News

The Middleburg Film Festival is tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains above Washington, D.C., but that didn’t stop it from engaging in a little diplomacy of its own. A delegation of filmmakers from Nigeria and Kenya, Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Lee Satterfield, and the department’s director of film, TV and digital programs, Catherine Collins, attended the festival.

It’s always important to have the old Kurt Vonnegut quote in mind and not mistake artistic expression for political capital, but the hope was that by having the delegation at Middleburg, it would offer greater visibility for the filmmakers and foster connections between the resources and innovation of Hollywood and the exciting emerging voices coming out of Africa.

Filmmakers Kunle Afolayan (“Phone Swap”), Kenneth Ambani (“A Better Life”), Philip Karanja (“Click Click Bang”), and Bolanle Austen Peters (“House of Ga’a”) spoke about the challenges they’ve overcome and still face,...

Virginia’s Middleburg Film Festival, now in its 12th year, is set to open this October with the Apple Original film “Blitz” starring Saoirse Ronan. Director Steve McQueen will be honored with the festival’s Visionary Director award.

Set during World War II, “Blitz” follows the journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy whose mother Rita (Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to Rita and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in peril, as a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.

Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez” will be the festival’s Friday Spotlight film. Karla Sofía Gascón stars as a fearsome drug lord who embraces her true self as a woman. The Spanish-language film earned one of Cannes’ longest standing ovations and went on to win the Jury Prize,...

Steve McQueen’s filmography will be feted at the 2024 Middleburg Film Festival.

The annual festival, which will take place from October 17 through 20, will honor Academy Award winner McQueen with the Visionary Director Award. McQueen’s latest film “Blitz” will open the festival, and the auteur will participate in a post-screening conversation.

“Blitz” follows the “epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to Rita and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son,” per the official synopsis.

“Blitz” will screen at Middleburg as a co-presentation with the British Embassy. British Ambassador to the United States Dame Karen Pierce will introduce the feature, and also receive the Festival’s inaugural Film Diplomacy Award.