The 37th Annual Virginia Film Festival offers an expanded guest list from Wednesday, Oct. 30 to Sunday, Nov. 3.
Golden Globe-winning actor, director and producer Matthew Modine (“Full Metal Jacket” and “Stranger Things“) will appear at the VAFF for a newly added special 40th anniversary screening of his 1984 film “Birdy” on Friday, Nov. 1.
Modine will also join director Daniel Freed for a discussion after a screening of the documentary “I Hope This Helps!,” which Modine executive produced.
Directed by Alan Parker, “Birdy” is a riveting anti-war drama about two boyhood friends whose lives are shattered by the Vietnam War. The unlikely pair of high school pals, the confident and popular “Al” (Nicolas Cage) and the awkward, gentle, bird-obsessed “Birdy” (Modine) return to the United States with their lives irrevocably changed, and little more than their lifelong bond to help put the pieces back together.
Newly announced guests also include Mikey Madison, the breakout star of VAFF Opening Night Film, “Anora,” who will be on hand to accept the Achievement in Acting Award. Madison has spellbound festival audiences around the world with her portrayal of an exotic dancer who meets and quickly marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Directed by Academy Award-nominee Sean Baker (“The Florida Project“), “Anora” was the first American film in 13 years to earn the coveted Palme d’Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer (“The Act of Killing“), who makes his narrative feature debut with the unique, musical, end-of-days story “The End,” will join a discussion of the film via Zoom after a screening on Sunday, Nov. 3. The film stars Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon as the heads of the last known living family on earth.
Longtime drummer for the iconic ’90s band Pavement, Steve West will participate in a panel discussion for the film “Pavements” on Saturday, Nov. 2. Directed by preeminent indie director Alex Ross Perry (who will also be in attendance, as previously announced), the film is an anything-but-typical alternate reality look back at the iconoclastic band’s past and present.
Tickets for the 2024 Virginia Film Festival are available online; in-person at the UVA Arts Box Office; and by phone at 434-924-3376. Starting Oct. 28, tickets are also available at VAFF’s Downtown Box Office in the lobby of Violet Crown. A schedule of films is also available online.
The Virginia Film Festival is a program of UVA and is presented by The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.
The 2024 Virginia Film Festival is also generously supported by the following Premiere Sponsors: AV Company, Bank of America, The Doyle Hotel, Harvest Moon Catering, Southern Environmental Law Center, UVA Arts & the Office of the Provost and Vice Provost for the Arts, Violet Crown Cinema and Virginia Film Office.
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Rebecca Barnabi
