Virginia Film Festival

FAQ

Young Dong-chun gets an unexpected escape when she finds a talking bottle of rice wine on a school retreat.

TALK TO HER

The haunting story of two men who care for the comatose women they love.

WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED

Socorro is obsessed with finding the soldier that killed her brother during the Tlatelolco massacre.

PRODIGAL DAUGHTER

Filmmaker and former punk artist Mabel Valdiviezo reunites with her family in Peru after 16 years of silence.

PERCEBES

With the sea and urban Algarve as the backdrop, we follow a complete life cycle of…

CICATRIZ (SEED)

After his mother’s death, Rafael returns to his childhood home, where Silvania’s presence is still felt…

MARGARETHE 89

Leipzig, 1989. Margarethe, a young punk opposed to the East German regime, is detained in a…

NEA

A hot-headed taxi driver and henchman in Medellín is enlisted to repair his boss's AC at…

A CRAB IN THE POOL

Zoe and her little brother Theo are left to fend for themselves on a scorching summer…

RIPE!

Nothing says "it's complicated" like breaking your crush's arm. This short film is part of the The…

SEVENTEEN

In California, a small town, a Chinese American teenage girl, Jasmine , gets pregnant and wants…

TAUTUKTAVUK (What We See)

Two Inuit sisters embark on a healing journey during the Covid-19 pandemic.

ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL

After Shula finds her uncle’s dead body in the middle of the road, the family comes together and secrets resurface.

LA COCINA

In a Times Square kitchen, dreams and desperation collide as the staff chase the elusive American dream.

THE KINGDOM

Set in 1995 Corsica, Lesia’s life is upended when she discovers her father’s mob ties.

I’M STILL HERE

Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries) tracks Eunice Paiva during Brazil’s 1970s military dictatorship.

THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE

A pregnant factory worker in post-WWI Copenhagen looks for help from a mysterious adoption agency.

EMILIA PÉREZ

Four remarkable women from Mexico pursue happiness in this audacious musical fever dream.

DON’T CRY, BUTTERFLY

After discovering her husband’s infidelity on live TV, Tam turns to a mystical response.

DEMBA

In a visually daring and thematically complex story, a Senegalese man tangles with mental health challenges.

DAHOMEY

Mati Diop (Atlantics) interrogates the repatriation of 26 royal treasures to the Republic of Benin.

CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING

A blood-drenched musical extravaganza about two lovers split up by a chainsaw.

THE BLACK SEA

After falling for a catfishing scam, Khalid finds himself stranded in coastal Bulgaria.

ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT

Two nurses in Mumbai navigate societal expectations in this exquisitely crafted and lyrical Cannes Gran Prix winner.

EUREKA

Followed by a conversation with director Lisandro Alonso. Traversing time, space and genre, Argentinian filmmaker Lisandro…

Ennio

Introduction and post-screening discussion led by Benjamin Rous, Music Director of the Charlottesville Symphony at UVA.…

The Mother of all Lies

Young Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir wants to know why she only has one photograph from…

Menus-Plaisirs: Les Troisgros

Founded in 1930 in central France, the Troisgros family restaurant has been holding 3 Michelin stars…

A Dead Marriage

Filip is a professional extra, specialized in playing dead bodies on movie sets. One day he…

Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black)

Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black) follows Yankunytjatjara man Derik Lynch's road trip back to Country for…

Balikbayan

A Filipina immigrant grapples with the physical distance from the family she left behind and the…

Millstone

A psychological thriller in the spirit of Black Mirror, this short - featuring an entirely Deaf…

Short Films: Best of Fests

Program followed by discussion with Millstone director Peter Hoffman Kimball and actor Eddie Buck. Moderated by…

20 Days in Mariupol

Official Oscar© Selection—Ukraine Amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a group of Ukrainian journalists from the Associated…

La Chimera

For a film chronicling a group of grave-robbers, La Chimera is markedly full of life and…

Monster

Usually quiet and reserved, young Minato has begun to act strangely; he claims to be a…

On the Adamant

Golden Bear (Best Film) Winner | Berlin International Film Festival In the heart of Paris, atop…

Perfect Days

Official Oscar© Selection—Japan | Best Actor, Kōji Yakusho – Cannes Film Festival One of two films (in…

Radical

Festival Favorite Award, Sundance Film Festival The students at Jose Urbina Lopez Elementary School face significant…

Evil Does Not Exist

Oscar-winning director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) returns with Evil Does Not Exist, an unexpected and mysterious…

Terrestrial Verses

Terrestrial Verses is comprised of nine vignettes that shed light on the everyday struggles of ordinary…

The Settlers

Official Oscar© Selection—Chile At the turn of the twentieth-century, Segundo, a Chilean of European and Latin descent,…

