It’s that time of year again! The 13th Middleburg Film Festival is right around the corner, running from October 16th-19th. I have been in attendance every single year and seen it grow into one of the nation’s most important, most impactful awards season festivals, showcasing literally dozens of movies that went on to win big at the Oscars. Today, the opening slate of films have been released, confirming this year will live up to that high standard.
The festival launches with Netflix’s anticipated dramedy Jay Kelly, Noah Baumbach’s latest film starring George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern and Billy Crudup. Clooney stars as the titular movie star, with Sandler as his loyal manager, as they embark on a whirlwind tour through Europe that is unexpectedly profound. The film will receive Middleburg’s Inaugural Ensemble & Casting Award, presented to the cast and casting directors.
Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao will return to Middleburg for the Centerpiece film, Hamnet, which stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal as Agnes and William Shakespeare as they deal with the impact of their son’s tragic death. Hamnet recently won the People’s Choice Award at TIFF. Zhao will be in attendance to receive the Visionary Director Award. She previously attended the festival with Nomadland in 2020.
Colin Farrell be on hand for a screening of Netflix’s Ballad of a Small Player (review here), after which he’ll receive the Spotlight Actor Award. Directed by Edward Berger, who previously brought All Quiet On the Western Front and Conclave to the festival, Ballad of a Small Player follows a high-stakes gambler lying low in Macau as his past, and debts, start to catch up with him.
Rose Byrne will receive the Agnès Varda Trailblazing Film Artist Award for her performance in Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (review here), A24’s breakout hit from Sundance. Byrne plays a mother whose world unravels as she contends with her child’s mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist. Also in the cast are Conan O’Brien, A$AP Rocky, Christian Slater, Danielle Macdonald, Ivy Wolk, Daniel Zolghadri, and Josh Pais.
Acclaimed Palme d’Or winner It Was Just An Accident will also be at Middleburg, where trailblazing Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi will be recognized with the Impact Award. Panahi, one of the loudest voices against his government, shot the film in secret and with limited funding, despite severe restrictions placed on his ability to work and travel. The story centers on a man whose life unravels after a seemingly minor traffic incident escalates into an exploration of guilt, justice and fate.
Expect the full slate to be revealed in October, when individual tickets will go on sale. For more information, visit www.middleburgfilm.org.
