A Look Through the Lens at the 2021 Virginia Film Festival
After a hybrid (but mostly online) approach in 2020, the 2021 festival welcomed guests back to the big screen with opportunities to see the films in theaters around Charlottesville!
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Hoo-rizons: How Riding a Train Put Former Football Star on Film’s Fast Track
When something you have done since you were a kid, something you thought was your calling, something you thought would be your career, comes to an abrupt end, what do you do next? For former University of Virginia football player Canaan Severin, the answer came while riding a train.
Film Festival Highlights: Martha Plimpton, ‘Dopesick,’ and Wes Anderson’s Latest
"There is something truly special about a film festival environment, and about our festival, in particular, that goes beyond the films we show. It is about the community that is created through the sharing and celebration of this remarkable art form, and the chance to come together and experience such a diverse array of films on a wide variety of topics that run the gamut of our emotions and our experiences in the world today.”
Many Stories to Tell: Alumna Niya Bates Shares African American History and Culture
Niya Bates, a University of Virginia alumna who has worked at Monticello for several years, appeared on the recent Netflix series, “High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America,” to tell a story in episode three.
Three UVA Alums Mapping the Green Books’ Legacy
Susan Hellman, Anne Bruder, and Catherine Zipf first met in UVA’s School of Architecture when they were pursuing master’s degrees in architectural history, graduating in 1996 or ’97. They kept in touch professionally and started exploring Green Book locations soon after they were digitized.
New Film Retells an Old Story From King Arthur’s Court
A trio of literary scholars at the University of Virginia are among those reacting to a new film dramatizing a British tale of King Arthur’s court, held for a year due to the pandemic and now in theaters. “The Green Knight,” released this summer, is based on “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” an English poem that has survived more than seven centuries.
Arts Education in a Post-Pandemic World
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, University of Virginia faculty scrambled to find ways to deliver a traditional college education online. But as faculty in UVA’s College of Arts & Sciences worked to educate their students despite the obstacles presented by COVID-19, they found themselves creating the foundation for changes to the practice of art education – changes that may make it just a little better than it was before.
Class of 2020’s Virtual Commencement Receives Emmy Nomination
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the University of Virginia to send students home and later to cancel in-person Final Exercises last year, staff across the University began searching for new ways to safely celebrate the Class of 2020 and honor its accomplishments.
Virginia Film Festival to Return with In-Person and Drive-In Presentations in October
The Virginia Film Festival, a program of the University of Virginia and the Office of the Provost and the Vice Provost for the Arts, is returning to theaters in 2021 after presenting an exclusively virtual and drive-in format in 2020.
Alumnus Jason George, Co-Stars Discuss Portraying 2020 In Medical Dramas
One course could change your entire life. That’s exactly what happened to University of Virginia alumnus Jason George, who plays Dr. Ben Warren on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and its spin-off, “Station 19.” Jody Kielbasa, director of the Virginia Film Festival and UVA’s vice provost for the arts, introduced George during Sunday night’s installment of the Virginia Film Festival’s virtual conversation, “Beyond the Screen: Reflecting Reality with the Cast of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Station 19.’” The event was moderated by Chandler Ferrebee, the film festival’s program manager; the film festival is a program of the University and the Office of the Provost and Vice Provost for the Arts.
Virginia Film Festival Receives $20,000 Grant From National Endowment for the Arts
The Virginia Film Festival has been approved for a $20,000 Grants for Arts Projects Award from the National Endowment for the Arts to support the 2021 Virginia Film Festival. The VAFF is among 1,073 arts projects from across America that were selected during this first round of fiscal year 2021 funding in the NEA’s Grants for Arts Projects funding category.
Horror Film Forensics
Thoughts From the Lawn has a spooky treat this Halloween weekend! Composer, screenwriter, and adjunct film lecturer Matthew Marshall in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia leads us on a trail of horror film history, iconography, and deeper social meanings.