Spotlight Screenings
OPENING NIGHT FILM
Not Fade Away
Thursday, November 1
7:00 p.m., The Paramount Theater
David Chase, the creator of The Sopranos, returns to the scene of the crimes (New Jersey) in his feature film directing debut, a rock-and-roll drama set in 1964. The story of a group of friends who come together to form a band, the film features a reunion with Sopranos star James Gandolfini (as the disapproving father of the band’s gifted front man, played by John Margaro). Not Fade Away features a soundtrack produced by Sopranos co-star and E Street Band legend Steven Van Zandt. It’s a complex portrait of a young man’s coming of age against the backdrop of one of music’s most iconic periods and was recently presented as the centerpiece of the 2012 New York Film Festival.
Presented by Flow Automotive Companies
CENTERPIECE FILM
Silver Linings Playbook
Saturday, November 3
7:00 p.m., The Paramount Theater
Bradley Cooper stars in this highly-anticipated film from director David O. Russell as Pat Solatano, a former teacher who moves back in with his parents (played by Jacki Weaver and Robert DeNiro) after a stint in a mental institution. Desperate from the loss of his house, his job, and his wife, Pat crosses paths with Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a mysterious girl with problems of her own. She has a plan for how Pat can reconnect with his wife, but definitely wants something in return. As their story evolves, and their deal takes shape, silver linings begin to appear in both of their lives.
Presented by Charlottesville Albemarle Airport
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
The Sessions
Sunday, November 4
7:30 p.m., The Paramount Theater
Based on the poignant and optimistic autobiographical writings of poet Mark O’Brien, this Audience Award winner at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival tells the triumphant and true story of a man confined to an iron lung since childhood (brilliantly played by John Hawkes) who is determined to lose his virginity. With the help of his therapist (in a stunning and brave performance by Helen Hunt) and his priest (William H. Macy), he sets out to make his dream a reality.
The Man with the Iron Fists
Thursday, November 1
10:30 p.m., The Paramount Theater
Wu Tang Clan co-founder RZA co-wrote (with Eli Roth), directs, and stars in this Quentin Tarantino Presents historical epic. The film features a stellar international cast, including Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu. It’s an action-adventure that brings together warriors, assassins, and a lone outsider hero, all descending upon a single fabled village in China to engage in a winner-take-all battle for a fortune in gold. Featuring astonishing martial arts sequences led by some of the greatest masters in the world and powered by the bold creative vision that made RZA one of the towering figures in hip-hop, this is a thrilling homage to classic Kung Fu movies – and one that marks the emergence of a dynamic new filmmaking talent.
West of Memphis
Friday, November 2
3:00 p.m., The Paramount Theater
This new documentary from Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg tells the untold extraordinary story of the desperate fight to expose the truth in an effort to stop the State of Arkansas from executing an innocent man. The film provides a searing examination of the initial police investigation of the 1993 murders of three eight-year-old boys, then goes on to uncover brand new evidence surrounding the convictions of the other three victims of this shocking crime – Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Miskelley. Known as the “West Memphis Three,” they were teenagers at the time of their arrests, and went on to lose 18 years of their lives for a crime they did not commit.
A Late Quartet
Friday, November 2
6:45 p.m., Regal 4 Downtown Mall
After 25 years of collaboration, a noted New York string quartet (Mark Ivanir, Catherine Keener, Philip Seymour Hoffman) faces the very real possibility of disbanding when its cellist (Christopher Walken) informs his colleagues he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and that this will be his final season. The news sends shockwaves through the group, bringing forth suppressed emotions, competing egos, and uncontrollable passions that threaten to derail years of friendship and collaboration. As they prepare for their upcoming 25th Anniversary (and perhaps their last) concert, the group must rely on the strength of their longtime bond and the power of music to heal their rifts and preserve their legacy.
