Virginia Film Festival

’63 Boycott + Lonnie Holley: The Truth of the Dirt

On October 22, 1963, more than 200,000 students boycotted Chicago Public Schools in a demonstration to…

16 Bars

Following three inmates at the city jail in Richmond, Virginia, 16 Bars offers a glimpse at…

1968: The Year that Changed America

Mapping the tumultuous events of the entire year, 1968 highlights monumental shifts in the modern landscape of…

20 Days in Mariupol

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

2040

What will our planet look like in the year 2040? And more importantly, can we do…

4 Little Girls

Preceded by the short film I Can't Breathe (45 min.) On September 15, 1963, four black…

41on41

41 storytellers weave a multidimensional profile of President George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of…

9/11: Inside the President’s War Room

This insightful documentary explores the hours immediately after the attacks on 9/11 from the angle of…

Abacus: Small Enough to Jail

Acclaimed director Steve James (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters, Life Itself) follows the story of the Sung…

Afghan Cycles

Following members of the National Cycling Team in Kabul and young riders in the Bamiyan region,…

After Coal

Preceded by the short film Through (5 min.) What happens after fossil fuels run out? After…

After Sherman

Filmmaker Jon Sesrie-Goff travels to his minister father’s birthplace in Coastal South Carolina in the aftermath…

After Spring

With the Syrian conflict now in its sixth year, millions of people have been displaced from…

An Afternoon with Rita Dove & Julian Bond

Focusing on these two celebrated figures, director Eduardo Montes-Bradley creates comprehensive biographical sketches, steeped in historical…

Aggie

Art collector and American Philanthropist Agnes “Aggie” Gund has received international recognition for her dedication to…

Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly

While under house arrest in Beijing at the hands of Chinese authorities, artist and activist Ai…

Alice

Charlottesville filmmaker Eduardo Montes-Bradley sits down with composer, conductor, and teacher of choral music, Alice Parker,…

Alive Inside

Winner of the 2014 Sundance Documentary Audience Award, this film chronicles the astonishing journey of individuals…

All In: The Fight for Democracy

In 2018, Stacey Abrams became the first Black woman to run for governor in a major…

All that Breathes

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

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Golden Lion Winner, 2022 Venice Film Festival Academy-Award winning documentarian Laura Poitras (Citizenfour) chronicles the internationally…

Always in Season

Preceded by the short film What if Black Boys Were Butterflies? When Claudia Lacy’s 17-year-old son, Lennon,…

América

When called upon to take care of their 93-year-old grandmother, three brothers from Colima, Mexico, realize…

American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel

Religion, race, and politics in America have been intertwined for as long as the country has…

American Symphony

In 2022, the Grammy and Oscar-winning jazz and contemporary recording artist Jon Batiste faced a pivotal…

American Veteran

At 21 years old, Army Sergeant Nick Mendes was paralyzed from the neck down after getting…

Another Slave Narrative

Preceded by the short film Anna As part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1936-1938, the…

Another Way of Living: The Story of Reston, VA

Visionary American urban planner Robert Simon believed that building community is more important than creating buildings.…

Anselm

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

The Anthropologist

Katie, a thirteen-year-old girl from Fairfax, Virginia, is carted around the globe by her mother, noted…

Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco

A native of Puerto Rico raised in the Bronx, Antonio Lopez gained international recognition as one…

Anywhere But Here + Seeking Asylum

These two documentaries by local filmmakers explore race and inequality on both the local and global…

Army of Lovers in the Holy Land

Army of Lovers in the Holy Land begins thirty years after launching the queer disco-pop band Army…

Artemio

Preceded by the short film Nichmal Son: Musica Que Florece Artemio was born in the United…

Autonomy

Acclaimed author Malcolm Gladwell leads the first comprehensive documentary look at the human side of the…

Bad Axe

Audience Award Winner, SXSW  At the start of the 2020 pandemic, documentarian David Siev left his…

Ballad of a Righteous Merchant

Chronicling Werner Herzog’s making of the feature film, My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done,…

The Ballad Of Shirley Collins

Considered an icon of English traditional song, Shirley Collins gained national recognition during the epicenter of…

The Beekeeper

*This short film screens before FREELAND* A beekeeper on the island of Anglesey faces losing her…

Bending the Arc

An extraordinary team of doctors and activists work to save lives in a rural Haitian village.…

