Virginia Film Festival

Short Films: Fantastical Escape

A series of short stories of escaping the mundane, life’s hardships, isolation, and being misunderstood. These…

Dream Scenario

Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) is a directionless family man and middling professor, troubled by the ordinary,…

War Pony

Caméra D'Or, Cannes Film Festival  War Pony follows two Oglala Lakota men as they come of…

2023 Late Night Wrap Party

21+ Event. Before the credits roll on the 36th annual Festival, join us at the Late…

La Chimera

For a film chronicling a group of grave-robbers, La Chimera is markedly full of life and…

King Coal

King Coal comprises a collection of poetic vignettes that depict daily life in Appalachia, primarily exploring…

Maestro

Written, directed, and starring Bradley Cooper, Maestro is a deep and fascinating look inside the mind…

Joan Baez I Am A Noise

Joan Baez, a musician, civil rights campaigner, and activist, has graced the stage for over six…

The Mission

In 2018, the world was captivated by the tragic story of John Chau, a young American…

Impossible Town

For many years, Minden, West Virginia, has deteriorated into toxic decay due to the pervasive presence…

Monster

Usually quiet and reserved, young Minato has begun to act strangely; he claims to be a…

Immediate Family

Best known for their studio and stage work in support of some of the bestselling singer-songwriters…

No Ordinary Campaign

In 2017, Brian Wallach and his wife Sandra Abrevaya's lives drastically changed. Shortly after welcoming their newborn…

OnBoard

In the summer of 2020, Merline Saintil, a former tech COO, and Robin Washington, a former…

On the Adamant

Golden Bear (Best Film) Winner | Berlin International Film Festival In the heart of Paris, atop…

Pay or Die

In a nation of plenty, the ultimate price is paid by those who cannot afford it.…

Perfect Days

Official Oscar© Selection—Japan | Best Actor, Kōji Yakusho – Cannes Film Festival One of two films (in…

The Persian Version

Audience Award, US Dramatic | Sundance Film Festival Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, US Dramatic | Sundance…

Radical

Festival Favorite Award, Sundance Film Festival The students at Jose Urbina Lopez Elementary School face significant…

Evil Does Not Exist

Oscar-winning director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) returns with Evil Does Not Exist, an unexpected and mysterious…

The Disappearance of Shere Hite

In 1976, Shere Hite's groundbreaking bestseller, The Hite Report, delved into women's private experiences through an…

Rustin

Bayard Rustin, architect of the 1963 March on Washington, was one of America's great activists, organizers,…

Stamped from the Beginning

Oscar-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams (The 1619 Project) brings Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's acclaimed book of…

Terrestrial Verses

Terrestrial Verses is comprised of nine vignettes that shed light on the everyday struggles of ordinary…

The Settlers

Official Oscar© Selection—Chile At the turn of the twentieth-century, Segundo, a Chilean of European and Latin descent,…

Hummingbirds

In Laredo, a small Texas city on the Mexican border, best friends Silvia and Beba can…

The Holdovers

Most American children spend winter break at home with their families, but at Barton Academy, an…

Sleep

Newlyweds Soo-jin and Hyun-su face a serious test in their marriage when Soo-jin awakens one evening…

Gumbo Coalition

Powered by a mutual determination to empower Black and Latin American communities, two visionary civil rights…

Sometime, Somewhere

World Premiere Sometime, Somewhere sheds light on the challenges faced by Latino communities in Charlottesville, Virginia…

The Gullspång Miracle

Norwegian sisters Kari and May are dedicated to their religious convictions, often influenced by the divine…

The Space Race

Preceded by the short film For the Moon In a gripping account of the race against…

Tapawingo

This lighthearted coming-of-age comedy follows one awkward teenager's path through adolescence, showcasing the unique and unconventional…

The Taste of Things

Official Oscar© Selection—France | 2023 Cannes Film Festival Winner: Best Director, Trân Anh Hùng Dodin Bouffant, a…

The Teachers’ Lounge

Official Oscar© Selection—Germany | Golden Lola (German Oscar) for Best Film Carla Nowak, a dedicated and idealistic…

They Shot the Piano Player

This animated film follows journalist Jeff Harris (voiced by Jeff Goldblum) as he set out in…

This World is Not My Own

Chewing gum sculptures, a wealthy gallerist, a notorious murder case, and the segregated South all played…

Time Bomb Y2K

As the year 2000 neared, widespread fear arose worldwide over the looming transition into a new…

Tótem

Official Oscar© Selection—Mexico During the day, Sol helps her family where she can at her Grandfather’s home,…

We Start With The Things We Find

Many people may see shipping containers as simple components in a vast global economic and supply…

The Goldman Case

Following what many consider to be the trial of the century, The Goldman Case watches French…

