Connections across continents and between new collaborators headline this year’s fall launch of the College of William & Mary’s Global Film Festival.
The festival will present events and awards this weekend to usher in its 2015 theme, “Film & Renewal,” ahead of the prime programming over four days in February.
Headlining the weekend are actors Paul Eenhoorn and Earl Lynn Nelson, the stars of “Land Ho!,” a comedy about ex-brothers-in-law who take a road trip through Iceland. Co-written and directed by Martha Stephens and Aaron Kaatz, the Icelandic-American work premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and has since been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for distribution.
Eenhoorn, a classically trained Australian actor, and Nelson, a West Virginian who started his career as a surgeon, first met in Iceland for “Land Ho!”
The pair will receive the GFF’s Global Film Can Award on Friday evening, accepting it on behalf of themselves along with Stephens and Kaatz.
The festival started the honor in 2011 to recognize international creativity and collaboration that foster understanding, positive chance and goodwill – one of the main components of the festival’s mission to grasp the role of film across the world.
Last year the award went to Canadian actor Michael Cera and Chilean director Sebastián Silva.
“In making ‘Land Ho!’ a professional Australian actor and West Virginian surgeon joined two young independent filmmakers and embarked on a journey of international, cross-generational collaboration that exemplifies the values and global creativity through film that we seek to promote with our film can award,” said Festival Director Timothy Barnard, a William & Mary professor, in a news release.
A screening of “Land Ho!” will start at 7 p.m. at the Kimball Theatre. Beforehand, guests can snack on Icelandic cuisine and drink AleWerks craft beer at a reception starting at 6 p.m.
There will be a question-and-answer session after the film with Eenhoorn and Nelson, as well as the presentation of the Global Film Can Award.
Tickets are $5 for the public and $4 for students, which includes food and beverages. For tickets, contact the Kimball Theatre box office at 888- 965-7254.
The next day, the festival will present a free screening of “This is Martin Bonner,” a film featuring Eenhoorn. It starts at 11 a.m. Saturday in Andrews Hall Room 101, with an introduction by Eenhorn who will stay for questions afterward.
Also on Saturday, Eenhoorn will lead a master class at 1 p.m. on “Acting for the Camera” in Phi Beta Kappa Hall’s Studio Theater. The class is open to the public, and interested guests should RSVP to [email protected].
The festival started in 2008 and hosts four days of film screenings, talks, lives performances and receptions. Almost entirely organized by students, the 2015 programming will run Feb. 19 through 22.
To learn more, visit the GFF website.
Related Coverage:
- W&M Global Film Festival Offers Free Children’s Workshops
- W&M Film Festival Earns Sponsorship from Canon, Opens Next Week
- Actor Michael Cera Visits Williamsburg for Film Festival Launch
Virginia Regional Ballet Collecting Winter Coats for Donations
In addition to lacing up pointe shoes and practicing their pliés for the annual production of “The Nutcracker,” Virginia Regional Ballet is helping to keep residents warm.
The academy is accepting gently used coats at its Williamsburg and Yorktown locations through Tuesday. The coats will be donated to the Salvation Army to go to those in need.
Learn more at the Virginia Regional Ballet website.
