On Thursday, November 1st, 2007, Stonehaus/Belvedere was proud to be the sole sponsor of the 20th Annual Virginia Film Festival Opening Night Gala at the Downtown Transit Center in Charlottesville. The event was a huge success, and signaled an important kick-off to the 20th anniversary of the prestigious Virginia Film Festival.

The festival designs its program around a comprehensive cultural theme, which illuminates the social and artistic impact of filmmaking. Over 60 films are shown in just four days, with nearly one hundred speakers. Directors, actors, scholars, and writers attend the festival, and welcome the opportunity to reflect with audiences on the art and purposes of filmmaking.

The theme of this year’s festival was family, or, “Kin Flicks.” The festival featured an array of filmmakers exploring the dynamics of family life from every possible angle, and for every possible audience. Famed actor/director John Turturro came to Charlottesville to present his work as a director. Also joining the impressive guest list was actor Sean Patrick Thomas, and legendary American independent filmmaker John Sayles.

According to Cass Kawecki, Sales Director for Stonehaus, “we sponsored the Virginia Film Festival to signal support of one of Charlottesville’s most important art events, and to begin the integration of arts into the Belvedere Civic Core.” In addition to art exhibits, theatre, and music, Belvedere plans to have regular evening film screenings at the Belvedere Village Green and Town Hall. “We want to partner with and support local arts organizations, who in turn will be committed to bringing this vision for neighborhood-integrated arts to fruition,” says Kawecki.

For this year’s Gala event, Stonehaus unveiled a “sneak preview” of the Civic Core, with renderings on display highlighting what is planned to be the artistic and cultural hub of Belvedere. In addition to the Belvedere development team, some lucky future Belvedere residents were in attendance. These future residents won Gala tickets by entering a raffle for prospective Belvedere homebuyers who attended the Stonehaus/Belvedere Information Session held in October.

For more information on the Virginia Film Festival, visit: www.VaFilm.com