15th Annual Virginia Festival of Film

The 15th annual Virginia Film Festival, Oct. 24-27, invites cinemaphiles to dive into four days of films, exhibitions, panel discussions and performances exploring water imagery.

The flood of more than 50 films and special events will include numerous feature premieres along with classics such as “The African Queen,” “Psycho,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “L’Atalant” and “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”

Based at U.Va., the film festival is designed to resemble
a comprehensive course on a cultural theme.

“I was initially struck by the archetypal power of water imagery in classic movies,” said Richard Herskowitz, festival artistic director, about the “WET” theme. “The shower scene in ‘Psycho,’ Gene Kelly’s lyrical rain dance, and Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr washed by waves in ‘From Here to Eternity’ are among the most indelible moments in American movie history.”

Herskowitz said a highlight of the festival will be an appearance by Todd Haynes, one of ollywood’s hottest writer/directors. Haynes will attend an Oct. 25 screening of his new drama “Far From Heaven,” starring Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid. The film, which tells the story of a privileged 1950s housewife and is inspired by the Hollywood melodramas of that era, received rave reviews and awards for best cinematography and best actress at the recent Venice Film Festival.

“Haynes was the biggest sensation at the Toronto and Venice film festivals,” Herskowitz said.

The festival will begin on Oct. 24 with a celebration of filmmaking in Virginia. “Gettysburg” director Ron Maxwell will screen a section of the upcoming Civil War epic filmed in Virginia, “Gods and Generals,” starring Robert Duvall, Jeff Daniels, Stephen Lang and Mira Sorvino.

Also on the program is emerging filmmaker Jeff Wadlow. Winner of the recent Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival, Wadlow is a Charlottesville native and son of the late State Sen. Emily Couric.

Ron Maxwell and Brian Mallon also will give a free performance of their show, “Poetry of the Civil War,” on Oct. 25 at 11 a.m. in the Rotunda.

Other feature premieres are: Lynn Hershman Leeson’s sci-fi parable “Teknolust,” starring Tilda Swinton, which Leeson will present; Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Weight of Water,” starring Sean Penn, Sarah Polley and Elizabeth Hurley; and George Kachadorian’s “Divining Mom,” a documentary about the mysteries and history of dowsing.

• U.Va. alumnus Glenn Williamson, president of production at Focus Features, will conduct the second annual Darden Producers Forum on Oct. 26. He will talk about his career supervising films such as “American Beauty,” “Almost Famous” and “Road to Perdition.”

• Liquid Light, a mini-festival of experimental films inspired by water, will feature filmmakers George Kuchar and Leighton Pierce and nine leading experimental screenwriters and curators at six separate programs at Vinegar Hill Theatre.
Included in the Liquid Light series will be Andy Warhol’s rarely shown “Water,” which will be on display at the U.Va. Art Museum.

• The festival’s live events include a “diorama” performance titled “Mexterminator” by Guillermo Gomez-Peña, a MacArthur grant-winning performance artist who explores issues of Mexican-Latino and U.S. border culture and trans-cultural identity on Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. in the Frank Ix Building. Gomez-Peña will also present his hilarious, provocative “mockumentary” about U.S./Mexican history, “The Great Mojado (Wetback) Invasion, Part II” on Oct. 25 at 10 p.m. at Vinegar Hill Theatre.

• Cabaret-pop artists Anne Watts and Boister will perform their inventive score for Buster Keaton’s 1928 silent comedy masterpiece “Steamboat Bill, Jr.” on Oct. 25.

• On Oct. 26, a diverse series of international films about rivers will flow across three theaters from 10 a.m. to midnight. These films, dubbed an “Endless River,” include: Jean Renoir’s “The River” (1951); Finland’s 2001 Foreign Language Film Oscar entry, “Joki/The River,” directed by Jarmo Lampela; and Mark Rydell’s “The River” (1984). After the screening, the Rydell film’s lead actress, Sissy Spacek, will be interviewed by Steven Peros, screenwriter of last year’s “The Cat’s Meow” and the upcoming Spacek project, “The Gardener’s Daughter.”

• Oct. 25 and 26 viewers can float on inner tubes in the pool at the Aquatic and Fitness Center while watching “Jaws,” a “wet-mix” of Esther Williams and other films.

The complete program and tickets are available at www.vafilm.com. Call 1-800 UVA-FEST for information.

Fringe Fest to make waves

The Fringe Festival, an all-arts festival featuring visual arts, installations, performance art, architecture, dance, poetry, drama and music by students, faculty and visiting artists, will supplement the 15th annual Virginia Film Festival.
The art-focused festival at the Frank Ix Building on Monticello Avenue and Second Street S.E. will open on Oct. 18 with an evening reception at 7 p.m. featuring “wet”-inspired music, dance and theater performances at 9 p.m.

The festival is coordinated by students from all the arts and co-sponsored by the Virginia Film Festival and the departments of art, music, drama, creative writing and the School of Architecture. The Fringe Festival embraces the Film Festival theme, “Wet.”

Bill Bennett, chair of the art department’s studio program, said, “The artists, performers and writers participating in the Fringe Festival have an opportunity to showcase the mythological, cultural, aesthetic, scientific and religious aspects of water through their artistic expression.”

In addition to student and faculty participation, the Fringe Festival will include a projected installation piece, “Elegy,” by New York City artists Jenny Gage and Tom Betterton. The installation, made available by the Luhring Augustine Gallery in New York City, is co-sponsored by the U.Va. Art Museum.

Installation artist, poet, journalist and radio and video artist Guillermo Gomez-Peña and performance artist Juan Ybarra will present a special performance, “Mexterminator: A Living Diorama,” on Oct. 26 at 8 p.m.

Gomez-Peña is the recipient of a 1991 MacArthur Fellowship. His work focus

s on cross-cultural issues and relations between the United States and Mexico.
Gomez-Peña’s event is co-sponsored by Brown College, the Latin American studies program and the Forum for Contemporary Thought.

Following Gomez-Peña’s free performance on Oct. 26, the Arts Students Society, a student organization based in the art department, will hold a festival closing party titled “Wet and Wild.” Admission to the party is $10, $5 with U.Va. I.D.