Critical Conversations Archives - Virginia Film Festival

Critical Conversations

Many of our programs are accompanied by Q&As and discussions that range from conversations about the art of cinema to critical dialogues about the most pressing social issues of our time.

Black Fiddlers

The product of an intensive year's worth of uninterrupted field research, Black Fiddlers explores the legacy of African…
Clarissa’s Battle

Clarissa Doutherd is a single Black mother and activist living in Oakland, California who, after becoming…
Dani’s Twins

Dani’s Twins follows the pregnancy and early parenting life of Dani Izzie, a Virginia resident who…
Descendant

2022 Sundance Film Festival, US Documentary Special Jury Award Winner Three miles north of downtown Mobile,…
Devotion

Set in the Korean War, Devotion captures the tale of the U.S. Navy's first Black aviator, Jesse…
From Sudan to Argentina

World Premiere When the construction of the Aswan High Dam threatened to destroy the Ancient Egyptian…
Hazing

Byron Hurt explores the history and culture of hazing, a widespread, far-reaching practice that has long…
Headwaters Down

Once considered the most polluted waterway in the United States, the James River is no stranger…
Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting

Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting chronicles the movement to end the use…
The Inspection

Inspired by writer-director Elegance Bratton’s own true story, The Inspection follows the journey of a young…
Karaoke

Karaoke follows Meir and Tova, a middle-class couple in their 60s who are getting tired of…
The Levys of Monticello

After his death in 1826, Thomas Jefferson left behind a mountain of personal debt, forcing his…
The Lives Between the Lines

World Premiere This intimate, powerful film documents the inspiration for and construction of the Memorial to…
Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power

Emmy Award-winning directors Sam Pollard and Geeta Gandbhir combine first-hand accounts with striking archival footage to…
Mama’s Boy with Dustin Lance Black

Adapted from Black's memoir Mama's Boy: A Story from our Americas, this retrospective documentary chronicles the…
My Father’s Dragon

FAMILY CENTERPIECE SCREENING Based on the beloved 1948 Newberry Award-winning children’s book, My Father’s Dragon is…
Powerlands

Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso is a young Navajo filmmaker investigating the displacement of her ancestors and…
Refuge

Deep in the American South, Clarkston, Georgia, is a small rural town reminiscent of a United…
Short Films: Oh, The People You’ll Meet!

Program followed by Q&A with filmmakers from Runaway (director Eric Hurt, producer Jack Steinberg, producer Ty…
Smooth Talk

Suspended between carefree youth and the harsh realities of the adult world, a teenage girl experiences…
Stay Awake

Ethan and Derek are two brothers who are on the cusp of adulthood, yet leaving home…
A Suite of Short Films by Kevin Jerome Everson

Gospel Hill (co-directed Claudrena Harold, 2023) has two Black University of Virginia hospital employees talking about the…
Women Talking

After several newly uncovered counts of sexual abuse rock a tight-knit, isolated Mennonite community, a group…