It may not be as big and glitzy as Cannes or Sundance (and that may be a good thing), but this weekend’s Middleburg Film Festival, October 30 through November 2, tempts with a star-studded lineup of movies. Many of the films—there are 20 in all—either feature Oscar winners or have already won honors at other film fests, including Cannes. Among them:
- The Homesman, directed by Tommy Lee Jones and starring Jones, Hilary Swank, and Meryl Streep, is a tale of 1850s pioneers who, fed up with the harsh life in the American West, decide to make the perilous journey back east.
- Force Majeure, Sweden’s entry for a Best Foreign Language Oscar, and a winner at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, follows what happens to one family after an avalanche strikes on a ski vacation in the French Alps.
- Two Days, One Night stars Oscar winner Marion Cotillard as a Belgian woman who has two days to get her fellow employees at a solar-panel factory to give up their bonuses so she won’t lose her job.
While a few of the screenings, such as showings of The Imitation Game (starring Benedict Cumberbatch), are sold out, individual tickets are available for most other films and can be purchased online.
With an extra hour to enjoy on Sunday, and some colorful foliage still on the trees, it’s a perfect time to drive out to the country and get your movie fix.
Sherri Dalphonse joined Washingtonian in 1986 as an editorial intern, and worked her way to the top of the masthead when she was named editor-in-chief in 2022. She oversees the magazine’s editorial staff, and guides the magazine’s stories and direction. She lives in DC.
