The Middleburg Movie Competition, upfront of its thirteenth version set to run October 16 – 19, has introduced each its opening night time and centerpiece movies, in addition to its first crop of 2025 honorees, completely to IndieWire.
Launching the four-day competition primarily based in Northern Virginia is “Jay Kelly,” the newest Netflix movie from four-time Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach. Starring George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, and Billy Crudup, the poignant and humor-filled movie inspecting life’s regrets and notable glories facilities on Clooney’s film star analogue Jay Kelly, and his devoted supervisor (Sandler,) as they embark on a whirlwind and unexpectedly profound journey by Europe. The screening will finish with “Jay Kelly” receiving the inaugural Ensemble & Casting Award introduced to casting administrators Douglas Aibel and Nina Gold alongside members of the movie’s solid.
This yr’s Centerpiece movie will probably be current TIFF Folks’s Alternative Award winner “Hamnet,” directed by Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland,” “The Rider,”) who will probably be attending the Middleburg to just accept the Visionary Director Award. The movie adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel, which will probably be launched by Focus Options, tells a strong story of affection and loss that impressed the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, “Hamlet.” The movie stars Oscar nominees Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal in addition to Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn, Jacobi Jupe, and Noah Jupe.
The Middleburg Movie Competition supplied a preview of the remainder of its lineup, and checklist of honorees, together with current Emmy nominee Colin Farrell, who will obtain the Highlight Actor Award following a screening of his new Netflix movie “Ballad of a Small Participant,” directed by Edward Berger (“Conclave,” “All Quiet on the Western Entrance”). The Highlight Actor Award is supposed to additionally honor Farrell’s wide-ranging filmography which incorporates “The Lobster,” “In Bruges,” “Minority Report,” and “The Batman.” “Ballad of a Small Participant,” an adaptation of Lawrence Osborne’s 2014 novel of the identical identify, follows a high-stakes gambler mendacity low in Macau as his previous, and money owed, begin to meet up with him.
Rose Byrne will probably be honored with the Agnès Varda Trailblazing Movie Artist Award for her efficiency in Mary Bronstein’s A24 Sundance breakout “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” for which she earned Silver Bear for Finest Main Efficiency on the 2025 Berlin Movie Competition. Within the movie, directed by Mary Bronstein, Byrne performs a mom whose world unravels as she contends along with her youngster’s mysterious sickness, her absent husband, a lacking particular person, and an more and more hostile relationship along with her therapist. Byrne is finest identified for her Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated function in FX’s “Damages,” her breakout comedy flip within the Academy Award nominated “Bridesmaids,” and a number of other starring roles alongside current Emmy winner Seth Rogen, together with “Neighbors,” “Neighbors 2,” and the Apple TV+ sequence “Platonic.” The Agnès Varda Award is accompanied by a grant for mentoring aspiring movie artists.
Lastly, acclaimed Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi will probably be acknowledged at Middleburg with the Affect Award for his Cannes Palme d’or winner “It Was Simply an Accident.” Lengthy acknowledged as considered one of world cinema’s most important and brave voices, Panahi has continued to create internationally celebrated work regardless of restrictions on his capability to journey and make movies in his dwelling nation. His new movie follows a person whose life unravels after a seemingly minor site visitors incident escalates into an exploration of guilt, justice and destiny. He’s considered one of solely 4 filmmakers to win the highest prize on the Cannes, Berlin, and Venice Movie Festivals. The movie was additionally simply introduced as France’s official entry for Finest Worldwide Characteristic on the 2026 Academy Awards.
Particular person tickets for the 2025 Middleburg Movie Competition will go on sale in early October when the schedule and full slate are introduced. For extra info go to the competition web site or obtain the competition’s cellular app.