Virginia Film Festival

Radical Grace

In 2011 the Vatican was reprimanding American nuns for “radical feminism”—for focusing on social justice work…

Polyfaces

Set amid the stunning Shenandoah Valley, this joyful documentary details the innovative agricultural techniques of Polyface…

Ocean Frontiers: The Dawn of a New Era in Ocean Stewardship

Ocean Frontiers: The Dawn of a New Era in Ocean Stewardship takes the viewer on an…

My Friend Victoria

Victoria, a young girl from a humble background, spends the night with the bourgeois family of…

Lost Colony

While navigating life with his hyperprotective mother, teenaged Loren struggles with his pregnant girlfriend’s ambivalence toward…

Lamb

Superbly shot and movingly acted, Lamb traces the disturbing yet intimate friendship between a middle-aged man…

I Saw the Light

I Saw the Light tells the story of the iconic singer-songwriter Hank Williams, who revolutionized country…

Cheatin’

Oscar-nominated Bill Plympton, the “King of Indie Animation,” hand-draws and directs this animated adult tale of…

Bound: African vs African Americans

The divide between Africans and African Americans is complex and seldom explored. Opening with personal testimonials…

Return to Cuba: In the Footsteps of Walker Evans

Just weeks before the American and Cuban governments reconciled, a group of renowned photographers traveled to…

The Looking Glass

After losing her mother, a troubled 13-year-old moves to Indiana to live with her grandmother Karen,…

Teen Press

Seven years ago, two optimistic Santa Barbara Middle School teachers, David Teton-Landis and John Seigel Boettner,…

Son of Saul

Saul Ausländer is a Hungarian member of Auschwitz-Birkenau’s Sonderkommando, the group of Jewish prisoners isolated from…

Some Beasts

Sal abandons the modern world and leaves his troubled past behind, finding solitude on an isolated…

Projections of America

Narrated by John Lithgow, the film uncovers the lost “Projections of America”—a series of 26 short…

Night of the Living Deb

Preceded by the short film Soccer Moms in Peril After the endearingly awkward Deb wakes up in…

Men Go to Battle

A truly distinctive and sparse period piece, Men Go to Battle imagines the different paths that…

Inspired to Ride

Inspired to Ride follows cyclists from around the world as they prepare and race unsupported—no crew,…

Daydreaming

Set in Prato, Tuscany, this episodic film is split into the parallel stories of two men…

Adrenaline Film Project

The 12th annual Adrenaline Film Project has arrived! The AFP is a competition where teams pitch,…

A Light Beneath Their Feet

A Light Beneath Their Feet follows a family coping with the mother’s bipolar disorder. Gloria (Manning,…

Krisha

Following a prolonged battle with addiction and self-destruction, Krisha returns for a holiday celebration with the…

In Transit

In Transit takes you on a journey into the hearts and minds of everyday passengers aboard…

Harry & Snowman

Preceded by the short film Mr. Balloon's Wild Ride Snowman was an old Amish plow horse…

Hallowed Ground

Amid the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, Hallowed Ground explores Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, site of the…

Entertainment

Preceded by the short film Usetocould Entertainment follows a broken, aging comedian (Turkington) as he tours the…

Counting

In 15 linked chapters, Counting merges city symphony, diary film, and personal/political essay to create a…

Until 20

This touching documentary from Emmy Award–winning producers chronicles young James Ragan’s fight to live after a…

Most Likely to Succeed

Director Greg Whiteley examines the history of education in the United States, revealing the growing shortcomings…

Last Days in the Desert

Ewan McGregor plays both Jesus and the devil in the reimagination of Christ’s 40 days in…

The Lady in the Van

Preceded by the short film Elemental (11 min.) Academy Award winner Maggie Smith brings to life…

Jackrabbit

Set after a catastrophic event known as The Reset, this film examines humanity’s attempt to rebuild…

Imba Means Sing

In the slums of Kampala, Uganda, education is a luxury most families cannot afford. As the…

Grand Street

Camilla’s elegant life as a fast-track film executive has come undone. Just as she is about…

Generation A: Portraits of Autism in the Arts

Through eight compelling portraits, Generation A celebrates the talents of youths with autism, and provides them…

The Forbidden Room

The Forbidden Room is Canadian auteur Guy Maddin’s epic phantasmagoria. Paying homage to the films and…

Coming Through the Rye

Preceded by the short film Incubus Inspired by the filmmaker’s own life story, the story follows 16-year-old…

Actor for Hire

Aspiring actor Jesse thinks he’s not landing parts because he’s bald. After several failed auditions, Jesse…

The Adderall Diaries

Based on the bestselling memoir by Stephen Elliot, this film examines the life of the once-successful…

