Production Design.
Jay Kelly (Netflix) – Academy Award-nominee Noah Baumbach’s latest film stars George Clooney as a Hollywood megastar who embarks on an unexpected and profound journey through Europe with his longtime manager Ron (Adam Sandler), where they confront their past choices, family relationships, and legacies. The film also includes a memorable turn from Laura Dern as Kelly’s publicist. The screening will feature special guest Nicholas Britell, the film’s Emmy and Grammy Award-winning composer also known for his work on the highly decorated HBO series Succession as well as for his Oscar-nominated scores for films including Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk, and Don’t Look Up. Britell will receive the Achievement in Film Composition Award and participate in a post-film conversation with The Hollywood Reporter’s executive editor of awards coverage Scott Feinberg that will be recorded live for a special episode of Feinberg’s Awards Chatter Podcast.
Other VAFF Gala screenings include The Choral (Sony Pictures Classics), directed by Nicholas Hytner (The Crucible) and starring Ralph Fiennes; Nouvelle Vague (Netflix), Richard Linklater’s recreation of the making of Breathless; A Private Life (Sony Pictures Classics) from director Rebecca Zlotowski, starring Jodie Foster; and Sentimental Value (NEON), Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s second collaboration with Renate Reinsve following the Academy Award-nominated The Worst Person in the World.
2025 Program Highlights
Special Screening of Sinners with Miles Caton – From Ryan Coogler (Black Panther, Creed), Sinners took the box office by storm with its music-filled tale of two brothers (Michael B. Jordan) who return to their hometown to start over again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. The evening will feature a conversation and special musical performance by the film’s breakout star and acclaimed R&B performer Miles Caton, whose electrifying performance as musician Sammie Moore captivated audiences. Caton will also receive the Achievement in Film Music Award.
Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter & Awards Chatter – VAFF is proud to welcome Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter’s executive editor of awards coverage since 2011 and the creator/host of the popular Awards Chatter podcast, to the Festival for the first time. In addition to his Awards Chatter conversation with Nicholas Britell, Feinberg will also moderate a conversation with Ben Foster, following Christy.
Turner Classic Movies Series with Ben Mankiewicz – Primetime host of Turner Classic Movies and author Ben Mankiewicz returns to VAFF to present a pair of fascinating programs including a screening of the 1997 Ang Lee film The Ice Storm followed by a conversation with screenwriter, frequent Lee collaborator, and former CEO of Focus Features James Schamus. Schamus will receive the Impresario Award. Mankiewicz will also present a special screening of The Sting in honor of the late Robert Redford.
Screenwriting Panel with Jay Duplass & Michael Strassner – Screenwriter, filmmaker, author, and actor Jay Duplass (Jeff, Who Lives at Home, Cyrus) and screenwriter and actor, writer, director, and producer Michael Strassner (Modern Family, English Teacher) will discuss their collaboration on their latest feature The Baltimorons, including sharing clips from the film. Duplass and Strassner will both receive Achievement in Screenwriting Awards.
“For those who appreciate gripping storytelling, larger-than-life cinema, and master filmmakers plying their craft, we have an embarrassment of riches in store. With bold new work from the likes of Park Chan-wook, Jafar Panahi, Nia DaCosta, Joachim Trier, Chloé Zhao, Richard Linklater, Werner Herzog, and Guillermo Del Toro packed into a robust slate this year, I’d imagine cinephiles in our area are feeling downright giddy.” Said Ilya Tovbis, VAFF Artistic Director. “Add to that a Festival guest lineup that boasts top actors, directors, craftspeople, composers, casting agents, and screenwriters from Hollywood and beyond coming to Charlottesville, and you’ve got a packed 5 days of cinematic celebration in store.”
Come See Me In The Good Light (Apple TV) – This Festival Favorite Award-winner at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival tells the remarkable love story of two poets, Megan Falley and Andrea Gibson, as they embrace their life together in the face of an incurable cancer diagnosis. Producer Jessica Hargrave will receive the Chronicler Award.
Left-Handed Girl (Netflix), directed by Shih-Ching Tsou and co-written with her frequent collaborator Sean Baker, follows a single mother and her two daughters as they relocate to Taipei to open a night market stall and the challenges and generations of secrets they encounter that threaten to open their family unity.
La Grazia (Mubi) – Academy Award-winner Paolo Sorrentino’s latest film, which opened the 2025 Venice Film Festival, stars Toni Servillo (Il Divo) as an Italian President wrestling with weighty moral dilemmas, including a pair of controversial pardons and euthanasia legislation, as he heads toward the end of his term and political career.
