Virginia Film Festival

BAD SHABBOS

An interfaith couple’s boisterous Shabbat dinner is rudely interrupted by an uninvited dead body.

A REAL PAIN

Two cousins (Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin) reunite for a tour across Poland to confront their family history.

THE PIANO LESSON

A battle over a prized heirloom piano unleashes haunting truths about how the past is perceived.

PAVEMENTS

This highly innovative docudrama follows 90s indie band Pavement.

NIGHTBITCH

A woman (Amy Adams) slowly embraces the feral power deeply rooted in motherhood.

ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL

After Shula finds her uncle’s dead body in the middle of the road, the family comes together and secrets resurface.

MEMOIR OF A SNAIL

A snail-collecting, melancholic misfit learns how to find confidence within herself.

LUTHER: NEVER TOO MUCH

Celebrates the journey of musical performer Luther Vandross, from childhood talent to worldwide fame.

LA COCINA

In a Times Square kitchen, dreams and desperation collide as the staff chase the elusive American dream.

THE KINGDOM

Set in 1995 Corsica, Lesia’s life is upended when she discovers her father’s mob ties.

JAZZY

Jazzy navigates the space between childhood and young adulthood against the backdrop of her Oglala Lakota community.

I’M STILL HERE

Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries) tracks Eunice Paiva during Brazil’s 1970s military dictatorship.

I HOPE THIS HELPS!

An investigative journalist enlists the help of Google’s AI chatbot to fight back against…AI.

MS. APOCALYPSE

Bookkeeper Young-mi secretly falls in love with her coworker and faces a life-altering proposition from his wife.

OMAR AND CEDRIC: IF THIS EVER GETS WEIRD

A personal chronicle of the lifelong friendship of two artists.

THE GLASSWORKER

A gifted glassblower forms a friendship with a violin prodigy during a time of war.

THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE

A pregnant factory worker in post-WWI Copenhagen looks for help from a mysterious adoption agency.

GEORGIA O’KEEFFE: THE BRIGHTNESS OF LIGHT

A fascinating account of the rich life and artistry of “The Mother of Modernism.”

FLOW

In the wake of great flood, a courageous cat embarks on a wondrous journey through realms natural and mystical.

EVERY LITTLE THING

A Hollywood woman cares for injured hummingbirds, drawing spiritual strength from their fragility and resilience.

EMILIA PÉREZ

Four remarkable women from Mexico pursue happiness in this audacious musical fever dream.

EEPHUS

Two amateur baseball teams in New England play one last game before their beloved field is demolished.

DON’T CRY, BUTTERFLY

After discovering her husband’s infidelity on live TV, Tam turns to a mystical response.

DEMENTIA AND LIVING WELL

Individuals living with Dementia showcase that living a fulfilling life with the condition is more than possible.

DEMBA

In a visually daring and thematically complex story, a Senegalese man tangles with mental health challenges.

DAHOMEY

Mati Diop (Atlantics) interrogates the repatriation of 26 royal treasures to the Republic of Benin.

DEFENDERS OF DEMOCRACY: The Thin Blue Line

Police officers from the front lines of the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack share first-hand accounts.

CHRISTMAS EVE IN MILLER’S POINT

An Italian American family Christmas gathering erupts into holiday chaos.

CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING

A blood-drenched musical extravaganza about two lovers split up by a chainsaw.

BOB TREVINO LIKES IT

Searching for her estranged father, Lily accidentally befriends a stranger with the same name.

BLITZ

A young boy undertakes a perilous journey to reunite with his mother (Saoirse Ronan) during the WWII bombing of London.

THE BLACK SEA

After falling for a catfishing scam, Khalid finds himself stranded in coastal Bulgaria.

THE BITTER PILL

A West Virginian attorney fights back against the opioid epidemic, sparking a national movement.

BIRD

12-year-old Bailey and her single dad Bug (Barry Keoghan) invent ways to get by in North Kent.

ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT

Two nurses in Mumbai navigate societal expectations in this exquisitely crafted and lyrical Cannes Gran Prix winner.

ADRIANNE & THE CASTLE

A fairy-tale documentary, set in a hand-built castle, exploring grief and the creative power of love.

For the Moon

Set in 1959, For the Moon is a coming-of-age story that follows a 9-year-old precocious African-American…

Tooth

Fed up with decades of flossing, whitening, and forced perfection of modern beauty standards, a TOOTH…

Starling

Starling, the spirit of a mischievous little girl, shoots down from the heavens to spend her…

A Dead Marriage

Filip is a professional extra, specialized in playing dead bodies on movie sets. One day he…

Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black)

Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black) follows Yankunytjatjara man Derik Lynch's road trip back to Country for…

Eco-Hack!

