And just like that, the Virginia Film Festival is a wrap. The five-day fest was full of memorable on- and off-screen moments, from Jon Batiste’s piano serenade, to the U.S. premiere of award-winning filmmaker Ava Duvernay’s Origin. A biographical drama inspired by Isabel Wilkerson’s nonfiction book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, the film follows […]
And just like that, the Virginia Film Festival is a wrap. The five-day fest was full of memorable on- and off-screen moments, from Jon Batiste’s piano serenade, to the U.S. premiere of award-winning filmmaker Ava Duvernay’s Origin. A biographical drama inspired by Isabel Wilkerson’s nonfiction book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, the film follows […]
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library 2450 Old Ivy Rd. “Their World As Big As They Made It: Looking Back at the Harlem Renaissance” showcases the visionary works of writers, artists, and thinkers of the Harlem Renaissance, plus other permanent exhibitions. Artisans Studio Tour Various locations in and around Charlottesville. Over 50 artisans open […]
It’s a ghoulish good time at The Great Rotumpkin, a spooky celebration that transforms the outside of the Rotunda into a massive movie screen. Multimedia artist Jeff Dobrow incorporates the iconic building’s architecture into a variety of spooky, scary pop-up projections that are sure to send shivers down your spine. Eerie music accompanies the visceral […]
Minneapolis firefighter and EMT Jeremy Norton documents the life of an emergency responder in his new memoir, Trauma Sponges: Dispatches from the Scarred Heart of Emergency Response. Norton, who has over 20 years of experience and also holds a degree in creative writing, writes from an insider’s perspective afforded by direct encounters with trauma and […]
Party Like a Rock Star at the Music Resource Center’s annual fundraiser. Put on your Gaga glitter, apply your KISS makeup, or don your Elvis cape to enjoy a selection of drinks and eats, before grooving to a curated playlist of one-hit wonders. The party also features band-e-oke sets by locals, including Harrison Keevil performing […]
By now, your Virginia Film Festival watch schedule is filled with moving documentaries, riveting dramas, and mighty shorts—but don’t overlook this year’s series of panel discussions, where industry experts discuss their careers, share stories, and more. One of those experts, Rebe Malaret, is a film and television producer, UVA cheerleading alum, and former VAFF intern. […]
The Holdovers Director Alexander Payne is a devoted cinephile who loves the style of intimate, wryly funny, character-driven films that were plentiful 50 years ago but are now nearly extinct. Payne’s films honor this bygone era of storytelling in welcome ways, including his newest work, The Holdovers. Set in 1970, the reliable Paul Giamatti stars […]
For many years, filmmaker and UVA film professor Kevin Jerome Everson has figured prominently in Charlottesville’s moviemaking community. His experimental films have continually bypassed cinematic conventions in favor of “formal exercises,” he explains. A regular Virginia Film Festival guest, Everson will screen nine shorts on Friday, “all shot this calendar year,” he notes, and marked […]
Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner arrived at the University of Virginia more than 60 years ago to begin his tenure as the first writer-in-residence. During his time in Charlottesville, Faulkner visited English classes, kept office hours, worked on his novel The Mansion, and left a lasting impact on the area’s literary, and wine, scene (His […]
This year’s Virginia Film Festival features Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, a new documentary that chronicles the life, work, and enduring legacy of the titular poet. Going to Mars has already garnered much buzz: At its Sundance premiere earlier this year, the film received the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary award. Produced and […]