Scene by Scene

Sophia Ramirez and Chloe Sherril-Howell / VMag at UVA

Developing the Film Ecosystem in Charlottesville.

Charlottesville’s film scene is often associated only with the Virginia Film Festival (VAFF). Beyond the annual fall event, however, a growing network of filmmakers, students and community organizations are quietly building a year-round film ecosystem in the city.

Each spring, the Indie Short Film Festival (ISFF) brings filmmakers and audiences to venues across the Downtown Mall for a weekend of short films, workshops, and panels. While VAFF anchors the city’s film calendar in the fall, ISFF has emerged as a complementary spring event. But before the ISFF filled five venues across the Downtown Mall with more than 100 films, it began as something far more modest.

In 2019, award-winning filmmaker Ty Cooper launched what he called the Indie Short Film Series in Charlottesville. At the time, it was less of a festival and more of an experiment.

“It was about seeing if people would appreciate just short films,” Cooper explains. “And they did.”

The series screened seven to nine films at a time, typically every month or two. Filmmakers traveled from California, New York, Florida, Delaware, the Midwest and beyond to present their work and participate in panel discussions.

The experiment quickly revealed a demand and by 2024, the series evolved into the Indie Short Film Festival, debuting with 73 films, panel discussions and Q&As. A year later, the festival expanded to 114 films from 14 countries. The 2026 festival, held March 20-22, continued that growth with robust programming including workshops, panel discussions and a screenwriting competition featuring live table reads. There were also meaningful partnerships with organizations such as the Festival of the Book and the School of Visual Arts in New York.

Still, Cooper emphasized that expansion alone was never the goal.

“Sometimes you don’t just grow to have more films,” he said. “You want to make sure you have it right.”

VAFF takes place in the fall, while ISFF runs in the spring. Rather than competing, Cooper described the relationship between the two festivals as “a marriage,” with each serving a different role in the city’s film calendar.

Why Charlottesville?

At first glance, Charlottesville might not seem like the obvious place to host an international film festival.

Cooper grew up in New York City and has spent years in the festival circuit, working with Sundance (the largest independent film festival in the United States) since 2015 and serving as a consultant for VAFF. He understands the advantages larger cities offer, but moving to Charlottesville shifted his perspective.

“I live here in Charlottesville now,” he said. “So I said, you know what? Let me just focus on Charlottesville. Let Charlottesville be the place.”

The city’s location also works in its favor. Charlottesville sits within driving distance of Washington, D.C., Richmond and Virginia Beach, making it accessible for filmmakers and audiences alike. Visitors often arrive unfamiliar with the area and leave surprised.

“They love Charlottesville,” Cooper said. “They come here and say, ‘I didn’t know it would be like this.’”

Beyond festivals, organizations like Light House Studio help sustain the city’s broader creativity culture. The nonprofit youth media center teaches filmmaking and storytelling to students across the region.

Light House Studio Executive Director Deanna Gould explained that they try to focus less on producing filmmakers and more on developing creative thinking. Light House Studio tracks skills such as creativity, collaboration and critical thinking with film serving simply as the medium.

Over the past two decades, Light House Studio has grown from a small after-school program to an organization serving more than 1,000 students annually through workshops, camps and community programs.

For Gould, the importance of filmmaking extends beyond the industry itself.

“We don’t want people to just be consumers of media,” she said. “We want them to understand how it’s made and how they can tell their own stories.”

Students Finding Their Own Way

At the University, film-related opportunities exist, but they are often spread across different departments and student organizations rather than concentrated in a single program.

Rowan Rosenblum, vice president of The Filmmakers Society, says the group has been working to rebuild student filmmaking in recent years.

“A few years ago there just weren’t many projects people were doing through the film society,” Rosenblum said. The club responded by “promoting the [Virginia Film Festival] more actively and creating new student film projects.”

Today, the society focuses on both introducing students to filmmaking and producing student films. They are shooting their current short film, “Passing Faces,” across Charlottesville locations including the Rotunda.

“Our goal is just to make as many short films as possible,” Rosenblum said. “And make sure everyone who wants to be involved can have a role.”

Still, without a centralized film program or many dedicated courses available, students tend to seek out opportunities themselves. In other fields such as finance and technology, the University has many established pipelines where recruiting networks, alumni connections and structured career paths guide students into the industry. Film, however, operates differently. Opportunities do exist across Grounds, including through esteemed faculty like Commonwealth Prof. of Art Kevin Everson, whose films have screened at major international festivals, but these opportunities remain more scattered. Even VAFF, despite operating as a University program in a college town, does not currently feature a dedicated student film category.

John Barnes, Media Studies and drama alumnus, remembered feeling unsure whether there would be enough opportunities to grow as a filmmaker when he first arrived on Grounds.

He eventually found his footing and moved to Los Angeles after graduating, where he began working in film and television production, starting as a postproduction assistant on “The Muppets” with Disney.

“You kind of have to forge your own path,” Barnes said.

That path often includes student organizations, independent projects and community programs. Barnes credits his participation in Light House Studio’s 72 Hour Adrenaline Film Project as “one of the most important things [he] did at U.Va.”

While the filmmaking community at the University may be smaller than those at universities with dedicated film schools, Barnes also observed that the environment can sometimes work to a student’s advantage.

“The film community may not be huge,” he said, “but that ‘big fish in a small pond’ effect can work to your advantage.”

Even so, Barnes said a more structured pathway into filmmaking would make those opportunities easier to navigate.

Looking Ahead

Across Charlottesville’s film community, there is a shared sense that the film scene still has room to grow.

For Cooper, the dream is simple — he wants larger productions in the city.

“I want to be inconvenienced,” he said. “I want trucks blocking the roads because they’re filming something here.”

For Gould, the goal is more about sustaining a culture of storytelling, where people continue to foster creativity in different mediums and gather in theaters to watch films together.

“I’d love to see the continuation of people coming together through film,” she said, “whether it’s in the making process or the screening process.”

And for students like Rosenblum, the priority is visibility in making sure more people know that filmmaking already exists here.

“I just want every student at U.Va to know there’s a space for them to express themselves creatively through film,” he said.

Charlottesville may never become a major film capital that rivals Los Angeles or New York. But through festivals, nonprofits and student initiatives, the city is gradually building something of its ownCharlottesville may never become a major film capital that rivals Los Angeles or New York. But through festivals, nonprofits and student initiatives, the city is gradually building something of its own.