Fall is fast approaching, and that means it is time for the 26th annual Virginia Film Festival! Hosted by the University of Virginia’s College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the festival is entering its 26th year celebrating film.
From November 7 to November 10, the festival will screen more than 100 films, including independent films, documentaries, classic films, Virginia Filmmaker films, and many more.
Marking the 50th anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, the festival will have a special screening featuring Tippi Hedren, the star of the film. Along with Tippi Hedren, the festival will have guest speakers such as Will Forte from Saturday Night Live for his debut in Nebraska, Scott Haze for Child of God, Jorma Taccone for MacGruber, and Jess Weixler for The Face of Love. The line-up also includes a special Spotlights and Highlights series, including movies and documentaries shot and focused on the state of Virginia, such as Seasons with Brian and Julia, an agricultural documentary about a family’s struggle on their Virginia-based farm. Movie tickets are now on sale. If you’re interested in the art of costume design, you’ll be pleased with this year’s VFF partnership with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts! They are working in close collaboration to bring us a Hollywood Costume exhibit that will be open from November 9, 2013 to February 17, 2014. Gweneth West, Head of Costume Design at the University of Virginia’s Department of Drama, will lead a discussion exploring the importance of costume in movies. The Virginia Film Festival offers you the great opportunity to see the clothes worn in films such as The Wizard of Oz, The Birds, My Fair Lady, Superman, Titanic, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and The Dark Knight Rises. VFF Family Day, previously held on the Downtown Mall, will now take place at the Betsy and John Casteen Arts Grounds at UVa. This year will feature a 60th anniversary screening of Peter Pan, which will be free and open to the public. It will feature an interactive Arts Fair beginning at 11:30 a.m., offering interactive demonstrations with the mega-size creatures from UVa’s Stan Winston Arts Festival of the Moving Creature, movie-themed projects, and an array of food trucks ready for your dining pleasure. Students of all ages are invited to enroll in film-inspired art workshops led by UVa faculty and staff. Visit http://www.virginiafilmfestival.org/workshops/ to pre-register your child. A collaboration with Second Street Gallery adds a new and exciting aspect to the Festival’s popular Digital Media Gallery. For an entire month, the Charlottesville community will be able to experience presentations of video projection art and contemporary films. Works from Kevin Everson’s intermediate and advanced cinematography students from the University of Virginia and local students from the Light House Studio will be included. Visitors can also see Second Street Gallery’s Lydia Moyer exhibit. The Digital Media Gallery will open on November 1 from 5-7:30 and will hold a “Meet the Festival Filmmakers” party on Friday, November 8 from 6-9:00 p.m. 
Finally, the Adrenaline Film Project is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year. Led by a team of mentors including Jeff Wadlow (director and writer of Kick-Ass 2), Derek Sieg (a director and VFF veteran), and Leigh Kilton-Smith (renowned acting coach), filmmakers will participate in the incredibly fast paced creation of a film. Twelve teams will have 72 hours to write, shoot, edit, and screen their films on November 9 at 9:00 p.m. at Culbreth Theatre. Perhaps one of the most important efforts that the Virginia Film Festival has increased this year is their outreach to the University students. Stephanie Katsias, a VFF Publicity intern, has created a new campaign known as the Virginia Film Festival Advocates, which is based at UVa and open to all students for participation. VFFA works on promoting awareness of all the benefits for UVa students that the Film Festival has to offer, with a large focus on the Arts Dollars program, which allows students to see movies for free. Arts Dollars is perhaps among one of UVa’s best (though unfortunately) kept secrets. All full-time students at the University can reserve free student tickets for various performances, and additionally may register for a free membership to the Fralin Museum of Art. Arts Dollars-supported events include orchestra concerts, drama productions, and various other events, such as the Virginia Film Festival. The tickets may be reserved online, and then picked up at the UVa Arts Box Office located in the lobby of the UVa Drama Building, open Monday through Friday from 12 PM to 5 PM. More information can be found at www.virginia.edu/artsdollars. By Kiana Williams & Alison Kuhn.
