Virginia Film Festival

Screening followed by a Q&A with Boots Riley,
moderated by A.D. Carson, assistant professor of Hip-Hop & the Global South at the University of Virginia

Visionary filmmaker and musician Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You) presents an advanced screening of the first four episodes of I’m A Virgo, a darkly-comedic fantastical coming-of-age joyride about Cootie (Jharrel Jerome, Moonlight), a 13-foot-tall young Black man in Oakland, CA. Having grown up hidden away, passing time on a diet of comic books and TV shows, Cootie escapes to experience the beauty and contradictions of the real world. He forms friendships, finds love, navigates awkward situations, and encounters his idol, the real life superhero named The Hero, played by Walton Goggins (Hateful 8, Righteous Gemstones).

The standout cast also includes Brett Gray (On My Block, Star Trek: Prodigy), Tony-nominated and Obie-winning actor Kara Young (The Punisher), Allius Barnes (Cruel Summer), Olivia Washington (Breaking), Mike Epps (The Upshaws, Dolemite Is My Name), and Carmen Ejogo (True Detective, Fantastic Beasts).

I’m A Virgo is co-produced by Amazon Studios and Media Res Studio. Boots Riley and Tze Chun (Gotham) are the series co-showrunners and serve as executive producers, alongside Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer for Media Res Studio (Pachinko, The Morning Show), Rebecca Rivo (Escape Room), and Jharrel Jerome (Moonlight, Monster). The series features original music and score by art pop duo Tune-Yards.

Presented by the Virginia Film Festival and UVA Arts and the Office of the Provost and Vice Provost for the Arts.

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BOOTS RILEY

Activist, filmmaker, and musician, Boots Riley studied film at San Francisco State University before rising to prominence as the frontman of hip-hop groups The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club. His debut feature film Sorry to Bother You premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, was acquired by Annapurna Pictures, and was released to resounding box office success and widespread critical acclaim.

Fervently dedicated to social change, Boots was deeply involved with the Occupy Oakland movement and was one of the leaders of the activist group The Young Comrades. His book of lyrics and anecdotes, Tell Homeland Security-We Are The Bomb, is out on Haymarket Press.

He is the recipient of the Independent Spirit Awards for Best Feature Film, and SFFILM’s Kanbar Award.