The 38th annual Virginia Film Festival will look behind the camera to recognize how composing, casting, screenwriting and other disciplines help movie magic cast its memorable spell.
“If you’ve ever sat through the credits, you see the village it takes to make it,” Ilya Tovbis, the festival’s artistic director, said in an interview. Guests from the fields of casting, screenwriting and composing will share with audience members the wonders of “building the world that the characters inhabit,” Tovbis said.
The festival, with more than 100 films, will run Oct. 22 through 26 in locations in Charlottesville. Tickets are on sale now.
The festival has a growing track record of presenting films that go on to rack up Academy Awards and other honors, but serendipity plays an important role. Tovbis said the process begins for the festival’s programmers the way it does for fans everywhere: a couple of hours spent in the dark mesmerized by a masterfully told tale.
“We fall in love with them and root for their success,” he said. “We just believe in these films and love to see them recognized.”
The opening night film this year is “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,” which tells the story behind the making of singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” album. Jeremy Allen stars; it’s directed by Scott Cooper, a Virginia native who is a member of the festival’s advisory board.
“This film really looks at an American icon,” said Jody Kielbasa, the festival’s executive director and the University of Virginia’s vice provost for the arts. He called the picture “a heartening, beautiful film.”
Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt with the E Street Band at the United Center. Chicago, in September 2002. (Peter Thompson/Chicago Tribune)
Other screenings include:
“Train Dreams,” the “Centerpiece Film,” starring Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon and William H. Macy and based on the novella by Denis Johnson. Set early in the 20th century, it’s another American story. “It celebrates a simple life, but a really beautiful life,” Kielbasa said.
“Rental Family,” the “Closing Night Film,” starring Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser. This feature-film debut from director Hikari, set in Tokyo, follows an American actor who lands a role with an agency that provides fake spouses and other family members to stand in when strangers need them. Hikari will accept the festival’s Breakthrough Director Award in person and take part in a discussion. “Reality begins to blur for (Fraser’s character), and then he has to deal with the aftermath,” Kielbasa said. “It leaves you with a good feeling in the heart.”
“Jay Kelly,” starring George Clooney, Laura Dern and Adam Sandler. Noah Baumbach’s story of a Hollywood megastar who ends up on an unexpected European journey with his longtime manager. Composer Nicholas Britell will be there to receive the Achievement in Film Composition Award and take part in a conversation with Scott Feinberg, the Hollywood Reporter’s executive editor of awards coverage. Their talk will be recorded for Feinberg’s “Awards Chatter Live” podcast. Britell “might even play a little piano for us,” Kielbasa said. “The impact that composers and music have on a film is extraordinary.”
“Christy,” starring Sydney Sweeney. Ben Foster, who portrays pro boxer Christy Martin’s coach and husband, Jim Martin, will be there to accept the Achievement in Acting Award and talk.
“Frankenstein,” starring Mia Goth, Christoph Walz and, as Frankenstein’s Monster, Jacob Elordi. Directed by three-time Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro.
“Hamnet,” starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley; by Academy Award-winning writer and director Chloe Zhao, a previous festival honoree. It dives into the real-life love and loss behind the creation of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”
“Hedda,” starring Tessa Thompson as the classic Henrik Ibsen heroine. Cara Brower, the production designer, will accept the Craft Award for Production Design.
“Sinners,” starring Michael B. Jordan, Saul Williams. Actor and musician Miles Caton, who has been praised for his portrayal of musician Sammie Moore, will receive the Achievement in Film Music Award and participate in a discussion.
Also notable:
“Come See Me in the Good Light” producer Jessica Hargrave will be at the screening of this documentary — about two poets facing their incurable cancer with humor, joy and partnership — to receive the Chronicler Award.
Screenwriter, filmmaker, author and actor Jeff Duplass of “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” and producer Michael Strassner of “Modern Family” will discuss their latest collaboration, this year’s “The Baltimorons,” and get the Achievement in Screenwriting Awards.
A casting panel will include three-time Emmy Award winner Alexa Fogel.
International films to be screened include:
“La Grazia” by Oscar winner Paolo Sorrentino
“Left-Handed Girl” by Shih-Ching Tsou, co-written with Sean Baker, her frequent collaborator
“The Plague,” directed by Charlie Polinger
“The Secret Agent,” for which Evgenia Alexandrovna, director of photography, will take home the Craft Award for Cinematography
“Urchin,” the directorial debut of actor Harris Dickinson
Though most of the program will be new to Charlottesville audiences, a few previously released films will be shown, Tovbis said, including:
“The Sting”: Ben Mankiewicz — primetime host of Turner Classic Movies, an author and a popular festival guest — will lead a special screening to honor Robert Redford, who died Sept. 16.
“The Ice Storm”: Mankiewicz will take part in a discussion of Ang Lee’s film with James Schamus, screenwriter and former CEO of Focus Features, who will receive the Impresario Award.
Among local filmmakers will be Chris Farina, whose “Pep Banned” tells the story of the student-run Virginia Pep Band. Known for its bold humor and irreverent criticism of institutions, the scramble band was prohibited from performing at UVa athletic events starting in 2003 and ceased being an official UVa group in 2011; it was replaced on the field by the Cavalier Marching Band.
Farina, himself a UVa graduate, will receive the Gov. Gerald L. Baliles Founders Award for telling such local stories with universal resonance.
“We can’t think of anybody more deserving to win this award,” Kielbasa said.
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If you go
When: Oct. 22-26
Where: Locations around Charlottesville
Tickets: Start at $15; discounts available
Details: virginiafilmfestival.org
