Turner Classic Movies and the Library of Congress Celebrate the National Film Registry
This year, the Virginia Film Festival is proud to be working with Turner Classic Movies and the Library of Congress to present a special series of some of the most beloved classics in movie history. The series offers audiences a rare opportunity to see a collection of films that both highlights and informs the American experience, all on carefully-restored 35-mm prints that bring them to renewed life. This year’s inaugural lineup will include a screening of National Velvet (which will be presented as the centerpiece of the festival’s annual Family Day festivities); Terrence Malick’s Badlands (with special guests Sissy Spacek (who starred in the film opposite Martin Sheen) and her husband Jack Fisk, who was responsible for its spectacular art direction; Robert Altman’s McCabe and Mrs. Miller; John Huston’s The Treasure of the Sierra Madre; and The General, the famed 1926 silent film starring and co-directed by Buster Keaton, which will feature live musical accompaniment by composer Matt Marshall. The films in the series were chosen by Turner Classic movies host and renowned film expert Ben Mankiewicz, who will be on hand to present and discuss them.
45 Years of Kartemquin Films
Since 1966, Chicago-based Kartemquin Films has set an extraordinarily high bar for documentary filmmaking excellence, expertly examining and critiquing society through the stories of real people. Started by University of Chicago graduates Gordon Quinn, Stan Karter and Jerry Temaner, the company dove right into the tumultuous times by creating dynamic and diverse documentaries that gave voices to the people who most needed to be heard. Hailed as “documentary powerhouse” by Chicago Reader, Kartemquin gained international acclaim for its 1994 classic Hoop Dreams, commonly recognized as one of the most successful documentaries of all time. The Virginia Film Festival is proud to present a collection of nine Kartemquin films this year, highlighted by A Good Man, which follows legendary choreographer Bill T. Jones on his personal and artistic journey while creating a piece based on Abraham Lincoln (a journey that brought him to the University of Virginia, where he was in residency). The film will be paired with the short film 100 Migrations, a 15-minute piece that captures the work itself and more of his experiences on the University Grounds. Other highlights will include Steve James’ new film, The Interrupters, an exploration of a bold, new, interventional approach to breaking the cycle of violence in inner-city Chicago; Taylor Chain I and Taylor Chain II, which gave America one of its first looks inside the collective bargaining process at an Indiana chain factory; Vietnam: Long Time Coming, which shared the experience of American Vietnam vets returning to the country for a bike tour with their former adversaries; Inquiring Nuns, one of the company’s earliest films, which featured “Nun on the Street” interviews asking what makes people happy; and the short films Winnie Wright, Age 11 and Now We are On Clifton, both of which dealt with issues of neighborhood gentrification in the mid 1970s.
Israeli/Jewish Voices
This year the Virginia Film Festival shines a spotlight on Israeli filmmakers in a special four-film series including The Human Resources Manager, a dark comedy about one man’s cross-continental journey in search of redemption and winner of three Israeli Academy Awards; Infiltration, a military drama set in the early years of Israeli statehood; Restoration, a gripping multigenerational family drama recently presented at the Toronto International Film Festival and nominated for 11 Israeli Academy Awards; and 2-Night, a unique love story born in the search for one of the most fleeting elements of life: a parking spot.
Also presented in this special series will be four films that each reflect various aspects of Jewish culture and tradition. They include David, about the 11-year-old son of a strict Brooklyn Imam who, thanks to a simple case of mistaken identity, wrestles with the burdens of ancient conflicts in a modern world; The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground, a feature length documentary that follows the Grammy-winning klezmer band over a four year journey that takes them from New York to Israel to Poland; La Rafle, the meticulously-researched retelling of the infamous Vel’d’Hiv police raid of 1942 that poses difficult questions about the tension between loyalty to family and country; and In Darkness, an extraordinary story of survival in Nazi-occupied Poland, and Poland’s entry for consideration in the Best Foreign Film category for the 2012 Academy Awards.
Supported by the Israeli Embassy and Congregation Beth Israel.
A Focus on Local Food
The Virginia Film Festival is proud to feature two documentaries that examine and enlighten the way we treat food.
