Virginia Film Festival

Pahokee

Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan paint a detailed and astonishingly nuanced portrait of Pahokee, a small…

Nichimal Son (Blooming Music)

Screens before the feature film Artemio Evlia relocates to Zinacantán out of love for her husband and…

Olympic Dreams

Preceded by the short film Wax Paul Now After a disappointing finish in her event at the…

The Muppet Movie

Motivated to make his big break in Hollywood, Kermit the Frog decides to travel across America,…

Midnight Family

In one of Mexico City’s wealthiest neighborhoods, the Ochoa family operates a for-profit ambulance, competing with…

Mickey and the Bear

Mickey is a young girl living in Anaconda, Montana, with her unstable, unemployed, and uninvolved ex-Marine…

Motherless Brooklyn

In 1950s New York City, four former orphans make up The Minna Men, a makeshift private…

Little Joe

Alice is a single mother and committed plant breeder at a corporation involved with developing new…

Light House Studio Shorts

A nonprofit filmmaking center dedicated to teaching students self-expression through filmmaking, Light House Studio’s work has…

Kifaru

The northern white rhino species has long been in danger of extinction due to intense poaching…

Kelebekler (Butterflies)

After a traumatic event in childhood, siblings Cemal, Kenan, and Suzan left their village of Hasanlar…

Just Mercy

Bryan Stevenson, a young lawyer in Monroeville, Alabama, has dedicated himself to a case involving Walter…

Jojo Rabbit

A lonely German boy has his world view turned completely upside down when he discovers his…

Jaddoland

Director Nadia Shihab returns to her home in Lubbock, Texas,to visit her mother, an artist from…

I’ve Got Issues

Self-loathing, loneliness, death, discrimination, injustice, oppression, and the atom bomb, I’ve Got Issues is a unique comic…

It Started as a Joke

Preceded by the short film Food Place. When Eugene Mirman first proposed a comedy festival making fun…

The Inn at Little Washington: A Delicious New Documentary

Dubbed “The Pope of American Cuisine,” Chef Patrick O’Connell is a legend. He’s revered as a…

In Fabric

Preceded by the short film Ghostwriter In the months following a painful divorce, Sheila visits a department…

Human Nature

CRISPR has revolutionized the scientific world, allowing us the ability to change the most basic building…

A Hidden Life

This historical drama features the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer and devout Catholic…

Harriet

Based on the extraordinary life of Harriet Tubman, this film chronicles the American hero’s escape from…

The Golden Harvest

In this “6,000-year-old love story,” director Alia Yunis explores the complicated relationship between the people of…

General Magic

Before 1990, there was no digital communications industry—no digital cell phones, no world wide web, no…

Gay Chorus Deep South

In response to a wave of discriminatory anti-LGBTQ laws and the divisive 2016 presidential election, the San…

Frankie

Françoise Crémont, known to her family as Frankie, is a well-known French art-house movie star. Struggling…

Fishing With Dynamite

Director Paul Wagner examines how the shared obsession with short-term profits between corporations and Wall Street…

Fig Tree

Set in 1989, director Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian’s feature debut follows 16-year-old Mina as she navigates coming of…

Field of Dreams

While walking through his cornfield one evening, Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella hears a voice whispering, “if…

Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles

A love letter to the celebrated musical Fiddler on the Roof, this documentary is an exhilarating…

The Father

Valentina’s death takes quite a toll on her husband, Vassil. When it’s discovered that a neighbor…

Family Romance, LLC

Preceded by the short film Pilgrim Werner Herzog’s latest narrative focuses on Japan’s bizarre rent-a-family business, a…

Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops

Ernie & Joe introduces two courageous police officers in San Antonio’s mental health unit working to…

Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (How I Felt When I Saw That Girl)

Sweety Chaudhary, a young Punjabi woman, is constantly badgered by her overbearing family about her love…

Ed Asner: On Stage and Off

Widely acknowledged as the most honored performer in the history of American television, Ed Asner is…

