Virginia Film Festival

The Special Athlete
2019. USA. 4 min. Director: Christina Anton, Graham Barbour Featuring: Chris Raupp, Lloyd Raupp, Sue Raupp, Ron Manilla

Beloved Newcomb Hall employee Chris Raupp represented the United States at the Special Olympics in Abu Dhabi this past March, bringing home the gold in doubles tennis. This is his story.

Ladylike
2019. USA. 20 min. Director: Rachel Bickert, Emily Tapanes Featuring: Mallory Parish

A young queer woman in the American south comes to terms with her sexuality, shattering deeply-rooted religious beliefs and cultural stereotypes within her conservative community, family, and self.

This film is part of the LGBTQIA+ series presented by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts and supported by the UVA Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the UVA Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, and UVA Arts: supported by the Office of the Provost & the Vice Provost for the Arts

Carlotta’s Face
2019. Germany. 5 min. Director: Valentin Riedl, Frédéric Schuld

As a child, Carlotta didn’t expect the people around her to have faces. She doesn’t even recognize her own face. After many years, she learns about a rare, untreatable deficit in her brain’s function. Ultimately, art offers her a way to finally recognize herself.

Follow
2019. USA. 11 min. Director: Byron Stankus Featuring: Allison Blaize

While taking a much-needed retreat in the wilderness, Heather, a budding young actress, finds out it is not easy to disconnect from one of her followers.

Through Your Eyes
2018. USA. 4 min. Director: Mason Mirabile Featuring: Mason Mirabile, Mac Mirabile, Anna Mirabile, Asher Mirabile

A first-person POV film about a newborn baby’s day, directed by his older brother.

Will “The Machine”
2019. USA. 13 min. Director: Kent Lamm Featuring: Chris Fornataro, Denzel Whitaker

Chris Fornataro (Bad is Bad) and Denzel Whitaker (Black Panther) star in this brooding character portrait of an elite high school football star consumed by ambition. When Will faces defeat by an outsider in a series of races, the demons keeping “The Machine” running finally surface. Set in Richmond, Virginia, the title character embodies the city’s conflicted, tumultuous history.

Mending
2018. USA. 3 min. Director: Natalie Piszcz, Lilly Parker, Meera Gandhi, Sarah Wimbish
With over 40 hours of animating and editing, Mending stresses the damaging effects of controlling relationships. This film symbolically tells the story of a female who is entangled in a tumultuous relationship and faces severe obstacles.

Take Me to Prom
2019. Canada. 20 min. Director: Andrew Moir Featuring: Alf Roberts, Fontaine, Marcy Rogers, Alphonso King Jr., Marc Hall, Carmen, Caroline Kan-Hai
Featuring intimate, charming interviews with queer people ranging in age from 88 to 17, Take Me to Prom invites audiences to revisit an iconic adolescent milestone while telling a story of social change that spans more than 70 years.

This film is part of the LGBTQIA+ series presented by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts and supported by the UVA Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the UVA Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, and UVA Arts: supported by the Office of the Provost & the Vice Provost for the Arts

Here Today
2019. USA. 13 min. Director: Erica Arvold Featuring: Meredith Grace Dabney, Cece Kelly, Isaiah Asher Hanley, KJay

This autobiographical short tells the story of a high school girl struggling to find her own identity with a new group of friends who discover that together, their choices have an impact beyond anything they ever imagined.