Here is a selection of some of the panels and post-show discussions lined up to supplement your enjoyment of the program for this year’s festival.
Panels and discussions are free.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5th
The Funny Business of Business
Thursday, November 5 in Monroe Hall, Room 134 at 4:00 PM.
Festival Fellow Keynote Talk by Maria DiBattista
A look at how vintage American comedy responded to the Great Depression and the crisis in democratic culture caused by such widespread economic and social dislocation. With some concluding reflections on the current state of our union as a subject for comic treatment.
Maria DiBattista, professor of English and Comparative Literature at Princeton University, has written numerous articles on modern literature and film. Her books include Virginia Woolf: The Fables of Anon, First Love: The Affections of Modern Fiction, and Fast Talking Dames. Her most recent book is Imagining Virginia Woolf: An Experiment in Critical Biography.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 6th
The New Mr. Smith
Friday, November 6 at Culbreth following the 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM screenings of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Liza Mundy (Washington Post), Candy Crowley (CNN), Princeton’s Maria DiBattista and UVa’s Larry Sabato chair a panel discussion on the continuing political legacy of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and who is Washington’s current heir apparent to Jefferson Smith.
This panel is made possible by a grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
“More Tea, Vicar?”
Friday, November 6 at Regal 3 following the 12:00 PM screening of Death at a Funeral
A celebration of British screen comedy before and after the Monty Python watershed. Panelists include UVa English Professors Clare Kinney and Gordon Braden as well as James Scales from the UVa Drama department and David Hopper from the Virginia Film Festival.
The Darden Producers Forum
Friday, November 6, 1:30 PM,the Darden School of Business
UVa’s Darden School of Business presents panel addressing the current business climate of the film industry, particularly for small budget films. New distribution channels are emerging, the traditional model for independent film has contracted significantly, and content-providers have greater freedom than ever before. The forum will feature Mike Million, founder of Third Story Films and writer/director for “Tenure” starring Luke Wilson, and Marc Lieberman, co-founder of Cavalier Films and producer of The Onion News Network.
Although the event is free, please RSVP to Susan Levine at SLL5F@virginia.edu or 434-982-2919 since space is limited. Parking is available but you must obtain a parking pass at the Darden Gatehouse (first building on the right as enter the Darden Boulevard).
Gender and Film
Friday, November 6 at Regal 3 following the 2:30 PM screening of Some Like It Hot
This year’s Gender in Film panel looks at cross-gender identity, taking its cues from this year’s screenings of Some Like it Hot, Transamerica, and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee. Panelists include Prof. Andrea Press (UVa), Prof. Maria DiBattista (Princeton), Claire Kaplan, and Harry Chotiner (NYU and 20th Century Fox).
John Waters’s “This Filthy World”
Friday, November 6, 4:30 PM, Culbreth
Presented by the University of Virginia Arts Assembly
Actor, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker crowned the “Pope of Trash”, Waters brings the underground sensibility to the cultural mainstream with such films as Pink Flamingos, Serial Mom, and Hairspray. This joyously devious one-man show celebrates his film career, early negative influences and fascination with true crime, fashion lunacy, exploitation films, and contemporary art world extremes. A rallying cry for connoisseurs of trash across Grounds!
120 min. program
Independent Film
Friday, November 6 at Culbreth following the 7:00 PM screening of Do the Right Thing
Ron Yerxa (producer: Little Miss Sunshine, Cold Mountain, Hamlet 2), Harry Chotiner (former Vice-President, 20th Century Fox), renowned film critic David Edelstein (New York Magazine, NRP’s Fresh Air), and Bingham Ray (co-founder of October Films) discuss 20 years of the current independent film movement, its precursors and likely successors.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7th
The New Era of Independent Film
Saturday, November 7 in the Digital Media Lounge on the Downtown Mall (106 E. Main St.), time TBA,
What is in the horizon for Independent Film Industry and how can indie filmmakers learn from the effects of the economic downturn? How is the industry transitioning, what challenges and questions should indie filmmakers be asking themselves to be better prepared for the new era of distribution. And how is new technology affecting the playing field? A panel including filmmakers Ryan Gall, Terry Leonard, and others discuss the future of independent film.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8th
True Blood w/ Alan Ball
Sunday, November 8, 10:30 AM, Culbreth
Academy Award ™ winning writer and director Alan Ball (‘American Beauty’, ‘Six Feet Under’) talks about his work on HBO’s ground-breaking new series True Blood. Includes a shot-by-shot presentation of an episode written by Ball.
