The annual Virginia Film Festival, sponsored by U.Va's College of Arts and Sciences, returns this Thursday to Charlottesville. Over the course of three days, some of today's leading actors, producers and writers will descend on the community to share their talents and experiences in the industry.
The festival strengthened its strong repertoire of classic film with a host of major premieres. Robert Altman's latest endeavor, "The Company," starring Neve Campbell as an up-and-coming ballet dancer, IFC Film's "This So-Called Disaster," documenting a theatrical production of Sam Shepard, will be two of many to captivate audiences.
With venues ranging from U.Va's own Culbreth theater to the Downtown Mall (Vinegar Hill and Regal Cinema), the Film Festival will showcase a wide array of films all dealing with this year's theme, Money.
From the wheeling and dealing of the gangster and crime world ("Scarface," "Rififi" and "Reconstruction," among others) to disposable income ("Tycoon: The New Russian"), the festival illustrates the pervasiveness of money on our society.Other films, such as "The Grapes of Wrath," "Bums' Paradise" and "Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property/When It Rains," are also included to examine the opposite end of the spectrum: the plight of those lacking money.
In addition to the core program, an expanded festival offers other events, including an opening gala, forums, free panels and workshops, featuring topics as broad as how to find a distributor to how to build a movie poster collection. The Fringe Festival, which began on October 17 and runs until November 1, builds on the plethora of film options with a multi-arts showcase, including an October 25 dance performance from the star of "The Tracker," David Gulpilil. Fringe Festival events will take place at the former IGA Supermarket on Ridge Street, located across the street from the Omni.
ART$ dollars, an oft-forgotten perk of being a student at our fine institution, will be accepted, with the average event cost for students being roughly $6.
We hope this expanded Arts & Entertainment page can guide you in the right direction in finding those films which most pique your interest. Please note that the films included on this page only skim the surface of a vast assortment available to both the casual observer and film aficionado.
Carrie Lopez
Arts & Entertainment Editor
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