The Virginia Film Festival continues a long tradition of presenting films that offer fascinating perspectives on civil rights and race relations. The festival is November 3 to 6th at University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. Please visit their website for more details: http://virginiafilmfestival.org/
On Thursday, November 3rd, the VFF will present Loving, a film which celebrates the real-life courage and commitment of an interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving (Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga), who fell in love and were married in 1958. In their small town of Central Point, Virginia, it was illegal for interracial couples to marry and they were jailed and banished from the state. Their civil rights case, Loving v. Virginia, went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1967 reaffirmed the very foundation of the right to marry. Richard and Mildred returned home and their love story has become an inspiration to couples ever since. The film, from acclaimed writer/director Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud), premiered at the 2016 Cannes International Film Festival where it competed for the Palme D’Or. Discussion with director Jeff Nichols and actor Ruth Negga
On Saturday, November 5, the VFF will present Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker, a documentary that reveals the instrumental role that Ella Baker, a friend and advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. and “godmother” of the SNCC, played in shaping the American civil rights movement. A discussion with Mark Rabinowitz of IndieWire will follow.
The highlights on Sunday, November 6, include Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise, a documentary focusing on the remarkable life of Maya Angelou and her impact on America, and the powerful documentary I Am Not Your Negro, based on James Baldwin’s Remember This House, which uses archival footage of the civil rights and Black Power movements to explore the racial violence that continues to permeate American culture.
Visit our film guide to learn more or explore other themes and topics.