37th annual Virginia Film Festival begins today in Charlottesville

The 37th annual Virginia Film Festival begins today in Charlottesville with dozens of screenings of work produced from all around the country and the world.

There are also several films created by filmmakers from this region and the world.

One of them is a documentary about an important 20th century Georgia O’Keefe directed by Charlottesville’s Paul Wagner.

“Prior to achieving her fame, Georgia O’Keeffe spent every summer from 1912-1916 taking art classes at the University of Virginia, where she rekindled her joy and desire to pursue painting, which she had considered giving up altogether,” reads the webpage for Georgia O’Keefe: The Brightness of Light. 

This screening will be held on November 3, 2024 at 11 a.m. at the Culbreth Theatre but is sold out according to festival publicist John Kelly. Here’s a link to the trailer if you want to keep it on your radar for its release next year.

Kelly pointed me in the direction of three other films with Charlottesville connections.

• A horror film called Catch a Killer will be shown tonight at the Violet Crown at 7:30 p.m.
  
  “When Otto’s dreams of becoming the city’s youngest detective are put off-course, he cannot help but stay as close to the action as possible, landing a job as a working as a bioremediation specialist who cleans up after a serial killer,” reads the website for this film. “Charlottesville and UVA audiences will find locations and friends on screen and behind-the-scenes, as many community members are part of the film’s cast and crew.”
• The Center For Politics has produced a documentary called Defenders of Democracy: The Thin Blue Line which will screen Thursday, October 31 at 5 p.m. at the Violet Crown.
  
  “Featuring gripping first-hand accounts of those who courageously defended democracy on that day, this documentary details how victims from the day’s attack have sought justice and accountability to safeguard the electoral process and American political institutions, including the challenges they’ve faced in speaking out during the investigation of the events of January 6, 2021,” reads the website for this film.
• The Bitter Pill by Charlottesville-based director Clay Tweel will screen Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Culbreth Theatre. The documentary tells the story of West Virginia attorney Paul Farrell Jr. as he seeks legal action against major pharmaceutical companies.
  
  “As his legal strategy gains traction nationwide, the case escalates into the largest civil litigation in U.S. history,” reads the website for the film. 

Those four films are part of the Virginia Film Festival’s series on work done in the Commonwealth. The others are:

• Dementia and Living Well is a documentary that will be screened at 2:30 p.m. at the Violet Crown 
• There is a screening of six short films Sunday night at 8:20 p.m. at the Violet Crown (learn more)
• There is a screening of four short films by UVA Film Professor Kevin Jerome Everson Friday at 3 p.m. at the Violet Crown. (learn more)

For the rest of the program, visit the Virginia Film Festival’s website.

Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment is from the October 30, 2024 edition of the newsletter. To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.