Tickets for the 14th annual Virginia Film Festival, which will take place on Grounds in October, go on sale today.
The festival, titled "Masquerades," will run from Thursday, Oct. 25 through Sunday, Oct. 28, and will screen more than 60 new and previously viewed films.
The festival will feature a tribute to director John Cassavetes, the late husband of actress Gena Rowlands. Rowlands will be on hand to participate in the events.
University graduate Stan Winston, a makeup artist and creator of the dinosaurs from "Jurassic Park,"will host a tribute to silent screen actor Lon Chaney.
"For the last few years Stan Winston has been an inspirational figure for us," Festival Artistic Director Richard Herskowitz said.
Other notable festival guests include directors Sydney Pollock ("Tootsie") and Henry Jaglom ("Venice/Venice") and actress Victoria Foyt ("Last Summer in the Hamptons").
Film screenings will take place at Culbreth Theatre, Regal Cinema, Vinegar Hill Cinema and Newcomb Hall Theater.
Film industry figures will also participate in panels and lectures as part of the festival.
This year the festival has added a producer's forum to the program, co-sponsored by the Darden School. The forum will feature motion picture producer Marc Abraham, who is now working on "The Spy Game" with Brad Pitt and Robert Redford.
Under the overarching theme of "Masquerades," daily themes will include "Acting is a Masquerade," "Con Artists, Impostors, and Other Fakes," "Race and Gender Benders," and "Normalcy as Masquerade."
The topic of "Race and Gender Benders" could produce the festival's most controversial material, Herskowitz said.
"We're looking at race transformations and gender transformations," he said. He mentioned "the question of both acting black and acting white" among the festival's topics.
This year's festival also will exhibit a variety of artistic fields beyond cinema. The Fringe Festival focusing on other art forms will occupy the Frank Ix building in downtown Charlottesville from Oct. 22 through Oct. 27.
"The idea here is to take a very successful film festival and bring all of the other arts into it," Fringe Festival co-director William Bennett said.
The Fringe Festival will include the works of students, faculty and visiting artists. Artistic fields that will be represented include theater, dance, poetry, music and the visual arts. The Fringe Festival also will include a Carnevale Dance Party on Oct. 26.
Tickets for the Virginia Film Festival are available online at www.vafilm.com. Tickets for each screening cost $6. Students can purchase tickets using arts dollars included in tuition and fees.
Individuals interested in obtaining additional information should visit the Web site for details on specific talks, film showings, and to find out how to volunteer at the events.
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