Arts & Culture

37th Annual Virginia Film Festival Comes to a Close

The sun has set on this year’s Virginia Film Festival.

The five-day event included a range of programming, from 21st-century screwball comedy and opening night film, “Anora,” to Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s English-language debut, “The Room Next Door,” to a University of Virginia Center for Politics-produced documentary about the law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6.

“Throughout the course of the five days, I heard from so many people about the extraordinary depth and breadth of our program, and it was an honor to once again bring the community together to celebrate the art of film,” said Jody Kielbasa, UVA’s vice provost for the arts and the festival’s executive director.

The festival, a UVA program, celebrated its 37th year from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3. During that long weekend, the festival screened 137 films and hosted nearly 100 guest artists, including “New Girl” actor Lamorne Morris.

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“As I traveled between venues throughout the festival, I consistently walked into theaters packed with enthusiastic and engaged audiences who so appreciated the films, as well as the fascinating discussions with our guest artists and our wide array of UVA faculty experts,” Kielbasa said.

The festival included international movies like “Dahomey” from the West African country of Benin, as well as movies with strong local ties, like a documentary about former UVA student and artist Georgia O’Keefe, made by UVA faculty member Paul Wagner.

“The 2024 Virginia Film Festival has been a magical and soul-nourishing experience," said Ilya Tovbis, the festival's artistic director. “Local filmmakers, first-time directors, Hollywood heavy-hitters and the global film community gathered in Charlottsville for a world-class event.”

If one weekend was not enough, the Virginia Film Festival offers year-round programming at the Violet Crown on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall.