Virginia Film Festival

Short Films: There Are No Words

The Window 2018. USA. 5 min. Director: Dean Garris. Featuring: Alexander Julian III. As an old…

Short Films: People in Cars Having Problems

Supported by Underground Shorts Media   Moving Violation 2017. USA. 13 min. Director: Laura Waters Hinson.…

Short Films: Our World

The Other End of the Earth 2017. USA. 5 min. Director: Jacob W. Madness. Featuring: Diane…

Kevin Everson Short Films

From internationally renowned filmmaker Kevin Everson comes a selection of short films that combines historical observations…

The Forcing

An insistent collage of images and sound that muddles the quiet detail of flora and fauna with the chaotic noise…

The Favourite

In early 18th century Britain, Queen Anne’s (Olivia Colman) gout renders her too weak to rule,…

The Heiresses

Chela and Chiquita, together for over thirty years, find their relationship tested by financial difficulties despite…

Sunset

On the brink of World War I, Irisz Leiter arrives in Budapest desperately looking for work…

Studio 54

Studio 54 was the epicenter of 1970s extravagance and pleasure - a place that not only…

Family Day Short Films

This collection is a celebration of childhood packed with fantastic stories, breathtaking animation, and captivating characters.…

Late Night Wrap Party

21+ Event Before the credits roll on the 2018 Festival, join us at the Late Night…

Opening Night Gala

21+ Event Join us for the start of the Virginia Film Festival at the Opening Night…

Drewary J. Brown: Working for a Better Day

Drewary J. Brown was a legendary figure in the struggle for racial justice in central Virginia.…

This Changes Everything

Preceded by the short film Lamb Filmmaker Tom Donahue assembles a collection of powerful female voices…

The Third Wife

In late 19th century rural Vietnam, 14-year-old May is chosen to be the third wife of…

Sorry Angel

Arthur, an eager 22-year-old student studying in Rennes, meets 35-year-old Jacques, a writer living in Paris…

Sauvage

22-year-old Leo works in Strasbourg as a prostitute. Working mostly on a quiet road in a…

Ramen Shop

Masato, a young Ramen chef, leaves his hometown in Japan to embark on a culinary journey…

Menace II Society

18-year-old Kaydee "Caine" Lawson lives a violent and unstable life on the streets of Watts, a…

Makala

In his third feature documentary, Emmanuel Gras captures the somber perseverance of Congolese father and makala-maker,…

Let the Corpses Tan

On a beautiful island in the Medierranean, Rhino and his gang of thieves take refuge at…

Daughter of Mine

Vittoria, a ten-year-old Sardinian girl, lives with her loving but overprotective adoptive mother Tina. At a…

No Date, No Signature

While driving home one-night forensic pathologist, Dr. Kaveh Nariman is involved in a car accident that…

Little Woods

In a quaint North Dakota oil town, sisters Ollie and Deb must break the rules in…

Dogman

Private, unassuming Marcello lives a quiet life of dog grooming in the small town of Magliana,…

Border

Tina, ostracized for her unusual appearance, uses her unique sense of smell to sniff out contraband…

Combat Obscura

Combat cameraman Miles Lagoze served several years in the war in Afghanistan collecting footage for Marine…

Best of the VCU Arts Cinema Program

VCUarts Cinema showcases a collection of all female-directed films from its Summer Intensive program. In a…

The Image Book

Preceded by the short film On Certainty 467 (8 min.) Legendary New-Wave director Jean-Luc Godard emerges…

Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Returning to his hometown of Kaili after over a decade has past, Luo Hongwu cannot escape…

Chef Flynn

Often called the “Justin Bieber of Food,” budding chef Flynn McGarry quickly emerged as a culinary…

3 Faces

Aspiring actress Marziyeh is distraught when her father forbids her from studying at the prestigious Tehran…

Un Traductor

In the wake of the Chernobyl nuclear crisis, Malin, a professor of Russian Literature at the…

The Third Murder

What seems like a clear guilty verdict becomes more complicated when attorney Shigemori accepts the defense…

They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead

Orson Welles, acclaimed director of Citizen Kane, struggled much of his film career to obtain the…

Styx

Rieke embarks on her one-woman solo voyage across the Atlantic, but she has no idea what…

Rafiki

Tomboy and daughter of local politician, Kena, has always been “one of the guys.” Defying Kenya’s…

Over the Limit

Elite rhythmic gymnast Margarita Mamun nears the end of her competitive career, but has one final…

Night of the Living Dead

In its 50th anniversary year, George Romero’s cult classic provides thrills and chills as an icon…

Narcissister Organ Player

Mixed-media and performance artist Narcissister serves as both director and subject of this documentary. Through her…

Iceman

In the Ötztal Alps, 5,300 years ago, Kelab serves as the leader of a Neolithic clan,…