Sleep

Newlyweds Soo-jin and Hyun-su face a serious test in their marriage when Soo-jin awakens one evening…

The Gullspång Miracle

Norwegian sisters Kari and May are dedicated to their religious convictions, often influenced by the divine…

The Taste of Things

Official Oscar© Selection—France | 2023 Cannes Film Festival Winner: Best Director, Trân Anh Hùng Dodin Bouffant, a…

The Teachers’ Lounge

Official Oscar© Selection—Germany | Golden Lola (German Oscar) for Best Film Carla Nowak, a dedicated and idealistic…

Tótem

Official Oscar© Selection—Mexico During the day, Sol helps her family where she can at her Grandfather’s home,…

The Goldman Case

Following what many consider to be the trial of the century, The Goldman Case watches French…

From You

Grand Prize, Jeonju International Film Festival From You follows a family of dreamers and artists. Minju…

Four Daughters

Official Oscar© Selection—Tunisia | Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary, Cannes Film Festival The life of Olfa,…

Fancy Dance

Following her sister's disappearance, Jax cares for her niece Roki, managing to scrape by on the…

Fallen Leaves

Official Oscar© Selection—Finland | Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival A chance meeting in Helsinki offers two lonely…

Dusty & Stones

Jury Award for Best Documentary, Atlanta Film Festival Cousins Gazi “Dusty” Simelane and Linda “Stones” Msibi…

Cobweb

In this film-within-a-film, Kim Yeol is a filmmaker haunted by the desire to reimagine the conclusion…

Asog

Jaya is a non-binary comedian whose life upends after a natural disaster devastates the Philippines and…

Anselm

A triumphant follow up to his 2011 tour-de-force Pina, Wim Wenders’ latest 3D documentary is another…

Animalia

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award, Sundance Heavily pregnant Itto enjoys new affluence following her marriage…

About Dry Grasses

Official Oscar© Selection—Turkey 2023 Cannes Film Festival, Winner: Best Actress, Merve Dizdar A bored, prideful art teacher…

Joyland

The screening will followed by a discussion led by Samhita Sunya, UVA Assistant Professor of Cinema…

The Sky is Very Pretty

Screens before the feature film MOM. Mothers and daughters flee their country of origin and pass…

Mom

Preceded by short film THE SKY IS VERY PRETTY US Premiere | Pre-Festival Event | Free…

Mom

US Premiere Mom is a documentary exploring the emotionally turbulent conversation between a son and his estranged…

Corsage

Official Oscar© Selection—Austria 2022 Cannes Film Festival, Winner: Un Certain Regard, Best Performance, Vicky Krieps Empress…

Klondike

Official Oscar© Selection—Ukraine | Best Director Award Winner, 2022 Sundance Film Festival Klondike tells the story…

Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths

Official Oscar© Selection—Mexico The latest film from five-time Academy Award-winner Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, Birdman, Amores…

Saint Omer

Grand Jury Prize Winner, 2022 Venice Film Festival The groundbreaking narrative debut from acclaimed documentarian Alice…

Tug of War

Official Oscar© Selection—Tanzania Denge is a revolutionary fighting for freedom from British colonial rule in his…

Ten Months

Mirae seemingly has everything going for her. She is a game engineer for an ambitious start-up,…

The Five Devils

Joanne and Jimmy live in a small, foggy village in the French alps with Vicky, their…

Eternal Spring

Official Oscar© Selection—Canada In March 2002, the outlawed spiritual group Falun Gong hijacked a state TV…

Close

Official Oscar© Selection—Belgium | 2022 Cannes Film Festival, Grand Prize Winner Thirteen-year-old neighbors Léo and Rémi…

Broker

2022 Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Winner, Song Kang-ho Hirokazu Kore-eda presents a humanistic, humorous, and philosophical…

All that Breathes

As masses of birds fall from the smog-filled skies of New Delhi amid environmental distress and…

Alcarràs

Official Oscar© Selection—Spain | Golden Bear Winner, 2022 Berlin Film Festival For as long as the…

Vaychiletik

Vaychiletik (Dreams) tells the story of José Pérez, who the gods have granted the gift of…

Utama

Official Oscar© Selection—Bolivia Virginio and Sisa, an indigenous elderly couple living in the Bolivian highlands, have…

Under the Fig Trees

Official Oscar© Selection—Tunisia A group of teenagers in rural northwest Tunisia spend a summer working in…

Songs About Love

US Premiere A bittersweet black-and-white film about a young musician searching for his path in life,…

Scarlet

In a time of dramatic change, World War I veteran Raphaël returns to his village in…

Mama Boy

Xiao-hong, a painfully shy, almost thirty-year-old fish store employee, lives alongside his control-freak mother, Meiling, who…