The lineup for the 34th edition of the Virginia Film Festival is stacked with movies that are already getting Oscar buzz, like The French Dispatch, The Power of the Dog, Spencer, and Belfast. These films are bound to do big box office business for weeks to come, but this year’s fest also features several less-hyped films that are especially worthy of attention in an exciting, crowded program.
The Machinery of Dreams
This fantasy film is firmly anchored in reality through a horrible tragedy. When Lily’s mother is hurt in a terrible car crash, her grandmother tells her tales of fantasy to pass the time. The more tales she tells, however, the blurrier the lines between imagination and real life become. At its core, film is storytelling. From Pan’s Labyrinth to The Fall, it is easy to fall in love with fantasy when reality is too hard to bear. The Machinery of Dreams is presented as a part of the festival’s focus on Virginia filmmakers. The screening will be accompanied by a discussion with director Eric Hurt and actor Cora Metzfield.
Monkey Beach
Stories of heroes returning home to save their communities and families are culturally ubiquitous. Monkey Beach takes the framework of the prodigal son and gives the age-old story a brand new voice. Highlighted as a film directed by an indigenous woman, this tale is told from the perspective of a young indigenous woman who is trying to save her brother. Along her journey she encounters what seems to be a menagerie of cryptids and supernatural elements that reconnect her with her past.
Zola
The first feature film based entirely on a Twitter thread, Zola goes far beyond gimmick and social media references (see our interview with Jeremy O. Harris, the movie’s co-writer, on page 19). It is at times hilarious, terrifying, and confounding. What began as a simple road trip to make some extra cash dancing in Florida quickly turns into a cautionary tale that proves why your mother told you not to trust strangers. And it is all true—or at least that’s what Zola wants you to believe. The film looks at the lives of exotic dancers, peering behind the curtain into the less glamorous side of the business.
Mass
The directorial debut of actor Fran Kranz, better known as the stoner in Cabin in the Woods, is not about Kranz once again flexing his comedy muscles. Mass takes place mostly in a single room as a group of grieving parents talk through an unthinkable tragedy. Franz might be a newcomer, but he’s been getting major critical kudos since premiering Mass at Sundance in January. The film stars Ann Dowd, Martha Plimpton, Jason Isaacs, and Reed Birney. Plimpton will be on hand for a discussion at the screening.
Memoria
Heady and artistic, Memoria has already garnered big industry buzz—and it won’t be released in theaters until the end of December. The film earned the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and it’s Colombia’s submission for Best International Feature at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022. Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul is known for taking an architectural and paced approach to his visual design, and Memoria is no different. Starring Tilda Swinton as a Scotswoman living in Colombia who hears sounds, namely a loud boom, that others may not hear, the film deals with this disconnect as she begins to visualize these sounds. Synesthesia might not be the easiest phenomenon to put on the big screen, but Weerasethakul nails it.
Short film programs
In addition to many feature films being paired with a short film, VAFF also has four stand-alone blocks of shorts. Loosely sorted into Being Human, Facing Reality, a repertoire of Sudanese film, and the films of Kevin Everson, there is plenty of variety in these collections. Short films are an artform unto themselves, and outside of film festivals it’s rare to get the opportunity to sit and enjoy them all on their own.