An unconventional field biologist wages a high-tech war against ravens in the Mojave — think laser…

Balikbayan

A Filipina immigrant grapples with the physical distance from the family she left behind and the…

Millstone

A psychological thriller in the spirit of Black Mirror, this short - featuring an entirely Deaf…

Short Films: Best of Fests

Program followed by discussion with Millstone director Peter Hoffman Kimball and actor Eddie Buck. Moderated by…

Interception: Jayne Kennedy • American Sportscaster

When a bronze-skin bombshell rocks the world of Sunday Morning Football, millions tune in... but few…

Sanctuary

In the first city to ban abortion in Ohio, a lifelong resident grapples with the transformation…

A Chocolate Lens

How do you take a picture and tell a whole story. A Chocolate Lens chronicles Steven…

There Are Things To Do

Urvashi Vaid, an outspoken immigrant, lesbian and woman of color an LGBTQ+ superhero helped shape the…

Black Godfather of Scuba

Black Godfather of Scuba follows the extraordinary life and mission of Dr. Albert Jose "Doc" Jones,…

Mine Mine Mine

A bed-bound man reflects on his childhood as Peter Pan, and how sometimes everyone grows up…

Ashes of Roses

An essay film reflection on popular trash, football parties, older men, adolescent desire and the outrageous…

The Old Young Crow

Mehrdad, now an old man, reflects on his time in Tokyo as a boy after his…

The Pigeon of Waterloo

When a man wearing a pigeon mask finally gets to spend time with his estranged teenage…

Demon Box

After festival rejections, a director revises his intensely personal short film about trauma, suicide, and the…

Dreams of Home

An experimental visual poem crafted from re-contextualized footage collected during the filmmaker's everyday life. It follows…

The Middle of the Garage

The mysterious arrival of a huge trunk in the garage of Pierre's house turns his life…

Stories We Could Have Told You

When her father suddenly takes his own life, a four-year old daughter must try to understand…

1-15-41

After the tragedy of the UVA shooting on Nov 13, 2022, this films follows the grief…

Next

What if dying was a little like going to the DMV? This short film is part…

Wired

A lonely young woman is tormented by her increasingly close relationship with the digital world. When…

RIP, LOL

NYU Student, Willow, goes back home to Richmond, Virginia with her best friend Jackie as her…

Proximity Study (Sight Lines)

Proximity Study (Sight Lines) is an attempt to measure closeness despite temporal distance. This short film…

Due Process: Martinsville 7 Story

Community activist and filmmaker Tanesha Hudson has returned with her second film, made in collaboration the…

Life of the Party

In the wake of his wife Eleanor's passing, grieving Walter's attempts to hold a quiet, respectful…

20 Days in Mariupol

Official Oscar© Selection—Ukraine Amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a group of Ukrainian journalists from the Associated…

American Symphony

In 2022, the Grammy and Oscar-winning jazz and contemporary recording artist Jon Batiste faced a pivotal…

Origin

U.S. Premiere Isabel Wilkerson, a pioneering African-American journalist and the first to receive a Pulitzer Prize,…

Fingernails

In the not-so-distant future, Anna (Jessie Buckley) and her partner Ryan (Jeremy Allen White) have achieved…

Robot Dreams

Preceded by the short film Starling. Dog leads a quiet and somewhat lonely life. Growing weary…

2023 Opening Night Gala

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

Next Generation Storytellers’ High School Short Films

Fear The Fog (12 min.) A group of amateur ghost hunters break into an abandoned hospital…

Tooth

Fed up with decades of flossing, whitening, and forced perfection of modern beauty standards, a Tooth…

The Gilded Age: Season 2 Sneak Preview

Season two of HBO's The Gilded Age begins on Easter morning 1883, with news that Bertha…

May December

In preparation for her upcoming acting role, Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), a rising celebrity, deeply involves herself…

I Could Have Been A Tree Instead

Albert Schweitzer describes the concept of reverence as, "Just as white light consists of colored rays,…

Light House Studio Shorts

Light House Studio is a nonprofit film center where Charlottesville-area youth from elementary school through college…

A Suite of Short Films by Kevin Jerome Everson

Program followed by discussion with filmmaker Kevin Everson, moderated by Claudrena Harold (UVA). Marbled Golden Eyes…

Short Films: Heroes You Should Know

Five inspirational stories of American heroes whose accomplishments deserve a bigger spotlight. These documentary shorts explore…

Short Films: Our Wealth in Common

A collection of short films from talented Virginia filmmakers, ranging from inventive fictions to clear-eyed reckonings…