Award-Winning Actors, Filmmakers to Attend Middleburg Film Festival

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA —Award-winning actors, filmmakers and industry professionals will gather in Middleburg for the four-day Middleburg Film Festival from October 20-23. The 2016 program includes Oscar contenders, critically acclaimed foreign language films and compelling documentaries, followed by fascinating Q and A’s with a diverse group of special guests, according to a Middleburg Film Festival announcement.

Henry Jackman (The Birth of a Nation, Captain America, Big Hero 6) will be honored at the Middleburg Film Festival as this year's Distinguished Film Composer with a live performance of his most memorable scores performed by the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra and a Freedom Choir. Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will participate in a Keynote Conversation on Saturday, October 22.

Special guests who will be attending the 2016 festival also include Oscar-nominated actress Emma Stone (Birdman, The Help), who will be joined by Oscar-nominated director Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) for a conversation following the Centerpiece screening of La La Land on Saturday, October 22.

The festival kicks off on Thursday, October 20 with the Opening Night film, Lion, starring Dev Patel. Film subject and author Saroo Brierley, actress Priyanka Bose, and producer Angie Fielder will be in attendance following the screening.

Former Attorney General of the United States Eric Holder will participate in a conversation following the Sunday Morning Spotlight Screening of Loving with director Jeff Nichols (Midnight Special, Mud) on October 23.

Oscar-nominated production designer Jeannine Oppewall (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville, L.A. Confidential, The Good Shepherd) will join The Washington Post Chief Film Critic Ann Hornaday for a conversation on Saturday, October 22.

Middleburg Film Festival will welcome Oscar-nominated actress Catalina Sandino Moreno (The Affair, Maria Full of Grace) to the festival along with her new film, Custody. Director Otto Bell and The Eagle Huntress film subjects, Aisholpan Nurgaiv and her father Nurgaiv Rys, will join filmgoers for a conversation following the screening on Sunday, October 23, according to the Middleburg Film Festival announcement.

"We are honored to have this year's special guests join us for four days of extraordinary films and lively conversations," said Middleburg Film Festival Executive Director Susan Koch. "We have a wonderful mix of talented filmmakers, actors, industry professionals, and others attending from all over the world."

"This year's slate of films, together with our very special guests, is certain to spark thoughtful dialogue and expand our understanding of the world and one another,” said Middleburg Film Festival Founder Sheila C. Johnson. “Filmgoers will have the opportunity to hear from a talented and diverse group of voices and perspectives."

To see the complete list of film screenings and events at the Middleburg Film Festival, click here.

To find out more and to purchase tickets visit: www.middleburgfilm.org and www.Facebook.com/middleburgfilmfestival.