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Wednesday, October 21
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5:00 PM
Light House Studio Shorts
Wednesday, 5:00 PMViolet Crown 5Some of the year’s best student work from Light House’s Summer Film Academy, Adrenaline Film Project, and more.
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6:30 PM
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6:45 PM
Violet Crown 3Three interconnected stories set in present-day Punjab capture the grief and displacement that mark the legacy of the 1947 Indian partition.
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7:00 PM
The Debut
Wednesday, 7:00 PMThe Paramount TheaterA shy woman (Julianne Moore) is cast in a local musical and, under the spell of its enigmatic director (Paul Giamatti), loses herself in the role.
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7:00 PM
Violet Crown 1 & 2A laid-off worker and his wife cross paths with a documentary filmmaker and her spouse and confront their hidden desires.
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8:00 PM
The Blood Countess
Wednesday, 8:00 PMViolet Crown 5An ancient vampire Countess sets off on a quest through Europe to destroy an ancient book and preserve her immortality.
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9:30 PM
Opening Night Gala
Wednesday, 9:30 PMThe BradburyJoin us to celebrate of the magic and beauty of film with visiting guests and Festival patrons.
Thursday, October 22
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2:30 PM
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York
Thursday, 2:30 PMViolet Crown 5An aging pickpocket plies his trade with ever-diminishing returns in a drastically changed New York.
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3:00 PM
Violet Crown 6 & 7Inside the Central Prison of Douala in Cameroon, three inmates make up Jail Time Records, the first recording studio in an African prison.
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3:00 PM
Vault Virginia - The GalleryDirector James Gray will join Indiewire’s Anne Thompson and Ryan Lattanzio for a live recording of their popular podcast.
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5:00 PM
Violet Crown 3As a petrochemical boom brings illnesses and economic inequality to Louisiana and Appalachia, a coalition of accidental activists emerge.
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5:00 PM
Violet Crown 5An intimate look at one of the 20th century’s most celebrated artists, Jean-Michel Basquiat, from the people who knew him best.
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5:00 PM
The Paramount TheaterIn master filmmaker James Gray’s latest, two brothers chasing the American Dream get entangled in a Russian mafia scheme.
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5:15 PM
Elsinore
Thursday, 5:15 PMCulbreth TheatreThe real-life story of Ian Charleson, who courageously pushed through AIDS to give the performance of a lifetime as Hamlet at London’s National Theatre.
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5:30 PM
Violet Crown 6 & 7Eight-year-old Josephine witnesses a life-changing crime and struggles to regain a sense of safety while her parents fight to find healing.
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5:30 PM
Violet Crown 1 & 2A shy teen and a fearless surfer fall in love, but when illness strikes, they fight for hope through friendship and their shared devotion to the ocean.
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5:45 PM
A Cree Approach
Thursday, 5:45 PMViolet Crown 4Tristin Greyeyes’ journey towards understanding why Cree isn’t her first language, through the story of her grandmother, Freda Ahenakew.
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7:45 PM
Violet Crown 3Deep in Mexico’s forests, two Indigenous mycologists seek to reconcile the past and present.
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8:00 PM
Violet Crown 1 & 2An inexperienced erotic manga artist and a disillusioned fan stumble into an unexpected nervous romance.
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8:00 PM
Culbreth TheatreA hard-partying club promoter’s lifestyle is upended by the arrival of the son he never knew he had.
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8:15 PM
Violet Crown 5A loving ode to the twisting history of Harrisonburg’s beloved cult music venue and cornerstone of Virginia’s punk scene: The Crayola House.
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8:15 PM
Violet Crown 6 & 7In the wake of a shocking accident, a grieving mother, younger sister, and boyfriend try to piece together their fractured existence.
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8:45 PM
Violet Crown 4A mother embarks on a profound journey of healing to confront the horrific day her mind has repressed.
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8:45 PM
The Paramount TheaterA young Facebook engineer blows the whistle on the social network’s most guarded secrets.
