As events that transpired in Charlottesville inform the national conversation on the politics of race and resistance, the Virginia Film Festival has placed the subject at the center of this year’s programming. And the Race in America series features some of the best filmmaking on the subject. Attending this year’s festival will be veteran filmmaker […]
As events that transpired in Charlottesville inform the national conversation on the politics of race and resistance, the Virginia Film Festival has placed the subject at the center of this year’s programming. And the Race in America series features some of the best filmmaking on the subject. Attending this year’s festival will be veteran filmmaker […]
Harold and Maude producer Chuck Mulvehill and director Hal Ashby met during post-production work on The Landlord (1970), and eventually became partners in the company DF Films (Dumb Fuck). Mulvehill says when the story of Harold and Maude came his way, “My first reaction to the script was ‘It’s weird.’ Hal’s take was that there […]
In a world where digital theaters project billions of colors in subtle gradations that mimic all the hues of real life, choosing to watch—or produce—a black and white film may be taken as a small act of defiance. For movies shot after the advent of color film, the choice of black and white is often […]
Tony DeRose, senior scientist at Pixar Animation Studios, wants students to know that the math and science they must learn in school really is helpful. It’s applicable in their activities, games and movies, and DeRose is holding a master class during the Virginia Film Festival to drive home this point. Joining him will be Earl […]
You know that rock band. The one you can recognize immediately because of its iconic style and utter uniqueness? Well, you may be surprised to hear that if you trace that sound back through the years, you’ll likely find Native American influences at its roots. Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana bring this often-overlooked topic to […]
Describing themselves as “Tennessee’s Americana apostles,” the phenomena that is Boy Named Banjo breaks out on an Eastern U.S. tour. Since 2011, the five members of the Americana and roots act have been developing their sound, weaving numerous instruments, including guitar, harmonica, mandolin, drums, upright bass and (of course) banjo, with sweet, five-part harmonies. Friday, […]
If laughter is the best medicine, then consider Herron’s Entertainment Comedy Night a health class from out of town. Composed of emerging comedians from New York City, these missionaries of hilarity dish out gut-busting tropes that are certain to heal frowny face outbreaks. Bent Theatre partners in the mad merriment by adding local stand-up to […]
Theresa M. Davis directs Seven Guitars, the 1940s installment of August Wilson’s Century Cycle, which is centered around blues guitarist Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton, who leaves jail looking for his next hit record and the hope of repairing his relationship with his former girlfriend, Vera. The realism in Wilson’s lyrical script intimately relates the strife and […]
It’s a bit chilly in the air-conditioned exhibition room at The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA, but the temperature isn’t what’s giving Rebecca Schoenthal goosebumps. It’s the art. Specifically, it’s William Baziotes’ cool-toned, blue-hued “Night Form” and Adolph Gottlieb’s earth-toned pictograph, “The Sorceress,” hanging on a Fralin gallery wall, together for the first time […]
Luis Soler bought his first guitar for $30. It was a pawn shop find, “the worst possible guitar,” he says while nursing a pint of beer at Champion Brewing Company on Halloween eve. “Metallica,” “Slayer” and other metal band names were scratched into the guitar’s paint, says Soler, prompting throaty laughter from his Little Graves […]