Comes a Bright Day
Friday, November 2
8:45 p.m., Regal 2 Downtown Mall
Twenty-year-old Sam is looking for something, or someone, to rescue him from his dull job as a bellboy at a high end hotel. While running an important errand, he meets Mary, a beautiful young woman working at one of London’s most exclusive jewelry shops. Just when he musters the courage to ask her out, the two are caught up in an armed robbery at the shop, becoming hostages along with the shop owner, Charlie Spall (Harry Potter, Submarine). The couple’s love story is subject to the greatest trial and sacrifice right off the bat, and the entire ordeal helps each character discover the real gems they have been looking for.
Supported by AtLarge Inc.
Stand Up Guys
Saturday, November 3
1:00 p.m., The Paramount Theater
Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Alan Arkin take “old school” to a whole new level in this tale of retired mobsters who reunite for one last night of guns, girls, and debauchery. When Val (Pacino) is sprung from a 28-year stint in prison, his old pal Doc (Walken at his double-crossing best) is there to receive him. What Val doesn’t know is that Doc is a man on a mission. And that mission is to kill him. When Doc earns Val a one-night reprieve from mob boss Mr. Claphands, the stage is set for serious mayhem, with the clock ticking ever closer to the moment of destiny.
The Duellists
Saturday, November 3
2:00 p.m., Regal 4 Downtown Mall
This debut film from Ridley Scott, based on Joseph Conrad’s The Duel, is set in the Napoleonic Wars and tells the story of obsessive and hot-tempered lieutenant Garbriel Féraud (Harvey Keitel), who develops a white-hot hatred for the aristocratic Armand d’Hubert (Keith Carradine). The two spend 16 years challenging each other to an endless series of gruesome duels. The bizarre tale explores just how far two men will go for the sake of honor.
Faces in the Mirror
Saturday, November 3
2:30 p.m., Newcomb Hall Theater
Boyd Tinsley, internationally known violinist for the Dave Matthews Band, makes his filmmaking debut with this psychedelic drama about a man returning home to bury his estranged father. In this music-driven dreamlike odyssey, mystifying people lead him to fantastical places, as he seeks forgiveness. Highlighted by an intoxicating musical score, unforgettable visuals, and visceral emotion, this is a film that is not meant to be merely seen, but experienced.
Presented by The Hook
Supported by WVTF Public Radio
Rust and Bone
Saturday, November 3
4:00 p.m., The Paramount Theater
Called an “edgy, fearlessly emotional romance” by the Los Angeles Times, this highly-anticipated film tells the story of Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts), who escapes his life on the streets to live with his sister in Antibes, France along with his 5-year-old son. He meets up with a beautiful whale trainer, Academy Award-winner Marion Cotillard. The two begin an on-again-off-again relationship, until her horrible accident deepens their bond. When Ali begins enjoying success as a gypsy street fighter, his strength and athleticism become her lifeline, and her resiliency his inspiration in a film generating significant Oscar buzz following its triumphant debut at Cannes.
Supported by CaseNEX
Between Us
Saturday, November 3
7:00 p.m., Vinegar Hill
Based on the hit Off-Broadway play of the same name, this dark comedy stars Julia Stiles, Taye Diggs, Melissa George, and David Harbour as two couples who meet as old friends and discover their lives have been tarnished by money, success, sex, and children. A seemingly harmless weekend away exposes deep divides among the four, as one couple’s seemingly perfect life unravels to expose his alcoholism and her feeling trapped in a loveless union, while the other couple shows similar, and serious, cracks in their own foundation. The film is directed by Slamdance founder Dan Mirvish.
The Details
Saturday, November 3
9:30 p.m., Regal 4 Downtown Mall
A family of hungry raccoons tears up far more than the perfectly manicured lawn at the idyllic suburban home of Jeff and Nealy Lang (Tobey Maguire and Elizabeth Banks). Jeff’s man-versus-beast obsession is the tipping point for a total implosion of their seemingly-perfect existence, including infidelity, extortion, organ donation, and other assorted mayhem. Laura Linney turns in a standout performance as the Langs’ eccentric neighbor, part of a stellar cast that also includes Ray Liotta, Dennis Haysbert, and Kerry Washington.