Friday, October 23
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1:30 PM
Wild Horse Nine
Friday, 1:30 PMThe Paramount TheaterChile, 1973 — Two CIA agents (John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell) are sent on mysterious mission from Santiago to Easter Island. -
2:00 PM
Irving Theater, CODE BuildingJessica Lange joins The Hollywood Reporter for a live recording of the Awards Chatter podcast. -
2:00 PM
Violet Crown 3A fateful trip to Pompeii forever changes the lives of French high-schoolers, whose buried feelings lead to unexpected consequences.
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2:30 PM
Violet Crown 5A selection of new films from Kevin Everson.
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3:00 PM
TheyDream
Friday, 3:00 PMViolet Crown 4A Puerto Rican mother and son craft handmade miniature figures and animation to confront unhealed familial wounds.
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5:00 PM
The Paramount TheaterA family grapples with a mother’s addiction and suppressed grievances in a series of tense and volatile exchanges. -
5:00 PM
Violet Crown 6 & 7In 17th century Germany, Rose, a woman posing as a Thirty Years’ War veteran, attempts to win the affection of a Protestant village.
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5:00 PM
Violet Crown 5The tale of Flaco the Owl, the famous escapee of NYC’s Central Park Zoo, and the people he captivated.
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5:00 PM
Irving Theater, CODE BuildingJülide Etem, author of Film Diplomacy, and Jason Evans Groth, Moving Image Curator at the Library of Congress, discuss the state of film preservation today, and possibilities for its future.
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5:15 PM
Phenomena
Friday, 5:15 PMViolet Crown 3A kaleidoscopic odyssey through the vast expanse of the universe, offering an unparalleled sensory experience.
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5:30 PM
Short Films: The B-Sides
Friday, 5:30 PMViolet Crown 4A shorts series where music takes center stage in stories of connection, legacy, self-discovery, and more.
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5:45 PM
Violet Crown 1 & 2A contemporary music composer’s television interview spirals into a comedic chamber piece of tension and old affections.
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7:30 PM
Violet Crown 6 & 7As Gleb carries out the Russian government’s draft order, he uncovers the devastating truth of his wife’s infidelity.
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8:00 PM
Blue Sky
Friday, 8:00 PMViolet Crown 5Carly (Jessica Lange) and her husband (Tommy Lee Jones) move to isolated army base and become enmeshed in nuclear cover-up.
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8:00 PM
Violet Crown 1 & 2Two soldiers find rare beauty and solace in each other amid the war’s horrors and their shared despair.
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8:15 PM
Violet Crown 4A mother and her three daughters take a revenge-driven road trip to Gyeongju, to track down a killer just released from prison.
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8:30 PM
Violet Crown 3The displacement of polar bears through Churchill, Manitoba unfolds as they move through the town shared with tourists, wildlife officers, and hunters.
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8:45 PM
Behemoth!
Friday, 8:45 PMThe Paramount TheaterA gifted cellist returns to Los Angeles after twenty years on the road and must confront the people he left behind.
Saturday, October 24
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10:00 AM
Julián
Saturday, 10:00 AMViolet Crown 4Family Centerpiece Film. While spending the summer with a grandmother he barely knows, Julián discovers that he is actually a mermaid!
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10:00 AM
Violet Crown 5Virginia-based artist Hamilton Glass explores how public art can serve as a catalyst for political action and collective healing.
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10:00 AM
Violet Crown 6 & 7A French nursing home director and Japanese theater director discover a beautiful friendship for the ages.
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10:30 AM
Kikuyu Land
Saturday, 10:30 AMViolet Crown 3In Kenya’s tea highlands, two stories unfold showcasing the fight to reclaim what history has taken.
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10:30 AM
Culbreth TheatreThe story of disability rights activist Judy Heumann, who led a historic 28-day occupation of San Francisco’s Federal Building.
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11:45 AM
The Lorraine
Saturday, 11:45 AMViolet Crown 1 & 2A forgotten Memphis motel’s vibrant past is revived, revealing how its cultural legacy helped ignite a nationwide fight for justice.
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12:15 PM
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12:15 PM
Ink
Saturday, 12:15 PMThe Paramount TheaterRupert Murdoch recruits Larry Lamb to revive a failing British tabloid, spawning a sensationalist journalism without bottom.