The Peace Particle – After the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a group of scientists came together in a vow that it would never happen again. They formed CERN, building the world’s biggest machine in search of its smallest particles. As the organization turns 70, director Alex Kiehl delivers a fascinating look at the inspiring and untold stories behind humanity’s biggest nuclear physics experiments.
Pep Banned – Directors Bill Reifenberger and Chris Farina (World Peace and Other 4th Grade Achievements) share this no-holds-barred look back at one of the most entertaining and controversial ensembles in the history of (halftime) show business. The University of Virginia Pep Band debuted in 1974 and was loved by fans, tolerated by administrations, and often reviled by opposing schools for their creative musical skits that never failed to push boundaries and cross lines all the way to its final performance in 2003. Filmmaker Chris Farina will receive the Governor Gerald L. Baliles Founder’s Award, presented for excellence in Virginia filmmaking.
The Plague (IFC) – The second film featuring Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams) in this year’s Film Festival, this psychological thriller from writer/director Charlie Polinger is about a socially anxious 12-year-oldboy roped into a cruel tradition at an all-boys water polo camp that ultimately makes him question what is real.
The Secret Agent (NEON), set in Brazil in 1977, earned multiple awards at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, including Best Director honors for Kleber Mendonça Filho and Best Actor for Wagner Moura (Narco, Dope Thief). The political thriller follows a forty-something technology expert who travels to Recife during carnival week to reunite with his family while staying a step ahead of the trained government assassins who are hot on his trail. Director of Photography Evgenia Alexandrova will be on hand to receive the Craft Award for Cinematography.
Urchin (1-2 Special) is the celebrated directorial debut from acclaimed actor Harris Dickinson (Triangle of Sadness, Babygirl), and offers a raw, absurd tale of a young man in London trying to turn his life around amidst a cycle of self-destruction.
The VAFF program also includes 14 official entries for Best International Feature for the Academy Awards: It Was Just An Accident (France), Late Shift (Switzerland), Left-Handed Girl (Taiwan), The Love That Remains (Iceland), No Other Choice (Korea), Peacock (Austria), A Poet (Columbia), The President’s Cake (Iraq), The Secret Agent (Brazil), Sentimental Value (Norway), Sirât (Spain), Sound of Falling (Germany), The Tale of Silyan (North Macedonia), and The Things You Kill (Canada).
The full 2025 VAFF program will be available online on Thursday, September 25. Tickets will go on sale at noon on Friday, October 3 at virginiafilmfestival.org.
2025 Film Series
After Hours
Films that walk on the wild side—genre, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and more. This series is curated by guest programmer Igor Shteyrenberg
Indigenous Cinema of the Americas
Curated by guest programmer Melissa Bisagni
Korean
Curated by guest programmer Hyeyon Moon
Middle Eastern and South Asian Cinema
Curated by guest programmer Samhita Sunya.
Nature & Environment – Presented by Southern Environmental Law Center
Virginia Filmmaking – Presented by Virginia Film Office
Voices of the Formerly Incarcerated
Panels at The CODE Building
The VAFF will host a series of panel discussions on Saturday, October 25 at the Irving Theatre in the CODE Building on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. The panels are free and open to the public. In addition to the Screenwriting Panel with Jay Duplass & Michael Strassner described above, panels will include:
- AI & Filmmaking: What’s Changing and What Must Never Change Panel with Emmy-nominee Bill Platt (CNN, Warner Bros. Discovery)
- Casting is Everything Panel with three-time Emmy-winner Alexa L. Fogel (Black Rabbit, Oz, Ozark, The Wire)
- The Unspoken Language of Film Directing Panel with storied director Rob Spera (The Sweet Life, Father and Sons, Leprechaun in the Hood)
Ticketing
Tickets go on sale to the public at Noon on Friday, October 3 and are available online at virginiafilmfestival.org; in-person at the UVA Arts Box Office; and by phone at 434-924-3376. Beginning Monday, October 20, tickets will also be available at VAFF’s Downtown Box Office in the lobby of Violet Crown. For complete information regarding the 2025 Festival, visit virginiafilmfestival.org.
Festival Sponsors
The Virginia Film Festival is a program of the University of Virginia.
The 2025 Virginia Film Festival is presented by The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.
The 2025 Virginia Film Festival is also generously supported by the following Premiere Sponsors: AV Company, Bank of America, The Doyle Hotel, Harvest Moon Catering, The Hollywood Reporter, Southern Environmental Law Center, UVA Arts & the Office of the Provost and Vice Provost for the Arts, Violet Crown Cinema, and Virginia Film Office.
Press materials and images are available at virginiafilmfestival.org/news-press.