Deadfall
Saturday, November 3
9:45 p.m., Vinegar Hilll
Siblings Addison (Eric Bana) and Liza (Olivia Wilde) star as a brother and sister on the run from a casino heist gone bad. After a car accident leaves their wheel man and a state trooper dead, they split up and make a run for the Canadian border in the midst of a blinding blizzard. While Addison goes on a mayhem-filled, cross-country spree, Liza is picked up by an ex-boxer en route to a Thanksgiving holiday with his parents, played by Kris Kristofferson and Sissy Spacek. The holiday takes a completely unforeseen turn when the siblings reunite and push the bonds of family to the limit.
House Hunting
Saturday, November 3
10:00 p.m., The Paramount Theater
Real estate open Houses can be awkward. And in this world premiere by Charlottesville filmmaker Eric Hurt, they can also be deadly. Two families become pawns in an elaborate psychological game that finds them stuck in a foreclosed property that becomes a sort of purgatory, overseen by a vengeful former owner who proclaims only one family will escape alive. The two patriarchs, Charlie Hays (Marc Singer) and Don Thomson (Art LaFleur), first join forces to escape. But the pressure and psychological torment builds by the day, ultimately forcing the families to turn against one another.
Supported by Filament Productions
Amour
Sunday, November 4
1:45 p.m., Vinegar Hill
This French language film from the renowned Austrian director Michael Haneke won the prestigious Palme D’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival – the second win of the coveted award for Haneke, who also captured top honors for his acclaimed The White Ribbon. Amour is a wrenching love story about an octogenarian musician couple whose love is severely tested after she undergoes a health crisis. The film features powerful and heartbreaking performances from Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva as the couple, and a strong performance from Isabelle Huppert as their daughter, a fellow musician who lives abroad.
Supported by Visulite Cinemas
Quartet
Sunday, November 4
4:30 p.m., The Paramount Theater
In Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut, two-time Academy Award®-winner Maggie Smith plays Jean Horton, a former opera diva who moves into a home for retired musicians, and finds it inhabited by the rest of her former quartet. Jean’s soaring voice led her to a career as a star soloist, and the soaring ego that accompanied it tore the group, and her marriage to one of its members, apart. Working through years of resentment, the group, played by Billy Connolly, Tony Award®-winner Pauline Collins and Academy Award-nominee Tom Courteney, finally convinces Jean to revisit their famous performance of Rigoletto for the home’s annual gala.
Supported by WVPT
Photographic Memory
Sunday, November 4
5:00 p.m., Vinegar Hill
Noted documentarian Ross McElwee returns to the Virginia Film Festival for the first time since 1992. His latest film is a powerful story of how he retraced the steps of his own life in order to rebuild a crumbling bridge with a son who seems addicted to and distracted by the virtual world. McElwee travels back to St. Quay-Portrieux in Brittany for the first time in decades, in an attempt to better understand his own journey into adulthood. This film is a meditation on the passing of time, an examination of the relationship between photography and film, and a commentary on the digital versus analog divide in today’s world.
The Sapphires
Sunday, November 4
8:00 p.m., Regal 4 Downtown
The year is 1968, and the whole planet, it seems, is going haywire. Three young Aboriginal sisters from a remote mission in rural Australia are about to embark on the journey of a lifetime when they enter a local talent competition and are spotted by down-on-his-luck Irish musician Dave Lovelace (Bridesmaids standout Chris O’Dowd). He secures the group (with the addition of their cousin Kay), a major gig, and an experience that will change them forever – a tour entertaining American troops in South Vietnam. The tour, which takes them deep into the jungles and rivers of Saigon, leads them toward unforgettable lessons on life, love, and self-discovery.
