The 13th annual Middleburg Film Festival will return to Virginia Oct. 16–19 with an impressive slate of films, tributes, and honorees that spotlight some of the year’s most anticipated awards contenders.
Kicking off the four-day showcase is Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, a Netflix drama starring George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, and Billy Crudup. The film, which follows a fading movie star (Clooney) and his loyal manager (Sandler) on a life-changing European journey, will receive the festival’s inaugural Ensemble & Casting Award. Members of the cast will be joined by celebrated casting directors Douglas Aibel and Nina Gold to accept the honor.
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The Centerpiece selection will be Hamnet, the TIFF People’s Choice Award winner from Oscar winner Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, The Rider). Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling novel, the Focus Features release explores the grief that inspired Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The film stars Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn, Jacobi Jupe, and Noah Jupe. Zhao will be on hand to receive the Visionary Director Award.
Acclaimed Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi will be celebrated with the Impact Award for his Palme d’Or–winning drama It Was Just an Accident. The film, also chosen as France’s submission for the 2026 Oscars, examines guilt and fate after a minor traffic incident spirals out of control. Panahi joins a rare club of filmmakers to have claimed top prizes at Cannes, Berlin and Venice.
Colin Farrell will take home the Spotlight Actor Award following a screening of Edward Berger’s Ballad of a Small Player. Based on Lawrence Osborne’s novel, the Netflix drama casts Farrell as a gambler hiding out in Macau as his debts and past catch up with him. The honor adds to the Irish actor’s storied résumé, which spans The Banshees of Inisherin, In Bruges, The Lobster and The Batman.
Rose Byrne is the recipient of the Agnès Varda Trailblazing Film Artist Award for her acclaimed turn in Mary Bronstein’s Sundance breakout If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. Byrne portrays a mother in crisis, navigating her child’s illness and unraveling personal relationships. The honor includes a grant for mentorship of emerging filmmakers. She currently stars in Apple TV+’s Platonic with Seth Rogen.
The Middleburg Film Festival, which runs Oct. 16–19, will announce its full schedule and lineup in early October. Individual tickets will also go on sale at that time through middleburgfilm.org or the festival’s mobile app.
The Coca-Cola Company returns as Presenting Sponsor, with The Washington Post serving as Founding Media Sponsor.
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