16th annual Virginia Film Festival will show you the MONEY

Treasure of the Sierra Madre Humphrey Bogart sheds his trademark cool persona to play the greedy, cynical Dobbs in this 1948 classic. Shot in glorious black and white, the film will be presented in a restored print by the Llibrary of Congress. Mike Mashon of the library will introduce the film. Oct. 25. 10 a.m. Culbreth Theatre. 126 min.

Filmgoers will be rolling in dough Oct. 23-26 when the 16th annual Virginia Film Festival’s “$” delivers a wealth of films and events exploring the pervasive role of money in media, art and society. The films to be shown include nearly 70 feature premieres, classics and short films. Screenings are complemented with an eclectic schedule of more than 60 guest speakers, panels, exhibits, performances and parties.

Dog Day Afternoon, starring Al Pacino

Opening night at the festival pays tribute to one of the most acclaimed bank heist films ever made, “Dog Day Afternoon,” and its Oscar-nominated screenwriter and president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Frank Pierson, who will receive the 2003 Virginia Film Award.

The opening night program will also feature special guest Pierre Huyghe, 2002 winner of the Hugo Boss Prize. Huyghe’s video installation, “The Third Memory,” will be on display in the University Art Museum, where the gala opening party will take place after the screening. “The Third Memory” juxtaposes scenes from “Dog Day Afternoon” with a reenactment of the robbery conducted by John S. Wojtowicz, the actual bank robber immortalized by Al Pacino in the 1973 film. Wojtowicz will join Pierson and Huyghe at the opening.

Other featured guests include David Gulpilil, the Aboriginal actor renowned for his performances in “Walkabout,” “The Last Wave” and “Rabbit Proof Fence.” He also will premiere his recent film, “The Tracker,” directed by Rolf de Heer. (See Fringe Festival story, below, for more on Gulpilil.)

Two acclaimed independent film directors, Rob Nilsson and Charles Burnett, will be honored at this year’s festival. Television and film producer Paul Junger Witt (“Insomnia,” “Dead Poets Society”) will conduct this year’s Darden Producers Forum on the making of “Three Kings,” which will be followed by a discussion with U.Va. Middle East scholars, including religious studies professor Abdulaziz Sachedina, professor emeritus Ruhi Ramazani and Helena Cobban, senior global affairs fellow with U.Va.’s Institute for Practical Ethics.

The Philadelphia Story with (l-r) Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart

Virginia filmmaker David Williams (winner of the Independent Feature Project’s Someone to Watch Award in 1999 for “Thirteen”) will present the world premiere of “Long Art,” his documentary about the struggle to make art, focusing on three of Richmond’s most talented visual artists.

Other Virginia filmmakers screening new works in the festival include film professors Jake Mahaffy of Hollins University and Sundance favorite Kevin Everson of U.Va. Mahaffy’s screening of his work will launch efforts to raise money for finishing his black-and-white feature, “War.”

Reflecting the festival’s University base, festival director Richard Herskowitz designed this year’s program “to explore the extremes of having too much and too little money.” The first two days will focus on poverty and low-budget filmmaking, while the last two days highlight bloated budgets and affluenza.

The Cooler with William H. Macy

A panel of luminaries, including the directors of Creative Capitol, the MacArthur Foundation and the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture will discuss public media funding.

A lineup of Hollywood producers and executives, including Marc Abraham (“Dawn of the Dead”), Mark Johnson (“The Alamo”), Ron Yerxa (“Cold Mountain”), Janet Graham Borba (HBO vice president of production; “Angels in America”), Doro Bachrach (“Soldier’s Girl”) and Julie Lynn (“Wit”), will be at “Storming the Media,” a two-day series of panels addressing funding and marketing of films. The program is co-sponsored with U.Va.’s student Filmmakers Studio.

Classic films like Buster Keaton’s “Seven Chances” (accompanied live by Anne Watts and Boister), “How to Marry a Millionaire,” “Force of Evil,” “Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” “Citizen Kane” and “The Philadelphia Story,” as well as heist films “Rififi,” “The Killing” and “The Italian Job” (both the original and remake) also will be featured this year.

The festival program includes a series on handmade movies, the “no budget” experimental film movement of cameraless filmmaking, featuring artists Phil Solomon and Devon Damonte. One program will explore how the $11 billion video game business — the entertainment industry’s biggest cash cow — is turned on its head by artist-hackers, including guest Web artist Ze Frank.

Also addressing conditions of wealth and poverty are the following special premieres: Denys Arcand’s “The Barbarian Invasions,” the upcoming Miramax release that wowed festival audiences at Cannes, Telluride and Toronto; “The Cooler,” the Lion’s Gate release starring William H. Macy and Alec Baldwin; and “Speedo,” to be presented by director Jesse Moss and demolition car legend Speedo himself.

David Gulpilil’s documentary about his life and career, “One Red Blood,” can be seen Oct. 25.

The 2003 Fringe Festival takes the Virginia Film Festival’s theme “$” beyond the movie theater to involve a wide range of visual and performing artists. The Fringe Festival, “‘$’ Money and the Arts,” is an all-arts festival to be held Oct. 17-26 at the old grocery store building on McIntire Road across from the Omni Hotel in downtown Charlottesville. This is a community event which will feature sculpture, photography, painting and multimedia by student, community, national and international artists.

The Fringe Festival opens Oct. 17 at 7 p.m., with art, film, video, installations and performance art on the theme “$”. On Oct. 18, DJs, break-dancers and vocalists will have a chance to compete for prizes at the “Bling” party.

The festival will also include the exhibition opening for the Aboriginal Bula’ Bula artists on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. with an artist talk at 7:30 p.m.

On Oct. 22 the poetry slam competition and performance reading will run from 9 p.m.-1:30 a.m.

A panel discussion, “Free Exchange vs. the Umbilical Cord …,” on Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. will focus on the influence of money on art with guests from many aspects of the arts, including artists, gallery owners, patrons and museum staff.

The Fringe Festival will highlight numerous events on Oct. 25, beginning with a screening of Aboriginal artist David Gulpilil’s 56-minute documentary about his life and career, “One Red Blood,” at 7 p.m., introduced by director Darlene Johnson.

Tickets are $10, $7.50 for students. Gulpilil will give a traditional dance and perform on the didgeridoo at 8 p.m., followed by a fashion show at 9 p.m. The closing dance party for the Virginia Film and Fringe festivals will begin at 9:30 p.m. Titled “Filthy Lucre for Starving Artists,” the event will feature celebrity guests and DJ Patrick Reed. Tickets are $10, $5 for students.

On Oct. 26, the New York City-based performance artist and activist Bill Talen, will present his recreation of a televangelist, “An Emergency Preaching from Reverend Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping.” Tickets are $7.50, $6 for students.

Unless otherwise noted, events are free. Students may use Arts$.

A complete list of Fringe Festival events and tickets are available at http://www.vafilm.com /fringeFestival.html.