The Virginia Film Festival kicks off on Thursday, November 6, 2014 with an opening night gala at the Jefferson Theater on the historic downtown mall.

As usual, there are tons of films to choose from, to get the down low and figure out how to schedule all the movies on your list, head to the festivals website to plan your festival.

This years special guests, just to name a few include:

Barry Levinson: “Academy Award winning Director, Screenwriter, and Producer Barry Levinson got his start as an Emmy Award-winning television writer for comedy legends Carol Burnett and Mel Brooks. His 1982 directorial debut came in Diner, the acclaimed 1950’s coming-of-age story set in his native Baltimore. A string of critically-acclaimed films followed, including The Natural (1984); Good Morning Vietnam (1987) and his Academy Award-winning Rain Man, which earned him Best Director, Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay honors in 1988. The close of 1997 saw him release back to back films including Sphere and the political satire Wag the Dog. Levinson returned to politics and reunited with Robin Williams in Man of the Year in 2006. Two years later he teamed with Al Pacino for the Hollywood sendup What Just Happened, and he reunited with the actor for his most recent film The Humbling.”

David Baldacci: “David Baldacci published his first novel, Absolute Power, in 1996. A major motion picture adaptation followed, with Clint Eastwood as its director and star. In total, David has published 28 adult novels, with all becoming national and international bestsellers. He also wrote the #1 bestselling young adult novel The Finisher. David’s novels have been translated into more than 45 languages and sold in more than 80 countries; over 110 million copies are in print worldwide. In addition to the movie adaptations of Wish You Well and Absolute Power, his King and Maxwell series was adapted into a television series. Currently, The Finisher is in development for feature film and the Camel Club series for television. David is the co-founder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation®, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. In 2008, the Foundation partnered with Feeding America to launch Feeding Body & Mind, a program to address the connection between literacy, poverty and hunger. Through Feeding Body & Mind, more than 1 million new and gently used books have been collected and distributed through food banks to families in need. A lifelong Virginian, David received his Bachelor’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, after which he practiced law. Still a resident of his native Virginia, he invites you to visit him at www.DavidBaldacci.com and his foundation at www.WishYouWellFoundation.org.”

Katie Couric:  Katie Couric (@katiecouric) is the Global Anchor for Yahoo News, award winning journalist and TV personality, well-known cancer advocate and New York Times best-selling author.In November 2013, Couric joined Yahoo as Global Anchor, where she helps develop Yahoo News’ coverage, report on live events, and anchor groundbreaking interviews with major newsmakers.  Couric is an executive producer and narrator of Fed Up, a documentary about the alarming spread of childhood obesity, which will be released in spring 2014.  In September 2006, Couric joined CBSNews and became the first female solo anchor of an evening news broadcast after a 15-year run as co-anchor of NBC’s Today Show.  Katie Couric  is a co-founder of Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), co-founder of the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance (NCCRA) with the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) and Lilly Tartikoff, and co-founder of the Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health.  Born in Arlington, Virginia, Katie graduated with honors from the University of Virginia in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in English and a focus on American Studies. She lives in New York with her husband, John Molner.

The full list of special guests and appearances can be found here; http://virginiafilmfestival.org/special-guests/