John Kelly

Fey, a UVA alumna, is a renowned comic, actress and producer whose works include “30 Rock” and “Mean Girls.”

The Virginia Theatre Festival, formerly the Heritage Theatre Festival, returns to the Arts Grounds this summer with two plays and a staged reading.

The film festival, in its 34th year, will screen more than 85 films at various locations around Charlottesville, including a drive-in venue at Morven Farm.

The 2021-22 shows, performed by graduate and undergraduate students, are commentaries on social and environmental challenges in the modern world.

The 34th annual Virginia Film Festival, led by UVA and its offices of the Provost and Vice Provost for the Arts, will screen more than 85 films Oct. 27-31.

This year’s lineup will include an episode of the highly anticipated Hulu limited series “Dopesick,” starring and executive produced by Michael Keaton, and filmed in Virginia.

Guests will include Annette Bening, Leslie Odom Jr., Ethan Hawke, former photographer and author Pete Souza, and more, along with feature films like “Ammonite.”

The festival will feature “The Good Lord Bird,” a series about abolitionist John Brown, and host the film’s star and executive producer, Ethan Hawke, co-star Joshua Caleb Johnson, executive producer and author James McBride, and more.

Despite unusual circumstances, organizers plan to virtually present more than 50 films, along with the robust faculty and expert discussions for which the festival, a program of UVA, is known. They also hope to reach new online audiences.

The two-day science and storytelling event is open to undergraduate and graduate students at UVA. It takes place March 1-2 on Grounds.