The Middleburg Film Festival is returning to Northern Virginia this fall with four days of films, special guests, filmmaker conversations, and awards. The 14th annual festival will take place from October 15 to 18.
Founded by BET co-founder and Salamander Hotels and Resorts CEO Sheila Johnson, the multi-day event offers a curated selection of new films including Oscar contenders and independent productions.
The festival will open with A24’s The Debut, written and directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Jesse Eisenberg. The film stars Academy Award-winner Julianne Moore as a housewife who lands a small role in a community theater production and becomes determined to protect the artistic integrity of her character.
This year’s centerpiece film is I Play Rocky, directed by Academy Award-winner Peter Farrelly. The film follows a then-unknown Sylvester Stallone as he tries to get his screenplay for Rocky produced.
Additional screenings include these films:
- Gentle Monster
- Club Kid
- Project Hail Mary
- Ink
- Wicker
- Elsinore
Several filmmakers and actors will attend post-screening conversations throughout the festival. Special guests include Jesse Eisenberg, Julianne Moore, Olivia Colman, P.J. Byrne, Jay Duplass, and more.
The festival will also feature a special concert celebrating Academy Award-nominated composer Daniel Pemberton’s work. Selections from his film scores include: Project Hail Mary, Ink, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Steve Jobs, and The Trial of the Chicago 7.
Individual tickets will go on sale in early October.
Feature image of “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good” Director Jon M. Chu, Cinematographer Alice Brooks, and Editor Myron Kerstein, courtesy Middleburg Film Festival
