Virginia Film Festival

Fiddlin’

Each year in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, musicians converge at the Old Fiddler’s Convention…

Feast of the Epiphany

Abby hosts a get-together for a group of old friends. Their conversations, at times superficial, take…

F for Fake

After agreeing to edit François Reichenbach’s documentary about renowned art forger Elmyr de Hory and his…

Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes

Before #MeToo became the mass movement it is today, Roger Ailes, the founder of Fox News,…

The Defiant Ones

This four-part HBO documentary series follows the partnership of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, from their…

Capernaum

Named after the town where Jesus was said to have healed the sick, Capernaum exposes the…

Charlottesville

Produced by University of Virginia Center for Politics and the Community Idea Stations, this documentary revisits the…

Bride of Frankenstein

In this classic horror film, author Mary Shelley reveals to her husband that the tale of Frankenstein…

Up to Snuff

Featuring personal anecdotes and insights from luminaries of television, Up to Snuff recounts the journey of the…

Shoplifters

Osamu Shibata and his son Shota are on a shoplifting expedition trying to make money for…

Science Fair

Delving into the lives of the teenagers responsible for future scientific and technological advancements, Science Fair follows nine…

Run While You Can

In 2011, Sam Fox embarked on an unbelievable challenge: to run along the Pacific Crest Trail…

Relaxer

Unaware of the imminent Y2K apocalypse, Cam convinces his brother, Abbie, to remain on the couch…

The Providers

In rural America, many people struggle to find adequate access to healthcare. Set in northern New…

Bob Le Flambeur

Former bank robber and acclaimed gangster Bob Montagné (Roger Duchesne) is living in a dreary Parisian…

Black in Blue

Before 1967, the American Southeastern Conference boasted a roster composed entirely of white athletes. In the…

The Biggest Little Farm

Preceded by short film Half a Chicken  When John and Molly Chester’s dog refuses to stop…

Ben is Back

When Holly’s (Julia Roberts) 19-year-old addict son, Ben, returns home one fateful Christmas Eve, she must…

Another Slave Narrative

Preceded by the short film Anna As part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1936-1938, the…

An Acceptable Loss

When former U.S. security advisor Elizabeth “Libby” Lamm leaves politics to pursue a university teaching position,…

American Dreamer

A former computer programmer, Cam (Jim Gaffigan) is now struggling to make ends meet as a…

55 Steps

When Eleanor Riese (Helena Bonham Carter) discovers that the medication she receives at St. Mary’s Psychiatric…

1968: The Year that Changed America

Mapping the tumultuous events of the entire year, 1968 highlights monumental shifts in the modern landscape of…

Oblivion Verses

After discovering the body of an unknown woman killed during protest, an elderly caretaker of a…

Into the Okavango

In an effort to save the Okavango Delta, a World Heritage site in Africa, a conservation…

Inside Job

In 2008, the United States saw the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Millions of…

The Independents

A chance encounter of three unintentional collaborators reignites their aspirations of making it in the music…

Day Shall Dawn (Jago Hua Savera)

Restored with the help of the Nauman Taseer Foundation after being lost for decades, Day Shall…

Coco

Preceded by the short film Steamboat Willie In the small town of Santa Cecilia, Mexico, aspiring…

Circles

After being displaced by Hurricane Katrina, Eric Butler moves to Oakland, California, in an impassioned effort…

Black Kite

When political turmoil in Afghanistan jeopardizes Arian’s love for kite flying, he is forced to let…

Best of Film at Mason

Best of Film at Mason returns for a fourth year to present a selection of recent…

The Ballad Of Shirley Collins

Considered an icon of English traditional song, Shirley Collins gained national recognition during the epicenter of…

América

When called upon to take care of their 93-year-old grandmother, three brothers from Colima, Mexico, realize…

Afghan Cycles

Following members of the National Cycling Team in Kabul and young riders in the Bamiyan region,…

16 Bars

Following three inmates at the city jail in Richmond, Virginia, 16 Bars offers a glimpse at…

Mudbound

The McAllans and the Jackson family both face struggles as they try to build small dreams…

1945 (Reprise Screening)

In August 1945, a rural town in Hungary is preparing for the wedding of the town…

Woody’s Order

Screens before the feature film Scenes with Ivan For the first time, actress Ann Talman performs…

Walkalong

Screens before the feature film Shadowman A night on the town, between the bars.

Still.

