U.VA. INTEGRATES FILM FESTIVAL INTO EXPANDED FILM STUDIES PROGRAM CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 29 -- The University of Virginia will incorporate its annual fall film festival into an expanded film studies program that will offer courses and seminars to the public as well as to students, U.Va. officials announced today. The Virginia Festival of American Film, nationally recognized for its scholarly examination of films produced in the United States, will move from U.Va.'s Division of Continuing Education to the College of Arts and Sciences, effective July 1. To be named the Virginia Film Festival, the three-day event will continue to bring noted filmmakers, scholars and writers to U.Va. each October to discuss screenings organized around a theme. "The move allows the University to bring the festival closer to its academic heart," said Raymond J. Nelson, dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. "It is a good time for the festival, which has matured over the past eight years into a respected program that fosters serious discussion, to be integrated with the University's academic mission," Nelson said. In addition to the festival, courses and seminars that explore film will be offered through U.Va.'s drama department. The film studies program will be directed by Bob Chapel, chair of the drama department, and advised by a three-member faculty board: Walter Korte, director of film studies in the drama department; Bernard Mayes, director of the University's interdisciplinary media studies program; and Alison Booth, an associate professor of English who specializes in literature and women's studies. A program committee, including U.Va. faculty and movie industry representatives, will help identify stars, producers and screenwriters to speak at both the courses and the festival. In 1987, Albemarle County residents Patricia and John Kluge proposed a Charlottesville-based festival to examine film from academic and cultural points of view. With their financial backing and state sponsorship through the Virginia Film Office, the University launched the Virginia Festival of American Film in October, 1988. In recent years, after state funding ended, the University has supported the event through private contributions and ticket sales, but it has never become financially self-sufficient. "By expanding the University's film studies offerings in conjunction with the festival, we will preserve its soul while reducing its operating costs," said Sondra Stallard, acting dean in the continuing education division. Richard Herskowitz, director of programming with the Virginia Festival of American Film, will become program director for the fall film event and a lecturer in the drama department. Chapel will oversee festival operations. "Over the past several years, faculty in the drama department have recognized the need for more film study opportunities because film is a sister art form of the theater and a major force in world culture," Chapel said. "Many of our students work in the field, and many more relish an in-depth study of this medium," he added. The theme of the 1996 festival will be "Wild Spaces, Endangered Places," Herskowitz said. To be held Oct. 31 - Nov. 3 at the Culbreth and Vinegar Hill theaters, the program will explore the allure and power of American landscape in film through screenings and discussions led by about 50 guest speakers, including popular film critic Roger Ebert. "Special festival events, such as the opening party at the Bayly Art Museum, will continue, but at a significantly lower cost to patrons," Herskowitz said. "The distinctive quality of the festival, the opportunity to examine a theme in depth, will be retained and enhanced through University courses," he said. For example, "Moving Places," a seminar to be offered in the fall, will explore settings and environments and the ways they function in film. The two-credit University seminar open to first-year students will be taught by Korte. A proposed new course, "Contemporary Independent Filmmaking," tentatively scheduled to be taught by Herskowitz in 1997, would include lectures, screenings and interviews with filmmakers, critics and other industry professionals. The course, which would evolve from the current Film Society series, is designed to complement an existing classic film survey course taught by Korte. Herskowitz also plans to teach an annual spring seminar based on the theme of the upcoming fall film festival. In recognition of the academic nature of last year's festival, the Rockefeller Foundation recently awarded the University a $30,000 grant to produce a book of transcripts and essays based on discussions of the 1995 theme, "U.S. and Them." "We look forward to bringing a vital, stimulating film festival each fall," Chapel said. He noted that a council of community leaders will also serve as advisors to the festival. ### March 28, 1996 Television reporters should contact our TV News Office at (804) 924-7550. The 1996 Virginia Film Festival Fact Sheet Dates: Oct. 31 - Nov. 3, 1996 Venues: Culbreth Theater and Vinegar Hill Theater Newcomb Hall Theater for Roger Ebert workshop Video art program at the Bayly Art Museum Programs: About 30 international film screenings, including classic and premiere feature films and independent experimental and documentary films Guests: About 50 filmmakers and scholars, including film critic Roger Ebert, who will conduct a three-day workshop on a classic film Theme: "Wild Spaces, Endangered Places" Description: The 1996 festival will explore the physical and mythic power of landscape in film. Genres: Westerns and road movies will be featured. Debates: Scholars from traditional disciplines such as art history and landscape architecture will, in post-screening discussions, explore differing perspectives on the environment. Film Production: A screenwriters panel will discuss the importance of settings and locations in films. Location managers will describe their roles in the filmmaking process.