The 36th Virginia Film Festival set for October 25-29 announced its lineup with Maestro written, produced, and directed by Bradley Cooper as Opening Night Film. The film focuses on the relationship between Leonard Bernstein (Cooper) and his wife Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan).
Makeup effects artist Kazu Hiro (Academy Award winner for Bombshell and The Darkest Hour) will receive the VAFF Craft Award alongside the screening.
The Festival’s Centerpiece Film is The Holdovers, directed by Alexander Payne, and featuring Paul Giamatti as a curmudgeonly New England prep schoolteacher who forms an unexpected bond with a wayward student.
The Festival’s Closing Night Film is American Symphony, with Academy Award®-nominated, and six- Emmy Award-winning-filmmaker Matthew Heineman and recording artist Jon Batiste presenting in person. Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer, bandleader, and television personality Jon Batiste is tirelessly preparing his “American Symphony” when he and his longtime partner, “Emmy award-winning journalist and NYT bestselling author Suleika Jaouad learn that her rare form of leukemia has returned after ten years in remission. Heineman will receive the VAFF Directorial Achievement Award, and Batiste will briefly perform, following a post-screening discussion.
2023 Gala Screenings include Ava DuVernay’s Origin, Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction, Rustin starring Colman Domingo, anda Dream Scenario starring Nicolas Cage.
Other VAFF Gala Screenings include Todd Haynes’ May December, starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore; a special presentation of War Pony with writer Franklin Sioux Bob and directors and writers Gina Gammell and Riley Keough (Emmy-nominated actor, Daisy Jones and the Six); and Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project featuring a post-screening conversation with Nikki Giovanni, who will receive the VAFF Changemaker Award.
VAFF Spotlight Screenings include All of Us Strangers starring Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott; Eileen featuring Anne Hathaway; Fingernails with Riz Ahmed and Jessie Buckley, and two Sundance heavyweights: Audience Award winner The Persian Version, and The Disappearance of Shere Hite, with Academy Award-nominated director Nicole Newnham on hand to receive the VAFF Chronicler Award.
The Virginia Film Festival continues its tradition of presenting some of the most acclaimed international films on the festival circuit. Toplining this lineup are eight official International Oscar Selections: 20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine); About Dry Grasses (Turkey); Fallen Leaves (Finland); Four Daughters (Tunisia); Perfect Days (Japan); The Settlers (Chile); The Taste of Things (France); The Teachers’ Lounge (Germany); and Tótem (Mexico).
Additional program highlights include
Café Daughter: Inspired by actual events, Café Daughter tells the story of a nine-year-old, half-Chinese, half-Cree girl as she struggles to find her place in a small Saskatchewan community in the 1960s. Discussion with director and producer Shelley Niro.
The Mission: Directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s documentary chronicles the life of John Chau, an evangelist who repeatedly attempted to contact an isolated tribal nation, only to be killed by the tribe’s members.
No Ordinary Campaign: ALS patient Brian Wallach and his wife Sandra Abrevaya build a wildly successful national movement to push through healthcare reform in Washington DC. Followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.
OnBoard: Director Deborah Riley Draper’s documentary offers an insightful narrative about the ascent of Black women on American corporate boards, showcasing the determination and actions of a group of courageous women who united in 2020 to drive progress in board diversity. Discussion with executive producer Shannon Nash.
The Space Race: Directors Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza’s documentary dives into the untold experiences of the inaugural Black pilots, scientists, and engineers of NASA, utilizing decades’ worth of archived film footage and interviews to provide a reflective take on the challenges associated with the process of breaking social and scientific barriers. Discussion with executive producer and film subject Leland Melvin.
Sometime, Somewhere(World Premiere): Ricardo Preve’s black-and-white documentary explores the unique journeys and shared struggles of Latino immigrants in Charlottesville, Virginia against the backdrop of changing perceptions due to 9/11 and the 2021 Capitol assault. Discussion with director and producer Ricardo Preve, who will receive the VAFF’s Gerald L. Baliles Founder’s Award.
Black Excellence
This series grew out of VAFF’s commitment to both expand and be more inclusive in its efforts to not only tell stories about challenges along racial boundaries, but also to celebrate, investigate, and deepen our understanding of how integral African-American culture and history has been, and continues to be, to American history.
