The Debut Draws Enthusiastic VAFF Opening-Night Crowds — SkimNews
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- The Debut opened the festival at the Paramount Theatre, where enthusiastic opening-night crowds watched Julianne Moore in an Oscar-front-runner performance.
- The Debut arrived in Virginia after winning Middleburg’s audience award and opening well at Woodstock the previous week, producing positive results at three fall-festival stops.
- Virginia Film Festival runs Oct. 21–25, offers 100 films and is the University of Virginia’s 39-year-old festival.
- Virginia Film Festival scheduled Ben Mankiewicz to interview Visionary Award winners Nathan Lane and Jessica Lange, alongside talks involving David O. Russell, Todd Black, Aaron Sorkin and Ruth De Jong.
- Virginia Film Festival lists “La Bola Negra,” “Behemoth!,” “Being Heumann,” “14th,” “Club Kid,” “Wild Horse Nine” and “Elsinore” among the films flagged as awards suspects.
- Virginia Film Festival’s press corps included Vanity Fair, Filmmaker Magazine, Vulture, RogerEbert.com, THR and The Daily Beast, described as slightly less awards-focused than Middleburg’s.
Why it matters: For Moore and The Debut, the Virginia opening extends audience traction already seen in Middleburg and Woodstock; for the Virginia Film Festival, the Oct. 21–25 program pairs a clear opening-night draw with 100 films, star-led conversations and seven titles flagged as awards contenders.
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