The Virginia Film Festival, now in its third decade, is one of America’s leading regional film festivals, and one of the premier cultural events in the Mid-Atlantic region. Each year, the VAFF attracts 27,000+ attendances over five days, combining an inspiring and diverse program of films and events with an array of remarkable guests from throughout the entertainment industry and beyond. Our program features some of the most anticipated and acclaimed films of the festival circuit as well as a wide range of features, documentaries, and shorts by filmmakers from around the world and right here in Virginia. Thanks to our home at the University of Virginia, the VAFF is known not just for its films, but also for the meaningful discussions that follow them, often featuring leading UVA academics and cultural experts.

We strive to be a festival that matters – a cultural experience that goes far deeper than the movies we screen and that consistently and intentionally forges connections both within and between our communities, all while facilitating conversations around the most important issues of our time.

Our Mission

The Virginia Film Festival’s mission is:

-To educate and engage audiences of all races, gender identities, physical abilities, LGBTQIA+ status, ages, and socio-economic backgrounds in an open dialogue on the art of film through a five-day annual festival and year-round screenings and events.
-To foster inclusive conversations between audiences, artists, students, and academics around films and how they relate to the world in which we live.
-To support films and filmmakers of the Commonwealth of Virginia.