Going Varsity in Mariachi

After school at Edinburg North High School, the halls are filled with the sounds of blaring…

Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project

US Grand Jury Prize, Documentary | Sundance Film Festival One of America's greatest living poets, Nikki…

Frybread Face and Me

The year is 1990, and 12-year-old Native American Benny Lovell, growing up in San Diego, enjoys…

From You

Grand Prize, Jeonju International Film Festival From You follows a family of dreamers and artists. Minju…

Four Daughters

Official Oscar© Selection—Tunisia | Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary, Cannes Film Festival The life of Olfa,…

For the Taking

World Premiere It's the first of the month, and grocery clerk Victor Molina just got furloughed.…

Faulkner: The Past is Never Dead

History regards William Faulkner, the 1949 Nobel Prize winner in Literature, as one of the greatest…

Fancy Dance

Following her sister's disappearance, Jax cares for her niece Roki, managing to scrape by on the…

Fallen Leaves

Official Oscar© Selection—Finland | Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival A chance meeting in Helsinki offers two lonely…

Eileen

Set in 1964 during a frigid Boston winter, Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie) leads a bleak life submerged…

Dusty & Stones

Jury Award for Best Documentary, Atlanta Film Festival Cousins Gazi “Dusty” Simelane and Linda “Stones” Msibi…

Cobweb

In this film-within-a-film, Kim Yeol is a filmmaker haunted by the desire to reimagine the conclusion…

Café Daughter

Yvette Wong, a young Chinese and Cree heritage girl, lives in a small 1960s Saskatchewan town.…

Breaking the News

With men—often white men—making up 70% of policy and politics editors, journalists Emily Ramshaw and Amanda…

Breakwater

After serving a grueling prison sentence, young ex-con Dovey (Darren Mann) savors the taste of freedom…

Booger

Preceded by the short film Tooth Life has not been easy for Anna since the unexpected death…

Black Barbie: A Documentary

In 1955, Beulah Mae Mitchell landed a toy testing job with Mattel and packed her bags…

Asog

Jaya is a non-binary comedian whose life upends after a natural disaster devastates the Philippines and…

Anselm

A triumphant follow up to his 2011 tour-de-force Pina, Wim Wenders’ latest 3D documentary is another…

Animalia

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award, Sundance Heavily pregnant Itto enjoys new affluence following her marriage…

American Fiction

People's Choice Award Winner, Toronto International Film Festival Thelonious “Monk'' Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) is a down…

All of Us Strangers

Adam (Andrew Scott) is a screenwriter in the first phase of an existential depression: he can’t…

All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt

A visually stunning and emotionally rich debut from poet-turned-filmmaker Raven Jackson, All Dirt Roads Taste of…

About Dry Grasses

Official Oscar© Selection—Turkey 2023 Cannes Film Festival, Winner: Best Actress, Merve Dizdar A bored, prideful art teacher…

The Sky is Very Pretty

Screens before the feature film MOM. Mothers and daughters flee their country of origin and pass…

Mom

Preceded by short film THE SKY IS VERY PRETTY US Premiere | Pre-Festival Event | Free…

Bad Axe

Audience Award Winner, SXSW  At the start of the 2020 pandemic, documentarian David Siev left his…

Hot off the Presses: New Books on Cinema from UVA Professors

Three UVA professors with newly published books on international cinema share short presentations about their scholarship.…

To the End

To the End follows four intersecting stories of courageous women of color—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Varshini Prakash, Alexandra Rojas,…

Light House Studio Shorts

For over 20 years, Light House Studio has helped Charlottesville youth tell their stories through film. With…

A Suite of Short Films by Kevin Jerome Everson

Gospel Hill (co-directed Claudrena Harold, 2023) has two Black University of Virginia hospital employees talking about the…

The Lost King

For years archaeologists presumed the remains of King Richard III had been scattered over 500 years…

Corsage

Official Oscar© Selection—Austria 2022 Cannes Film Festival, Winner: Un Certain Regard, Best Performance, Vicky Krieps Empress…

Orlando

30th Anniversary Screening | 30th Anniversary Celebration of Sony Pictures Classics Sally Potter’s bold re-working of…

Making It – Film Industry Career Panel

Three early mid-career filmmakers with very different paths to success in the film industry share their…

The Power of Media, Storytelling, and The Muppets of Sesame Street

Featuring Sesame Workshop President Sherrie Westin in conversation with Marshall Persinger (VAFF Board) For more than…

From Page to Screen—Screenwriter’s Panel

Oscar-winning Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (Milk) and Oscar-Nominated Screenwriter Meg LeFauve (Inside Out) discuss the art…

She Said

From Director Maria Schrader comes an ode to investigative journalism in one of the most well-reported…

Women Talking

After several newly uncovered counts of sexual abuse rock a tight-knit, isolated Mennonite community, a group…