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A still from "The Holdovers" shows Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, and Da'Vine Joy Randolph sit at a table eating dinner.
Film

“The Holdovers” is a holiday heartwarmer

Christmastime is often a time of joy and holiday cheer, but it can also serve as a depressing reminder of the people we are not with. In Alexander Payne’s new film “The Holdovers” — which screened at The Paramount Theater during the Virginia Film Festival Saturday — Angus Tully, played by newcomer Dominic Sessa, finds out he cannot spend the holidays with his mother. Instead, he has to stay at his boarding school over the holiday break with his unrelentingly headstrong history teacher Paul Hunham, played by Paul Giamatti.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2023/10/the-holdovers-is-a-holiday-heartwarmer

The sun sets on the Paramount Theater, a 1930s-style theater with a light-up marquee.
Film

Ava DuVernay unveils “Origin” at the Virginia Film Festival

On a warm Autumn evening, excited viewers poured into the Paramount Theatre to view one of the Virginia Film Festival’s most anticipated films — “Origin,” written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2023/10/ava-duvernay-unveils-origin-at-the-virginia-film-festival

Ben Sloan sits in a rocking chair by the lawn and reads a book.
Creative Writing

Local writer Ben Sloan uses poetry to take a walk in others’ shoes

Ben Sloan, Charlottesville resident and English professor who has taught at Piedmont Virginia Community College and the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, recently published his second book, entitled “Then On Out Into a Cloudless Sky.” The collection of poetry — depicting stories of childhood memories, longing for connection and many more — draws inspiration from the experiences of others, including his own students.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2023/10/local-writer-ben-sloan-uses-poetry-to-take-a-walk-in-others-shoes

Artists create posters at a table filled with paper, stickers, and drawings.
Visual Art

Like the Waters We Rise Poster Workshop inspired activism through art

University students took up arms — scissors in one hand, paintbrush in the other — on October 23 in Campbell Hall’s Elmaleh Gallery. Urban and Environmental Planning Prof. Jennifer Lawrence united these students by hosting the Like the Waters We Rise Poster Workshop, teaching art as a method for climate justice activism.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2023/10/like-the-waters-we-rise-poster-workshop-inspired-activism-through-art

A musician plays a guitar, surrounded by sound equipment and multicolored lights
Music

Chinchilla Café is more than a DIY venue

Chinchilla Café is not exactly a café, but they do have chinchillas — and so much more. A Google search for “Chinchilla Café, Charlottesville” will yield tour dates of bands, Reddit pages and local news articles, but none will deliver an address you can quickly plug into your GPS by itself.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2023/10/chinchilla-caf-is-more-than-a-diy-venue

Students Levi Green (wearing a blue and green striped shirt), Bridget Gauntner (in overalls and a red-and-white striped tee), and Laila Bolte (in a white and blue ringer tee) hold their hands up and sing to the audience.
Drama

Spectrum Theatre’s fantastic “Fun Home”

Spectrum Theatre staged the first of four performances of “Fun Home” Oct. 19, bringing the moving musical to an audience of friends, family members and fellow University students in the Student Activities Building.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2023/10/spectrum-theatres-fantastic-fun-home

Three abstract pieces hang on the wall of a room in the Fralin Museum. From left to right: (1) features multicolored, drip-like streaks; (2) a white canvas with pink and magenta swirls, (3) a horizontal brown and white piece made up of geometric shapes
Visual Art

Inspiring inquiry and profound self-exploration through The Fralin’s “Processing Abstraction”

Stepping foot onto the second floor of The Fralin Museum of Art, one crosses the threshold between the stress of everyday life and the fluid, expressive world of abstract art. This art has lived in the “Processing Abstraction” exhibit since its opening in February.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2023/10/inspiring-inquiry-and-profound-self-exploration-through-the-fralins-processing-abstraction

Professor Lisa Woolfork uses a sewing machine to stitch a shiny blue-purple fabric.
Visual Art

Black Women Stitch celebrates sisterhood through their love of sewing

In the heart of Charlottesville, a vibrant and close-knit community of creative souls gathers to celebrate the art of stitchcraft. Black Women Stitch, a local award-winning sewing group with over 20,000 followers on Instagram, stands as a testament to the resilience, creativity and cultural richness of Black women in the realm of textiles.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2023/10/black-women-stitch-celebrates-sisterhood-through-their-love-of-sewing

Hadelich and Weiss bow to the audience on stage at Old Cabell Hall, under a spotlight and next to a piano.
Music

Violinist Augustin Hadelich and pianist Orion Weiss enchant at Old Cabell Hall

For classical enthusiasts across Charlottesville, few events were as eagerly anticipated as the performance of chamber music duo Augustin Hadelich and Orion Weiss — and rightfully so.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2023/10/violinist-augustin-hadelich-and-pianist-orion-weiss-enchant-at-old-cabell-hall?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_latest

Ben Edlavitch smiles at the camera and holds up two handfuls of legos.
Architecture

UVA Student and His ‘Poppy’ Have a Willy Wonka ‘Lego Masters’ Moment

Volcanoes. Remote controlled vehicles. Palaces for kittens. These are just some of the building challenges contestants are being given this television season on “Lego Masters,” an outlandish creative competition with $100,000 on the line and the chance to have the winning creation immortalized in a new, official Lego set.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/uva-student-and-his-poppy-have-willy-wonka-lego-masters-moment

Audience members look on as musician Jon Batiste sings and plays the piano at Carr's Hill

Origins, Music and More: Virginia Film Festival Wraps Up Record-Breaking Season

Carlehr Swanson knew she was in for a treat when Grammy Award-winning musician Jon Batiste visited Carr’s Hill at the University of Virginia on Sunday. Swanson, a fan of Batiste’s genre-bending style who had put herself on the waitlist for Batiste’s “Arts on the Hill” event, just learned she had gotten a ticket and found a front-row seat to the action.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/origins-music-and-more-virginia-film-festival-wraps-record-breaking-season

A crowd in the Paramount Theater watches as Film Festival Director Jody Kielbasa delivers a speech.
Film

Hundreds Pack Theater for Film Festival’s Opening Night

More than 1,000 people packed the seats at the Paramount Theater on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall Wednesday for the Virginia Film Festival’s opening night. Still more lingered outside the restored 1930s movie palace, hoping that additional tickets might be released for that evening’s sold-out showing of “Maestro,” written and directed by – and starring – Bradley Cooper.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/hundreds-pack-theater-film-festivals-opening-night