- All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
- American Fiction
- American Symphony
- Black Barbie: A Documentary
- Breaking The News
- Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
- Gumbo Coalition
- Origin
- Onboard
- The Space Race
- Stamped From the Beginning
- This World Is Not My Own
From Page to Screen
This series highlights films based on novels, bringing words to life on the big screen.
- American Fiction
- All of Us Strangers
- Eileen
- Faulkner
- Origin
- Robot Dreams
- Stamped from the Beginning
Indigenous Cinema of the Americas
This series spotlights the work of Indigenous American filmmakers and provides a platform for discussion around the complex issues facing this population today. The series is curated by VAFF guest programmer Adriana Greci Green.
- Breaking The News
- Café Daughter
- Fancy Dance
- Frybread Face and Me
- War Pony
Jewish and Israeli
Cinema exploring Jewish culture and Israeli lives, culture, and history.
- Anselm
- The Goldman Case
- Maestro
- Origin
- This World Is Not My Own
Korean Cinema
- Cobweb
- From You
- Sleep
Latinidades
Referring to a diversity of experiences of “Latino-ness,” this series spotlights documentary and drama films directed by, and or featuring Latinx/a/o/e community members.
- Breaking the News
- Going Varsity in Mariachi
- Gumbo Coalition
- Hummingbirds
- Radical
- The Settlers
- Sometime, Somewhere
- Tótem
LGBTQIA+
- All of Us Strangers
- American Fiction
- Asog
- Breaking The News
- Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
- Going Varsity in Mariachi
- Hummingbirds
- Maestro
- Monster
- The Persian Version
- Rustin
Middle Eastern and South Asian Cinema
This selection of films features stories that take place in Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, and Iran.
- About Dry Grasses
- Animalia
- Four Daughters
- Terrestrial Verses
Music on Film
The VAFF presents a selection of films prominently featuring music, bands, and musicians.
- American Symphony
- Dusty & Stones
- Going Varsity in Mariachi
- Immediate Family
- Joan Baez I am a Noise
- Maestro
- The Persian Version
- They Shot the Piano Player
Nature & Environment
This series features a wide-ranging selection of films focused on critical and timely environmental issues.
- Evil Does Not Exist
- Impossible Town
- King Coal
- Sometime, Somewhere
- We Start with the Things We Find
Shorts Programs
The 2023 VAFF program includes 7 curated short-form film programs.
- Best of Fests
- Heroes You Should Know
- Next Generation Storytellers’ High School Short Films
- Fantastical Escapes
- Light House Studio Shorts
- Our Wealth in Common
- A Suite of Short Films by Kevin Jerome Everson
Virginia Filmmaking
This series shines a spotlight on films that were made in Virginia or have roots in the Commonwealth.
- Breakwater
- For The Taking
- I Could Have Been a Tree Instead
- Sometime, Somewhere
- Tapawingo
- Time Bomb Y2K
Women in Film
A series of exceptional films by and about women.
- All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
- Animalia
- Breaking The News
- The Disappearance of Shere Hite
- Four Daughters
- Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
- Going Varsity in Mariachi
- The Gullspång Miracle
- Gumbo Coalition
- Hummingbirds
- La Chimera
- Onboard
- Origin
- Pay or Die
- The Persian Version
- Totém
- War Pony
Panels at The CODE Building
The VAFF will host a trio of panel discussions on Saturday, October 28 at the Irving Theatre in the CODE Building on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. The panels are free and open to the public and will include:
The Last of Us – Production Masterclass
VAFF Board Member Janet Graham Borba—Executive Vice President of Production at HBO and MAX—leads a Master Class in physical production, using the first season of The Last of Us as a case study. The conversation touches on preparing, shooting, and finishing the hit show, with clips and behind the scenes information adding critical context and insider insights.
Beyond the Headlines: The WGA
Interested in getting a deeper understanding of the Writer’s Guild of America? Learn about the WGA’s origins, its central role in Hollywood film production, and the core issues that motivated the strike from WGA and VAFF Board members John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil), Jai Jamison(Superman & Lois), and Steven J. Kung (Dear White People, Fresh off the Boat, A Leading Man).
Making It – Film Industry Career Panel
Three early mid-career filmmakers with very different paths to success in the film industry share their personal journeys, along the way giving insight into what a modern career in the entertainment business looks like. Panelists include writer Nayna Agrawal (Disney’s Encanto), Julia Pontecorvo (Going Varsity in Mariachi), development associate Rebe Malaret (Boardwalk Pictures, previously ARRAY), and Scot Safon (VAFF Board).