Screens before the feature film Magnum Opus Time stands still when a policeman makes an irreversible…

Solstice

Screens before the feature film The Road Movie An election re-orders the natural world.

The Light That Bends

Screens before the feature film November An exploration of voyeurism and the act of watching through…

Legacies of Slavery

Screens before the feature film Birth of a Movement This film was created for James Madison’s…

Left Undone

Screens before the feature film Loveless There is much that is no longer said between Mark…

I Can’t Breathe

Screens before the feature film 4 Little Girls This short video piece combines footage of the…

How Can I Ever Be Late

Screens before the feature film Tonsler Park African American students of the University of Virginia greet…

Girl Becomes Snow

Screens before feature film November A VHS rendition of what happens when we die - an investigation…

Educated Feet

Screens before the feature film Bobbi Jene Through tap dance, Educated Feet explores the movement of…

Black Girlhood: Access & Assets

Screens before the feature film Tell Them We Are Rising Light House Studio students explore themes…

An Act of Terror

Screens before the feature film An Outrage The true story of Virginia Christian, a 16-year-old African American girl accused of murder in the Jim Crow South.

Bonnie and Clyde

The infamous depression-era true crime romance between Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow begins when Clyde attempts…

The Breaks: Centuries of Struggle

Six men – separated by two centuries – live lives marked with intrigue, hardship, and tragedy.…

Stalker

Based on the novel Roadside Picnic by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, this 1979 science fiction film…

Thelma

Thelma, a shy young student, has just left her religious family in a small town on…

Roll With Me

When a paraplegic former drug-addict sets his mind to becoming the first person to push an…

Tonsler Park

Preceded by the short film How Can I Ever Be Late (5 min.) Internationally renowned artist and…

Short Films: Block B

Featuring both serious and lighthearted narrative shorts, these films tell the stories of misfits. From a…

Short Films: Block E

A mix of documentary and narrative films that explore the theme of interracial relationships and the…

Short Films: Block C

This set of fantasy narrative shorts featuring all things spooky and creepy. Ghosts, demons, and other…

Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me

Sammy Davis, Jr.’s career was so vast and multi-faceted that it was dizzying in its scope…

Short Films: Block A

These eight narrative shorts explore themes of romance between couples. From newly forming relationships to those…

Short Films: Block D

Families can be complicated. This series of short films gives snapshots into the messiness and the…

The Last Stop

The Élan School was a for-profit, residential behavior modification program and therapeutic boarding school located deep…

The Long Road Home

From Academy Award-nominated executive producer Mike Medavoy and based on The New York Times best-selling book…

The Science of Pixar

Dr. Tony DeRose, Senior Scientist and Lead of the Research Group at Pixar Animation Studios will…

Freak Show

Billy Bloom is a gay and eccentric teenage boy whose self-expression knows no bounds when it…

Composer Symposium

This panel discussion will focus on the art of composing music for film, featuring composers Charlie…

Best of the VCUarts Cinema Program

The Best of the VCUarts Cinema Program presents a selection of the best works by students…

The Aristocats

A family of aristocratic cats in Paris lives a beautifully cultured life with their owner, retired…

The Ruination of Lovell Coleman

This short documentary from Ross McDermott tells the story of a Charlottesville-based 93-year-old fiddle player. Combining…

Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies

With 150 Academy Award nominations, Alan Ladd Jr. is one of the most successful movie moguls…

Harold and Maude: Shot-by-Shot Workshop Part 2

For this 30th anniversary year, the Festival is reviving its Shot-by-Shot Workshop, one of its most…

Harold and Maude: Shot-by-Shot Workshop Part 1

For this 30th anniversary year, the Festival is reviving its Shot-by-Shot Workshop, one of its most…

Surviving Skokie

For decades, Jack Adler kept his horrific memories of the Holocaust secret. His silence ended when…

White Sun

After a decade away, anti-regime rebel Chandra returns to his native mountain village in the wake…

Woodpeckers

In the Najayo Prison in the Dominican Republic, inmates communicate with the female prison next door…

Late Night Wrap Party

Before the credits roll on the 2017 Festival, meet us at the Late Night Wrap Party…

Opening Night Gala

Join us for the start of the 30th annual Virginia Film Festival at the Opening Night…

The Ballad of Lefty Brown

Taking place a few years after the Civil War, Bill Pullman (Independence Day, The Equalizer) stars…