Late Night Wrap Party

Before the credits roll on the 2015 Festival, meet us at the Late Night Wrap Party…

Opening Night Gala

Join us for the start of the 28th annual Virginia Film Festival at the Opening Night…

The Theory of Everything

Starring Eddie Redmayne (Les Misérables) and Felicity Jones (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), this is the extraordinary…

The Exhibitor

screens before the feature film Fishing Without Nets Follow Dave Mead, projectionist at the Wellfleet Drive-In, as…

Fifth Street

screens before the feature film 5 to 7 Adèle always wanted to become a famous writer. After…

I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story

Caroll Spinney has performed Sesame Street’s Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch for over forty years.…

Short Narrative Films

The craft of acting is front and center in this collection of short narrative work. Ranging…

The Learning Tree

Based on his book of the same name, Gordon Parks’ The Learning Tree follows Newt, a…

From Grain to Growler

Filmmakers Aaron Stanley and Megan Troy travel throughout the Commonwealth to beer festivals, breweries, bars, hop…

The Natural

An unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs (Redford) with a mysterious past appears out of nowhere…

Ringtone + Fire in Our Hearts

From ancestral clan songs, to 80s hip hop artists and local gospel tunes, ringtones are the…

Shaft

Richard Roundtree’s iconic, gritty performance as self-reliant private detective John Shaft continues to resonate decades later.…

Mark Twain Tonight!

Featuring Hal Holbrook in a special live theatrical performance The Virginia Film Festival is giving its audiences…

Low Down

Based on Amy-Jo Albany’s memoir, Low Down brings the audience into the life of 1970s jazz…

SlingShot

SlingShot focuses on the extensive efforts by noted inventor Dean Kamen, renowned for the development of…

The Sound and the Fury

Set in Mississippi at the turn of the 20th century, The Sound and the Fury portrays…

What We Do in the Shadows

Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) and Taika Waititi, breathe new life, and laughs, into the…

Landscapes of Longevity

What qualities of our everyday places help us live long, healthy lives?  The Landscapes of Longevity…

Wild

Director Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club), Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line), and Academy…

The Winding Stream

The heart of country music can be found in the hills of Virginia, nestled in the…

I’m Obsessed With You

Four collegiate comedians and one magnetic movie star venture to live their lives according to the…

Wish You Well

In the wake of the tragedy of the loss of their father, young Lou Cardinal and…

The Humbling

Barry Levinson’s film adaptation of Philip Roth’s penultimate novel lays bare the dwindling acting career of…

The Wizard of Oz

Celebrate the 75th anniversary of one of the most beloved films of all time with a…

How I Got Over

Before taking the stage for a groundbreaking one-night-only performance at The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts,…

Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey

Since first walking onto stage in 1954, Hal Holbrook has performed his award-winning one-man show as…

The Hip-Hop Fellow

Patrick Douthit, better known as the artist 9th Wonder, is a Grammy Award winning producer, record…

Gray Matters

Through her unique vision, imagination, and sensibility, 20th century architect Eileen Gray changed the way we…

Frost/Nixon

Based on a series of 1977 interviews between television personality David Frost (Sheen) and former President…

Freedom Summer

In the hot and deadly summer of 1964, the nation’s eyes were riveted on Mississippi. Despite…

Foxcatcher

Olympic Gold Medal winning wrestler Mark Schultz (Tatum) is summoned by wealthy John du Pont’s (Carell)…

Fishing Without Nets

preceded by the short film The Exhibitor (8 min.) Abdi, a principled but struggling young Somali fisherman,…

Fed Up

Upending the conventional wisdom of why we gain weight and how to lose it, Fed Up…

Famous Nathan

Photo by Daniel Farrell / Courtesy Loquat Films Thirty years in the making, Famous Nathan chronicles…

Drunktown’s Finest

Three young Native Americans -- a college-bound student, a father-to-be, and a promiscuous transsexual -- struggle…

Dead Poets Society

Twenty-five years ago, Robin Williams surprised audiences with an unconventionally restrained and dramatic performance as Professor…

Bombs Away: LBJ, Goldwater and the 1964 Campaign that Changed it All

Looking back a half-century to the 1964 White House contest between President Lyndon Johnson and Senator…

Big Stone Gap

Based on her best-selling novel of the same name, writer/director Adriana Trigiani presents the story of…

41on41

41 storytellers weave a multidimensional profile of President George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of…

5 to 7

preceded by the short film Fifth Street (13 min.) Aspiring young writer Brian (Yelchin) first encounters the…

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Political satire abounds in this Cold War era, Oscar-nominated black comedy. Chaos ensues in the War…