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12:30 PM
Violet Crown 5An investigation of the mysterious the truth behind Argentine journalist Ignacio Ezcurra’s disappearance during the Vietnam War.
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1:00 PM
Aanikoobijigan (Ancestor / Great-Grandparent / Great-Grandchild)
Saturday, 1:00 PMViolet Crown 3Indigenous elders and activists fight institutional resistance to reclaim their ancestors’ remains.
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1:30 PM
Culbreth TheatreFirst-generation college applicants fight for access to higher education as they confront a rapidly changing admissions landscape.
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2:00 PM
Violet Crown 6 & 7A young woman is unraveled by her mother’s Alzheimer diagnosis in this stirring adaptation of Sarah Leavitt’s graphic memoir.
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2:00 PM
Violet Crown 1 & 2Unemployed and free from arrest, an Iranian doctor, determined to end his life, spends his final day with his family.
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3:15 PM
Violet Crown 4After floods devastate Bangladeshi villages, a community rises up, fueled by young love and emerging activism.
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3:30 PM
Violet Crown 5Producer Todd Black and director David O. Russell present a clip talk program centered around their upcoming film Madden.
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3:30 PM
Making It – Film Industry Career Panel
Saturday, 3:30 PMViolet Crown 3Four mid-career filmmakers/entertainment industry members with different paths to success share their personal journeys, along the way giving insight into what a modern career in the business looks like.
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4:00 PM
The Paramount TheaterA devout Christian woman finds a winning 1.6 billion dollar lottery ticket, and does everything possible to return it, not realizing who owns it.
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4:30 PM
When a Witness Recants
Saturday, 4:30 PMViolet Crown 1 & 2Ta-Nehisi Coates investigates how the wrongful conviction of three boys reshaped their lives and their community.
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4:30 PM
Culbreth TheatreThree intersecting stories of queer love set before, during, and after the Spanish Civil War.
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4:45 PM
Bedford Park
Saturday, 4:45 PMViolet Crown 6 & 7Two broken souls find themselves in an unlikely romance as they begin to reckon with their tumultuous past.
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5:30 PM
Violet Crown 5Two religious leaders build Heaven’s Gate into a fringe spiritual movement that spirals into the largest mass suicide in U.S. history.
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6:00 PM
Violet Crown 3A propulsive portrait of American trailblazers woven into vivid vignettes of tenacity and triumph across Virginia and beyond.
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6:15 PM
Short Films: Life Framed
Saturday, 6:15 PMViolet Crown 4A collection of documentaries that offer portraits of resilience, loss, and the power of connection.
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7:30 PM
Violet Crown 1 & 2An archaeologist is drawn into an acquaintance’s criminal world and must confront the truth of her own past as shadows creep in.
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8:00 PM
Violet Crown 6 & 7While juggling familial chaos, a twelve-year-old thrusts himself into adulthood on the chaotic eve of his bat mitzvah.
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8:00 PM
The Paramount TheaterA teacher in a maximum-security prison forms a connection with a charismatic death-row inmate, risking everything.
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8:00 PM
Culbreth TheatreA modern-day reimagining of Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, set in contemporary Lagos, Nigeria.
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8:30 PM
Violet Crown 5A con man, his lover, and an eccentric FBI agent expose corruption in Congress in the early 1980s.
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8:30 PM
Short Films: ReCaptcha
Saturday, 8:30 PMViolet Crown 3A collection of shorts exploring the uneasy relationship between human experience and a technological world.
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8:45 PM
Violet Crown 4A Ruthenian village faces forced displacement, revealing generational rifts as father and daughter confront oppression, identity, and tradition.
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9:30 PM
Late Night Wrap Party
Saturday, 9:30 PMThree Notch'd Craft Kitchen & BreweryJoin us for an unforgettable evening before the credits roll on the 39th annual Festival.
Sunday, October 25
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10:30 AM
Violet Crown 1 & 2A family slowly unravels against the backdrop of a somber Colorado winter.
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10:45 AM
Rock and Reel: A Film About Monticello’s Black Fiddlers
Sunday, 10:45 AMViolet Crown 3A look at the instruments and music performed by Black fiddlers of Virginia, starting with the children of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson.