Best and Most Beautiful Things

Michelle Smith, a precocious twenty-year-old woman, lives with her mother Julie in rural Maine. Michelle is…

Beuys

Joseph Beuys was a revolutionary German painter, famous for his felt hat and unique performance pieces,…

Big Fur

World champion Canadian taxidermist Ken Walker undertakes the biggest challenge of his career in this funny…

Big Moccasin

Deep in the Appalachian Valley, filmmakers Chelsea and Andrew Moynehan capture the ethos of life along…

The Biggest Little Farm

Preceded by short film Half a Chicken  When John and Molly Chester’s dog refuses to stop…

Birth of a Movement

Preceded by the short film Legacies of Slavery (10 min.) When D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a…

Black Barbie: A Documentary

In 1955, Beulah Mae Mitchell landed a toy testing job with Mattel and packed her bags…

Black Fiddlers

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

Black in Blue

Before 1967, the American Southeastern Conference boasted a roster composed entirely of white athletes. In the…

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution is the first feature-length documentary to explore the Black…

Blind Trust: Leaders & Followers in Times of Crisis

Blind Trust: Leaders & Followers in Times of Crisis celebrates the life and work of psychiatrist…

Bobbi Jene

Preceded by the short film Educated Feet (16 min.) Bobbi Jene Smith makes the transformative decision…

Bombs Away: LBJ, Goldwater and the 1964 Campaign that Changed it All

Looking back a half-century to the 1964 White House contest between President Lyndon Johnson and Senator…

Boom and Bust: America’s Journey on the Erie Canal

A meditation on economic cycles and the American Dream, this remarkable film tells the tale of…

Boone

Three young goat farmers come to terms with the physical and emotional grit required to live…

Bound: African vs African Americans

The divide between Africans and African Americans is complex and seldom explored. Opening with personal testimonials…

Boys State

Every summer, a thousand Texas high school senior boys gather for a week-long program for an…

Breaking the News

With men—often white men—making up 70% of policy and politics editors, journalists Emily Ramshaw and Amanda…

The Breaks: Centuries of Struggle

Six men – separated by two centuries – live lives marked with intrigue, hardship, and tragedy.…

Bugs

Since the United Nations recommended edible insects as a resource to combat world hunger, insects as…

Buskin’ Blues

Preceded by the short film Boardwalk Músico Buskers, more commonly referred to as street performers, come…

Call Center Blues

*This short film screens before HAMTRAMCK, USA* A character-driven, cinematic tale of deportation, migration, displacement and…

Care

Care delves deeply into the day-to-day routines of domiciliary care through the eyes of both paid…

The Cave

For the past eight years, the war in Syria has brought death and destruction to millions.…

The Challenge

Amid dune bashing contests, Lamborghinis, and private jets, director Yuri Ancarani treks across the Persian Gulf…

Changing the Game

High school athlete Mack Beggs made national headlines in 2017 when he became the Texas girls…

Charlottesville

Produced by University of Virginia Center for Politics and the Community Idea Stations, this documentary revisits the…

Chef Flynn

Often called the “Justin Bieber of Food,” budding chef Flynn McGarry quickly emerged as a culinary…

A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks

A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks follows the life of filmmaker and photographer Gordon…

Circles

After being displaced by Hurricane Katrina, Eric Butler moves to Oakland, California, in an impassioned effort…

Citizen Ashe

Citizen Ashe follows legendary African American tennis player, activist, and Virginia native Arthur Ashe as he…

Clarissa’s Battle

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

Coapan En Espera

Screens before the feature film The Sower.  An experimental documentary from director Federico Cuatlacuatl, Copan En Espera…

Coby

Suzanna, 23, disrupts the delicate ecosystem of her small Midwestern town when she comes out as…

Coded Bias

Director Shalini Kantayya explores two major questions at the forefront of modern society: What does it…

Combat Obscura

Combat cameraman Miles Lagoze served several years in the war in Afghanistan collecting footage for Marine…

Coming Home

In October of 2014, director Ricardo Preve led a diving expedition on the shore of Barra…

Contemporary Color

This performance event, conceived by Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne, honors the artistry and athleticism…

Counting

In 15 linked chapters, Counting merges city symphony, diary film, and personal/political essay to create a…

Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment

In June 1963, director Robert Drew’s camera crew followed President John F. Kennedy and his staff…