I Am Not a Witch

After nine-year-old orphan Shula is accused of witchcraft, she is exiled to witch camp. Mr. Banda,…

The Great Buster

In the wake of the restoration of Buster Keaton’s iconic silent features, noted film director Peter…

Good Manners

At a fancy apartment in São Paulo, Ana, in search of a nanny for her unborn…

The Eyes of Orson Welles

Filmmaker Mark Cousins explores the visual world of filmmaking legend Orson Welles after gaining access to…

Coby

Suzanna, 23, disrupts the delicate ecosystem of her small Midwestern town when she comes out as…

The Charmer

Esmail seems to be a successful, charming bachelor frequenting Copenhagen’s high-end nightlife establishments. In reality, however,…

Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco

A native of Puerto Rico raised in the Bronx, Antonio Lopez gained international recognition as one…

The University of Virginia Bicentennial Celebration: An Evening of Performing Arts

On October 6, 2017, nearly 19,000 spectators gathered on the Lawn at the University of Virginia…

Gift

Abigail Phillips is an American farm girl who grows up to become a world-renowned pianist. Behind…

Free Solo

Free-solo climber Alex Honnold is determined to achieve his lifelong dream: climbing the 3,200-foot El Capitan…

El Angel

Carlitos, a 17-year-old with a baby face and movie star swagger, discovers his true calling: to…

Birds of Passage

In 1970s Colombia, a narco-trafficking era known as “la Bonanza Marimbera” pulls an indigenous Wayuu family…

Woman at War

Halla is a 50-year-old independent woman and passionate environmental activist. Known to others only by her…

West Main Street

Preceded by short film Transit West Main Street in Charlottesville, Virginia, serves as a cultural hub…

United Skates

Late at night, unbeknownst to many Americans, roller-skating rinks across the country come alive, featuring a…

The Last Race

Once the hub of American stock-car racing, Long Island is now home to a single track,…

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One

Full of experimentation and social critique, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One remains fresh and radical in its 50th…

Spider Mites of Jesus: The Dirtwoman Documentary

When Donnie “Dirtwoman” Corker passed away in 2017, the city of Richmond, Virginia, lost one of…

A Soldier’s Dream: The Milt Feldman Story

In 1944, Private Milton Feldman was captured by Nazi soldiers. The Jewish GI’s imprisonment at Battle…

Seats at the Table

At the University of Virginia, Andrew Kaufman has taught the acclaimed class Books Behind Bars: Life,…

Ruben Brandt, Collector

Ruben Brandt, a famous psychotherapist, and four of his patients become the most wanted criminals in…

Roma

As a maid caring for four school-aged children in the middle-class Roma district of Mexico City…

Rodents of Unusual Size

Preceded by short film The Alligator Hunter  Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, putting 80%…

Road to Kabul

After four unemployed Moroccans suffer harassment from a crooked former cop, they set out for Holland…

Revolutionizing Dementia Care

After being diagnosed with dementia, many people’s lives change dramatically. Revolutionizing Dementia Care explores how those…

The Other Side of the Wind

Nearly half a century after production commenced on renowned director Orson Welles’ unfinished movie, producer and…

Never Look Away

Amidst the chaos of pre-war Germany, Kurt Barnert—based loosely on one of Germany’s most revered contemporary…

Looking for Oum Kulthum

Mitra is an Iranian filmmaker living in exile, who has long yearned to make a film…

Light House Studio Shorts

A nonprofit filmmaking center dedicated to teaching students self-expression through filmmaking, Light House Studio’s work has…

The Last Resort

Miami’s South Beach, while now a popular party destination for college students, was once home to…

Kinesthetic Montage Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s thriving film culture is a direct product of the physical reality of the city.…

Karenina & I

When Norwegian actor Gørild Mauseth receives an offer from the Primorsky Regional Drama Theater in Russia…

Jason and Shirley

In response to Shirley Clarke’s 1967 Portrait of Jason, filmmaker Stephen Winter offers an imaginative look…

An Indian Father (Bir Baba Hindu)

In this Turkish Bollywood-style musical comedy, Fadil, a fierce and renowned Turkish mobster, falls in love…

In the Last Days of the City (Akher Ayem El Madina)

Khalid, a 35-year-old documentary filmmaker, is struggling to complete a film that captures the spirit of…

Hell in India (Gahim Fel Hend)

When the Egyptian ambassador to India and his family are kidnapped by an evil billionaire, the…

Happy New Year Tijuana

When Chicano studies professor Alejandro Serna misses his flight to his hometown of Léon, Mexico, he…

Green Book

When Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), a bouncer from an Italian American neighborhood in the Bronx, is…

God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut

In a career spanning over 50 years, author Kurt Vonnegut became an icon of American literature,…