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July 25, 2006 -- The Virginia Film Festival will present a free preview screening of the Sundance sensation, “LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE,” on Thursday, Aug. 10, at 7 p.m. in Regal Downtown Mall Cinema. “LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE” stars an award-winning ensemble cast led by Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell and Paul Dano with Abigail Breslin and Alan Arkin. Festival Friends and Film Society members can reserve seats by emailing festdev@virginia.edu. Remaining seats will be released to the public one hour before the screening.
Marking the feature film directorial debut for renowned music video directors (and husband-and-wife team) Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and the first feature script penned by Michael Arndt, “LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE” tells the story of the Hoovers, one of the most endearingly fractured families ever seen on motion picture screens. Together, the motley six-member family treks from Albuquerque to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, Calif., to fulfill the deepest wish of seven-year-old Olive, an ordinary little girl with big dreams. Along the way the family must deal with crushed dreams, heartbreak and a broken-down VW bus, leading up to the surreal Little Miss Sunshine competition itself. On their travels through this bizarrely funny landscape, the Hoovers learn to trust and support each other along the path of life, no matter what the challenge.
Fox Searchlight acquired worldwide rights to the hilarious and heartfelt film following its 2006 Sundance Film Festival world premiere, which inspired the audience to a rare standing ovation. The film was produced by Big Beach and Bona Fide Productions. Bona Fide producer Ron Yerxa (“Cold Mountain,” “The Ice Harvest,” “Election”) is a board member of the Virginia Film Festival, and he facilitated the scheduling of this special free preview in Charlottesville.
The husband-and-wife-team of Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton have built a successful joint career as music video and commercial directors widely renowned for their ability to craft simple, emotional stories with evocative visuals and music. The two met at UCLA where Faris was a dance major and Dayton was in the film department. They were part of the team assembled to create the pioneering MTV show “The Cutting Edge” in 1983, which showcased many of the most famous early videos on that network. The duo produced documentaries, including “The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years,” and directed music videos for a wide variety of artists including Janet Jackson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction, Macy Gray, Oasis, Weezer and The Ramones. Their work in this field has earned them nine MTV Music Video Awards, two Grammy awards, and a Director of the Year award from Billboard Magazine.
The Virginia Film Festival will unveil its fall Virginia Film Society season on Aug. 22. The 19th annual Virginia Film Festival on the theme “REVELATIONS: Finding God at the Movies” will take place Oct. 26-29. A complete festival schedule will be released on Sept. 29, but program highlights and other information can already be found on the festival website at www.vafilm.com.
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