Best of Film at Mason

Best of Film at Mason is a showcase of recent notable and award-winning films. From heartfelt to heartbreaking…

Driveways

Preceded by the short film Cowboy Joe. Following the death of her estranged sister, aspiring nurse Kathy…

Dolce Fine Giornata

Maria Linde, a renowned poet and Nobel Prize winner, lives in her glorious Tuscan villa surrounded…

Dismantling Democracy

Dismantling Democracy examines new and old democratic structures of government in the United States and around the…

Deerskin

At the start, Georges is seemingly just a middle-aged, bearded loner living in a small-town motel.…

Coming Home

In October of 2014, director Ricardo Preve led a diving expedition on the shore of Barra…

Coapan En Espera

Screens before the feature film The Sower.  An experimental documentary from director Federico Cuatlacuatl, Copan En Espera…

The Client

Based on the John Grisham bestseller, The Client revolves around Mark, a street-smart 11-year-old boy who…

Clemency

Preceded by the short film Slave Cry Prison warden Bernadine Williams has objectively carried out several…

Changing the Game

High school athlete Mack Beggs made national headlines in 2017 when he became the Texas girls…

The Cave

For the past eight years, the war in Syria has brought death and destruction to millions.…

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

In anticipation of the historic film's 100th-anniversary premiere in Berlin, Feb 26th, 1920, this repertory screening…

Burning Cane

Preceded by the short film Easter Snap. God-fearing Helen Wayne’s faith is quietly tested when the relationships…

Breaking Away

Fresh out of high school in Bloomington, Indiana, Dave and his working-class best friends Cyril, Moocher,…

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead with Ethan Hawke

Needing some quick cash, brothers Andy and Hank set up the perfect crime to rob their…

Bacurau

Teresa returns to her village of Bacurau, located in Brazil’s semi-arid sertão, following the death of…

Autonomy

Acclaimed author Malcolm Gladwell leads the first comprehensive documentary look at the human side of the…

Artemio

Preceded by the short film Nichmal Son: Musica Que Florece Artemio was born in the United…

American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel

Religion, race, and politics in America have been intertwined for as long as the country has…

Always in Season

Preceded by the short film What if Black Boys Were Butterflies? When Claudia Lacy’s 17-year-old son, Lennon,…

Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly

While under house arrest in Beijing at the hands of Chinese authorities, artist and activist Ai…

Afrikana Film Festival

The Afrikana Independent Film Festival is dedicated to showcasing the cinematic works of people of color…

Adrenaline Film Project Reprise

In its 15th year and hosted by Light House Studio, the Adrenaline Film Project challenges 12…

9 Pillars Hip Hop Music Video Showcase

Curated by 9 Pillars Hip Hop Cultural Festival Director, Cullen Wade, 9 Pillars Hip Hop Music…

2040

What will our planet look like in the year 2040? And more importantly, can we do…

2019 Late Night Wrap Party

21+ Event Before the credits roll on the 2019 Festival, join us at the Late Night…

2019 Opening Night Gala

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

Diamantino

Diamantino, the world’s premiere soccer star (Carloto Cotta), loses his special touch and ends his career in…

Them That Follow

Them That Follow, set in the wilderness of Appalachia, follows members of an isolated community of…

¡Las Sandinistas!

¡Las Sandinistas! reveals the untold stories of Nicaraguan women warriors and social revolutionaries who shattered barriers to…

20th Annual Animation Show of Shows

The Animation Show of Shows returns for its 20th year to present 15 thought-provoking, poignant, and very funny…

The Highwaymen

The outlaws made headlines. The lawmen made history. From director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side), The…

Hale County This Morning, This Evening

In his directorial debut, award-winning photographer and director RaMell Ross offers a refreshingly direct approach to…

The Public

As an unusually bitter Arctic blast makes its way to downtown Cincinnati, a group of homeless…