Artistic Director’s Report
By Richard Herskowitz
The 21st Virginia Film Festival was my fifteenth and final one as artistic director. A reception in my honor hosted by Andrea Press, Mark Johnson, and Festival Fellow Hamid Naficy with remarks by Meredith Woo, Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences was an unexpected surprise. The award they presented me is one I will treasure and I was touched by the tribute film created by Rita McClenny, Director of the Virginia Film Office. The affection I felt from the many board members and partners who have worked by my side, will stay with me forever.
The 21st Festival was, for me, a grand finale. We launched the weekend with Sissy Spacek’s new film, Lake City, produced by Mark Johnson. These two long-term board members were accompanied by the film’s co-directors, all U.Va. alumni- Perry Moore and Hunter Hill and producer Weiman Seid. Also on stage was Sissy’s co-star Troy Garity, and, in the house, watching adoringly from the third row, was Troy’s mother, Jane Fonda. A powerful lineup of new films followed Lake City, including The Wrestler, Slumdog Millionaire, Waltz with Bashir, Sunshine Cleaning, Sleep Dealer, and Secret of the Grain.
Our roster of celebrated actors included David Morse, who joined producer Julie Lynn for Passengers, and Peter Riegert, who was a particular favorite of Festival audiences. He accompanied our 25th anniversary screening of Local Hero, screenings of two films he directed, and Sig Libowitz’s Guantanamo legal drama, The Response. The discussion that followed The Response, moderated by Slate columnist Dahlia Lithwick, was electrifying.
With our theme of Aliens! addressing the situation of undocumented immigrants and the vital contributions of immigrant artists, we were able to attract the great Mexican writer-directors Guillermo Arriaga and Gregory Nava. Arriaga mesmerized the audience at the Paramount during his eloquent Q&A following the regional premiere of his film, The Burning Plain. Nava was overflowing with fascinating memories about the making and impact of his 25-year old film El Norte during the Regal Shot By Shot Workshop. We were also honored to have Mauritanian-French filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako, who created some of the strongest films ever made on the theme of exile, presenting his films Life on Earth and Waiting for Happiness. Also on hand for special “Focus On” tributes were independent directors Alex Rivera, Sean Baker, and Renee Tajima-Pena.
My greatest delight was the opportunity to program experimental films at the McCormick Observatory, continuing our tradition of finding odd yet appropriate venues to suit our themes (like the Aquatic Center swimming pool during Wet). Legendary filmmakers George and Mike Kuchar were joined by critic Ed Halter and filmmaker Jeanne Liotta in presenting three nights of films on space and extraterrestrial aliens. The Observatory’s telescope was accessible from the very first night, when listeners were able to scan the skies while we played Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds on the precise 70th anniversary of its original radio broadcast.
The Adrenaline Film Project moved to prime time, from Sunday afternoon to Saturday night. Culbreth Theatre was packed to the rafters, and the audience enjoyed what many have called the best array of films yet, highlighted by jury award winner They Will Come for You and audience award winner Girl-Powered.
This year the Festival was able to reach out to local students and community members in a way it never had before. Thanks to a grant from Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, students from around the area were drawn into the Festival through events that included visits to schools by filmmakers and a special screening of Bad Day at Black Rock that drew more than 200 from Charlottesville High School. Also, thanks to a generous gift from alumnus Eric Johnson, we were able to inaugurate the Festival Fellowship, a position that will be filled each year by a major film scholar whose work illuminates the year’s theme. Our first Festival Fellow was Northwestern University professor Hamid Naficy, who taught a seminar throughout the Festival week and participated in many programs. The highlight was his live Skype chat with Iranian-French video artist Ghazel, with whom he had a terrific rapport while talking to her 40-foot image projected on the screen.
The entire Film Festival Advisory Board was generous and helpful this year, and special thanks are owed to new board member Diane Naughton, who provided the Festival with funding for HD projection equipment and for the Festival Fellow position in the years ahead. Marc Abraham gave us his first directorial effort, Flash of Genius, to kick off the spring Virginia Film Society season, while Glenn Williamson delivered Sunshine Cleaning to the festival months in advance of its national release. Temple Fennell delivered one of the best Darden Producers Forum presentations I have witnessed.
David Hopper kept the show running smoothly in his second year as Operations Manager, ably supported by administrative assistant Patrick Webb and the invaluable production coordinator James Ford. Jen Newell and Adrienne Wager worked tirelessly to strengthen the Festival’s development efforts, and their energy, along with that of the Advisory Board, Council of Friends, and all of the Festival’s many supporters, will allow the Festival to keep growing, even without me at the helm.
