Virginia Film Festival

A DIFFERENT MAN

Sneak preview courtesy of A24. This program is free-to-attend, with RSVP (space allowing). Sebastian Stan, winner…

In the Summers

Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize—Dramatic Sundance Film Festival Directing Award—U.S. Dramatic In this poignant debut…

Janet Planet

This program is free-to-attend, with RSVP (space allowing). Thank you to A24 for providing this advanced…

EUREKA

Followed by a conversation with director Lisandro Alonso. Traversing time, space and genre, Argentinian filmmaker Lisandro…

Ennio

Introduction and post-screening discussion led by Benjamin Rous, Music Director of the Charlottesville Symphony at UVA.…

Paper Clips

Special 20th Anniversary Screening Screening followed by a Q&A with Director Joe Fab moderated by VAFF…

The Mother of all Lies

Young Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir wants to know why she only has one photograph from…

Menus-Plaisirs: Les Troisgros

Founded in 1930 in central France, the Troisgros family restaurant has been holding 3 Michelin stars…

Short Films: Best of Fests

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

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…

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…

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…