Cafeteria Man
Friday, 5:30 p.m., Regal 4 Downtown Mall
Chef Tony Geraci is the subject of Cafeteria Man, which chronicles his ambitious effort to “green” the public school diet for some 83,000 public school students in Baltimore, Maryland. Geraci, now the food-service director for the city’s schools, describes himself as “a little bit lunch lady and a lot P.T. Barnum.” His bold vision for a healthier future includes school vegetable gardens, student-designed meals, meatless Mondays and nutrition education in the classroom. His groundbreaking efforts, according to best-selling author and activist Michael Pollan, may be only the beginning of a movement that can spread across the entire country. The screening will feature Geraci and director Richard Chisolm.
Presented by Whole Foods and supported by Silverthorn Films, U.Va. Brown Residential College and U.Va. Food Collaborative.
Farmageddon
Saturday, 3:00 p.m., Regal 3 Downtown Mall
Farmageddon is the story of small family farms that were providing safe, healthy foods to their communities, only to be forced to stop, sometimes through violence, by agents of misguided government bureaucracies favoring agribusiness and factory farms. These officials, according to filmmaker Kristin Canty, are serving to lessen the safety of our food supply by driving out those small farms and farmers who have proven themselves more than capable of producing safe and healthy crops. More than anything, Farmageddon is about highlighting the urgency of food freedom. The screening will feature special guest Joel Salatin, one of America’s foremost proponents of family and chemical-free farming.
Supported by WVPT and U.Va. Food Collaborative.
Virginia Filmmakers Showcase at Vinegar Hill
Everyone knows that Virginia is for Lovers, and that includes lovers of movies. From the classic feature film Giant, whose opening scenes were filmed in Albemarle County to the Emmy-Award winning HBO mini-series John Adams, Virginia has a long history of exceptional filmed entertainment. The Virginia Film Office is responsible for recruiting production, promoting the state’s film industry and has been a partner with the Virginia Film Festival from its inception. This year, the Virginia Film Festival is celebrating Virginia’s contemporary film scene with an eclectic collection of locally produced feature and short films. During the day on Saturday at Vinegar Hill, the Virginia Filmmakers Showcase will feature a wide variety of short films by filmmakers from throughout the Commonwealth.
The Virginia Filmmakers’ Showcase is presented by the Virginia Film Office. The Virginia Film Office was founded in 1980, and is part of the Virginia Tourism Corporation, the state’s tourism agency. The Film Office has a mission to recruit film and video projects to the state, including feature films, television shows, educational videos, commercials and documentaries. Recently, Virginia was honored to host the filming of the Emmy-award winning series John Adams. Other well-known films shot in the state include Evan Almighty, Dirty Dancing, Somersby, What About Bob, War of the Worlds, Hannibal, The New World, Dave and Lassie. The Virginia Film Office has been a partner and supporter of the Virginia Film Festival since its inception and is proud to be a part of this unique and exceptional endeavor.
Adrenaline Film Project
The Adrenaline Film Project returns for another year of highly-caffeinated, can’t miss moviemaking inspiration. This annual festival highlight presents the traditional studio system as seen through time-lapse photography, with 10 to 12 teams of filmmakers pitching, developing, writing, shooting, editing and screening their films in a mind-boggling and body and brain-numbing 72 hours. Each phase of production is closely monitored and advised by AFP executive producer Jeff Wadlow. In previous years, the film sets of Adrenaline teams have also been visited by guest mentors including Tom Shadyac (Director, Bruce Almighty), Mark Johnson (Producer, The Chronicles of Narnia), Brad Silberling (Director, Lemony Snicket), Ron Yerxa (Producer, Little Miss Sunshine), Guillermo Arriaga (Screenwriter, Babel) and many more! The process culminates in a competitive screening of the finished films at Culbreth Theatre on Saturday, November 5, at 10:00 p.m. For entry requirements and more information on the Adrenaline Film Project, visit http://www.virginiafilmfestival.org/adrenaline-film-project/.
Supported by the University of Virginia Digital Media Lab
