Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut Headlines 39th Virginia Film Festival Lineup

The 39th Virginia Film Festival, set for October 21-25, 2026, in Charlottesville, VA, has unveiled the lineup, kicking off on opening night with Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut.

In the film, Julianne Moore stars as a shy woman who is unexpectedly cast in a local musical and, under the spell of its enigmatic director (Paul Giamatti), loses herself in the role.

The Centerpiece Film is The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd, with writer-director-producer-actor Tim Blake Nelson appearing in person and receiving the Virtuoso Award. A teacher (Amanda Seyfried) in a maximum-security prison forms a connection with a charismatic death-row inmate (Scoot McNairy), risking everything.

The Closing Night Film is 1 15 41 Tragedy to Triumph. A documentary following the UVA football program from the tragic shootings of three of its players in 2022 through the aftermath of the tragedy, culminating in the team’s triumphant 2025 season.

Visionary Awards will be presented to Nathan Lane and Jessica Lange, both of whom will be in conversation with Turner Classic Movies primetime host Ben Mankiewicz.

Nathan Lane will also appear with a 30th anniversary screening of The Birdcage, and Jessica Lange will appear alongside a screening of director Jonathan Kent’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night (2025). She will also join The Hollywood Reporter’s Executive Editor of Awards Scott Feinberg for a live recording of the Awards Chatter podcast, and introduce a screening of her 1994 film, Blue Sky.

James Gray will be presented the Outstanding Achievement in Directing Award at a screening of Paper Tiger. After the film, he will be joined in conversation by his longtime composer Christopher Spelman. Gray will also be a guest on a live recording of IndieWire’s Screen Talk podcast hosted by IndieWire Editor-at-Large Anne Thompson and Executive Editor Ryan Lattanzio.

Producer Todd Black (The Pursuit of Happyness, Fences, The Equalizer franchise) will receive the inaugural Career Producer Honor at a special screening of The Social Reckoning, after which he will be in conversation with Aaron Sorkin. Black will also present a clip talk program centered around the upcoming film Madden, alongside director David O. Russell.

Writer-director Chuko Esiri will receive the Outstanding Achievement in Screenwriting Award at the screening of Clarissa. Director Penny Lane will receive VAFF’s documentary recognition, The Chronicler Award, at a screening of The Wild Inside. Musician and composer Cristóbal Tapia de Veer will receive the Outstanding Achievement in Film Composition at Club Kid and will also present Nuisance Bear later in the festival.

Ruth De Jong, production designer of The Odyssey, will receive the Craft Award for Production Design and join a robust lineup of industry panels and educational offerings, to present the Building Worlds: The Art of Production Design Panel.

“I believe this is the strongest lineup of guest artists and films that we have had in my 18 years as director of the Virginia Film Festival,” said Jody Kielbasa, Executive Director of the Virginia Film Festival and Vice Provost for the Arts at the University of Virginia. “In what is clearly a tremendous year for film across the world, we are proud to showcase some of the most celebrated films on this year’s festival circuit.”

“Our guests this year range from storied industry icons whose body of work has informed a generation of cinema to some of the most prominent auteurs working today, alongside treasured film artisans and a bevy of new talent who auger an exciting future for the state of film for years to come” said Ilya Tovbis, Artistic Director of the Virginia Film Festival.

Gala Screenings

*With Award Presentation

14th
Dir. Ava DuVernay

Behemoth!
Dir. Tony Gilroy

Being Heumann
Dir. Siân Heder

La Bola Negra
Dirs. Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi

The Cashier
Dir. Andy Edmunds
*Governor Gerald L. Baliles Founder’s Award – Daphne Maxwell Reid

Club Kid
Dir. Jordan Firstman
*Outstanding Achievement in Film Composition Award – Cristóbal Tapia de Veer

Elsinore
Dir. Simon Stone

I Play Rocky
Dir. Peter Farrelly

Ink
Dir. Danny Boyle

Paper Tiger
Dir. James Gray
*Outstanding Achievement in Directing Award – James Gray

Wild Horse Nine
Dir. Martin McDonagh

Spotlight Screenings

*With Award Presentation

All of a Sudden
Dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff
Dir. Nanette Burstein

Clarissa
Dirs. Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri
*Outstanding Achievement in Screenwriting Award – Chuko Esiri

Everytime
Dir. Sandra Wollner

Fatherland
Dir. Pawel Pawlikowski

Josephine
Dir. Beth de Araújo

Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Dirs. William Greaves and David Greaves

The Only Living Pickpocket in New York
Dir. Noah Segan

Possible Love
Dir. Lee Chang-dong

Tangles
Dir. Leah Nelson

When a Witness Recants
Dir. Dawn Porter

Wild Inside
Dir. Penny Lane
*Chronicler Award – Penny Lane

World Premieres

1 15 41 Tragedy to Triumph
Dir. Greg Firth

Death Becomes Us: And Hands are with Us
Dir. Chris Farina

Giants Do Fall
Dirs. Megan Ponder and Stiv Wilson

Love, Your Birth Mom
Dir. Din Blankenship

No More Punk Time: The Last Days of Crayola House
Dir. Tarik Begic

One of a Kind
Dir. James Burns, Lee Adams, and Noah Gray

Our Community. Our Canvas.
Dir. Pam Hervey

A Price We Have to Pay
Dir. Ricardo Preve