Every year the festival hosts a free screening of a socially relevant film for middle and high school students and their teachers. Experts on film, ethics, and other disciplines speak to the subjects of the film after the screening, providing a fascinating and accessible out of the classroom lesson.
In 2009, The Washington Post’s Liza Mundy, and UVA Center for Politics’ Larry Sabato participated in the discussion following Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
In 2010, director Stanley Nelson and three of the original Freedom Riders participated in a discussion following Freedom Riders, a compelling documentary about non-violent civil rights activists willing to risk their lives for a cause.
The 2011 screening was The Loving Story, a documentary that chronicles the tale of Richard and Mildred Loving, the Virginia interracial couple who, in the 1960’s took their battle for acceptance all the way to the Supreme Court, and changed history in the process. The film was be presented along with a panel discussion organized by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.
In January 2012 the Virginia Film Festival partnered with the U.Va. Office of Diversity and Equity and the Center for Politics to present the HBO Documentary Sing Your Song followed by a post-screening discussion with activist Harry Belafonte and Larry Sabato.
Also in 2012 the Festival presented Chasing Ice, a documentary about National Geographic photographer James Balog’s quest to document the disappearance of glacier landscapes using time-lapse photography.
The Festival will announce the 2013 Middle and High School Screening in late August. The screening is on Friday, November 8th at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Performing Arts Center.
To receive information or make reservations for the 2013 Middle and High School Screening, contact Jane Freeman, VFF Outreach Coordinator, at janefreeman@virginia.edu.
