Virginia Film Festival: The Dog Stays in the Picture

Sean McCord speaks with Doug and Judy Bari, the makers of The Dog Stays in the Picture. The documentary tells the story of their beloved Boston Terrier. Caesar died after spending 13 years with their family and then a rescue dog named Sophie who came into their life. The film screens at Vinegar Hill Theater on Saturday at 11:30 am.

Richard Floyd on the British perspective of the U.S. Civil War

Dr. Richard Floyd, a professor of history at the University of Virginia and author of Religious Dissent and Political Modernization: Church, Chapel and Party in Nineteenth-Century England (Studies in Modern History) Floyd spoke on the American Civil War from the British perspective on Sunday, June 12th as part of the James Madison Museum‘s 2011 lecture series.

Read the article by Graham Moomaw in the Daily Progress.

John Stagg on James Madison and the Spanish Borderlands

Dr. John Stagg is a Professor of History at the University of Virginia and Director of the Papers of James Madison project as well as author of Borderlines in Borderlands: James Madison and the Spanish-American Frontier, 1776-1821 (The Lamar Series in Western History). He spoke at the James Madison Museum on Sunday May 15th on the fourth president’s exploration into the Spanish borderlands. The lecture was part of the museum’s 2011 lecture series. Did Madison incite rebellion in Florida? Did he start the C.I.A.?

Piedmont Council for the Arts: “What is the value of the arts?”

PCA’s Creative Conversation Series is a forum for arts-related idea exchange and collaboration. The series brings together arts organizations, artists, educators, and other community leaders to develop strategies for strengthening the arts in our community.

The following conversation took place on February 15, 2011 at CitySpace and addressed the question, “What is the value of the arts?” The result is an open-ended discussion about the different ways the arts have value in our community, from participation in arts events to the notion of “art as luxury,” as well as specific arts and economic development initiatives in the Charlottesville area.

Live Arts presents the Drowsy Chaperone

On a recent Wednesday evening, the cast and crew of Live Arts’ production of The Drowsy Chaperone prepared for the relaunch of their musical comedy. The show debuted in mid-December to glowing reviews, but took a a break for the holidays. I stopped by the brush-up rehearsal to find out more. In this podcast, we hear from actors Doug Schneider, Kimberly Hoffacker, Jane Scatena as well as director Ray Nedzel and musical director John Carden.

Drowsy Chaperone reopens this Saturday and runs through January 16 in Live Arts Downstage Theater. Ticket information is available on Live Arts’ website. If you’re going, make sure to download the helpful study guide.

Virginia Film Festival: Breaking Bad

On the final day of the 2010 Virginia Film Festival, an episode of the AMC program Breaking Bad was screened, and the producers of the program took questions in a panel discusison. Show creator and writer Vince Gilligan and executive producer Mark Johnson provided live commentary of the show, which changed the rules of television drama.

When high school chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is diagnosed with lung cancer and told his days are numbered, he realizes his responsibility to support his family after he is gone. Desperate for money to leave behind, he puts his chemistry skills to use… cooking meth. The show explores the extremes ordinary people are capable of in desperate situations. Cranston has won the Best Actor Emmy three years in a row for his portrayal of Walter White.

Virginia Film Festival: Tim and Daphne Reid on the Legacy Media Institute

Tim and Daphne Reid are long-time friends and attendees of the Virginia Film Festival, and were in town this week to present work produced a by students in the Legacy Media Institute. Tim founded the institute at New Millenium Studios as as a way to provide hands-on education about the nuts and bolts of film-making. The Reids dropped by the filmmakers’ lounge on Saturday to tell Sean McCord all about it.