The Virginia Film Festival is kicking off its 37th year with a lineup featuring a couple of Cannes winners that are now taking the fall festival circuit by storm.
Located in Charlottesville, and set for October 30 through November 3, the festival has chosen Sean Baker’s “Anora” as its Opening Night Film. The dramedy, which stars Mikey Madison as a Brooklyn sex worker who enters into a whirlwind romance with the son of a Russian oligarch, won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and was a runner-up for the coveted People’s Choice Award at TIFF. In addition to special guests from the cast set to be in attendance, Tom Quinn, Founder and CEO of Neon, the film’s distributor, will be on hand to receive the inaugural Impresario Award on behalf of the company.
For the Centerpiece Film, the festival has programmed Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” which has had a similar trajectory as both the Jury Prize and Best Actress winner at Cannes for its ensemble, plus second runner-up for the People’s Choice Award at TIFF. Starring Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and breakout star Karla Sofía Gascón, the musical crime drama tells the story of a Mexican cartel leader pursuing gender affirmation surgery to start anew.
The 2024 Virginia Film Festival will also have several more gala screenings with talent present, from Alex Ross Perry there to accept the Directorial Achievement Award for his new film “Pavements,” to director Adam Elliott accepting the inaugural Achievement in Animation Award for his film “Memoir of a Snail,” to actor Lamorne Morris accepting the Virtuoso Award for “Saturday Night,” and producer Anne Carey there to discuss her new film “Nightbitch.” The features “Blitz,” “The Last Showgirl,” “The Piano Lesson,” “The Room Next Door,” “Bird,” “The Fire Inside,” “A Real Pain,” and “Unstoppable” will also all have gala screenings.
The festival’s Spotlight screenings include “Day of the Fight” with writer/director Jack Huston accepting the Achievement in Screenwriting Award; “Luther: Never Too Much,” with director Dawn Porter receiving the Chronicler Award; HBO’s “The Penguin,” with production designer Kalina Ivanov feted with the Craft Award. Spotlight programming also includes SXSW winner “Bob Trevino Likes It” starring Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo, with writer/director Tracie Laymon in for a discussion; Steven Soderbergh’s “Presence;” “The Summer Book” starring Glenn Close; “The Seed of the Sacred Fig;” and Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The End” starring Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon.
The VAFF program will include 10 official International Oscar Selections, from the aforementioned “Emilia Pérez” (France) and “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” (Germany) to “Dahomey” (Senegal); “Flow” (Latvia); “The Girl with the Needle” (Denmark); “The Glassworker” (Pakistan); “I’m Still Here” (Brazil); “Under the Volcano” (Poland); “Universal Language” (Canada); and “Vermiglio” (Italy).
The full 2024 VAFF program will be available on Thursday, October 3. Tickets will go on sale at noon on Friday, October 11 on the festival website.
The Virginia Film Festival is a program of the University of Virginia.