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11:00 AM
Violet Crown 5Two women navigate the final months of pregnancy and each weighs a profound decision: whether to raise her child or choose adoption.
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11:45 AM
Culbreth TheatreAt the height of the Cold War, the writer Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika embark on a road trip across a divided Germany.
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12:00 PM
Violet Crown 6 & 7A portrait of Cosmos creator Carl Sagan, tracing a legacy of love, divorce, and professional rivalries.
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12:00 PM
The Paramount TheaterThe Oscar-winning director of Green Book returns with the story of a then unknown Sylvester Stallone fighting to get Rocky made.
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12:00 PM
Irving Theater, CODE BuildingSeasoned experts share best practices for effective pitching. Learn the best approaches for getting your project greenlit, funded, and resourced.
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12:30 PM
Landscapes of Memory
Sunday, 12:30 PMViolet Crown 4As a Jewish-American filmmaker studies her past in Berlin, she grapples with the reality of her trauma being weaponized.
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1:30 PM
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1:45 PM
Violet Crown 1 & 2Iranian filmmaker Pegah Ahangarani retraces forty years of history through five intimate portraits of loved ones.
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2:00 PM
Violet Crown 5A 1972 gathering of Harlem Renaissance greats, captured by the legendary William Greaves, revived 50 years later by his son David.
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2:00 PM
Irving Theater, CODE BuildingAcademy Award-nominated Production Designer Ruth De Jong (Oppenheimer, The Odyssey) gives us a tour of how the physical world of a film is created.
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2:15 PM
Ring Every Bell
Sunday, 2:15 PMCulbreth TheatreFollows the organization I AM ALS, and the broader ALS community, as they race to reauthorize ACT for ALS.
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2:15 PM
Culbreth TheatreChris Farina’s final film uncovers the hidden beauty in the work of the hospice workers and funeral home staff who guide us though death.
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2:30 PM
Violet Crown 6 & 7A renowned pianist uncovers a life-shattering truth about her husband, forcing her to confront the complexities of love and deception.
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2:45 PM
Violet Crown 4A collection of shorts showcasing the voices of emerging student filmmakers from across Virginia.
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3:30 PM
The Paramount TheaterA cabaret owner and his drag queen partner put up a straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée’s conservative parents.
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4:00 PM
Violet Crown 3Three scientists race to solve urgent global challenges while exposing the growing threat to America’s research engine and its consequences.
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4:15 PM
Violet Crown 1 & 2When a blossoming friendship between two schoolboys shatters abruptly, memories of quiet betrayal trigger an irreversible reaction that changes their lives forever.
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4:30 PM
Irving Theater, CODE BuildingAn innovative blend of documentary and music video centering on B. Alexis, the first woman to release an album from prison.
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5:00 PM
Violet Crown 4A 40-year-old mother and aspiring writer is given the chance to rediscover herself on a 350-mile trip with a narcissistic literary icon.
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5:00 PM
Culbreth TheatreChronicles the 150-year fight over the amendment that radically rewrote the American promise.
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5:15 PM
Violet Crown 51990s and early 2000s Contemporary Christian Musicians reveal what it was like in an industry that turned faith into profit.
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5:45 PM
Violet Crown 6 & 7An emotional showdown unfolds on set after a domineering father and daughter are forced back into each other’s orbit.
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6:30 PM
Nina Roza
Sunday, 6:30 PMViolet Crown 3A viral video of an 8-year-old Bulgarian prodigy draws a renowned art collector back home after 30 years, forcing him to confront the ghosts of his past.
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7:15 PM
Loves Company
Sunday, 7:15 PMViolet Crown 1 & 2A has-been celebrity is kidnapped by a superfan, but realizes it may be the perfect opportunity to relaunch his career.
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7:30 PM
The Paramount TheaterA tribute to three UVA football players whose lives were cut short by the 2022 tragedy, and a team whose resilience knows no bounds.
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8:15 PM
Short Films: Our Wealth in Common
Sunday, 8:15 PMViolet Crown 4A collection of films by outstanding Virginia-based creators and those with significant ties to the region.
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8:30 PM
Violet Crown 5An exploration of the pivotal but little–known connection between Woody Guthrie and Jewish culture.