The Virginia Film Festival, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year from November 9-12, chose a topic at the forefront of many people’s minds—both locally and nationally—with its Race in America series. A collaboration with James Madison’s Montpelier, the series features notable filmmaker Spike Lee, who will screen his documentary 4 Little Girls. And from […]
To tell the full story of Vietnam along all of its harrowing dimensions, the producers of an epic new film series about the war required 10 years of research, more than 100 personal interviews and a healthy dose of humility. “I personally have been obsessed with the Vietnam War for most of my adult life,” […]
VFF films with Virginia ties The Ruination of Lovell Coleman Director Ross McDermott met Lovell Coleman in Charlottesville 10 years ago when he saw the then octogenarian putting a new roof on his house by himself. Coleman, now on the cusp of 94, has been playing the fiddle since at least age 14, when he […]
In The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde writes: “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” It’s one of many mantras employed by self-prescribed “trans-visionary gender obliviator” Billy Bloom, the vibrant protagonist at the heart of Freak Show, an adaptation of James St. James’ 2007 YA novel of the same name, and the directorial […]
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, […]