- Underground Cinema
Magisterium of the People
Far from the corridors of the Vatican, the real Francis impact is lived and felt by people...
Our Mission
The WVIFF’s mission is to encourage, support, and promote the Film Arts; to plan, organize, and present an annual Fall Film Festival of critically acclaimed and culturally diverse domestic and foreign language feature films unlikely to be exhibited theatrically in West Virginia; to plan, organize, and present an annual Spring Film Festival of critically acclaimed and culturally diverse domestic and foreign language feature films and documentaries, West Virginia-produced/related films, and educational programming; to conduct these activities for entertainment, educational, and audience-development purposes; to encourage local and statewide film and video production; and to carry on any business connected therewith.
Contact Us
Phone: 304-395-6688
Snail Mail: P.O. Box 2165, Charleston, West Virginia 25328
Get Involved
Great volunteers make the West Virginia International Film Festival possible. As a volunteer-based, non-profit organization, we depend on the generosity and dedication of our volunteers, who run all areas of the festival. We hope you’ll join our team of hard-working, fun-loving, problem-solving movie lovers dedicated to helping festival patrons and guests have the best filmgoing experience possible.
Become a WVIFF Volunteer by fill out on the left, to learn more, Click Here
Recent Facebook Posts
❄️Spend this chilly Saturday hibernating Underground at the movies!❄️
Our lineup today is the Golden Globe-nominated, Shoplifters at 5pm and the Natalie Portman/Jude Law drama, Vox Lux at 7:30pm!
Get your tickets online and at the door! We’ll see you down there!
The Underground Cinema is excited to present its January feature film: Shoplifters! See below for more information⬇️
Shoplifters (2018, foreign, drama)
Rated R
Runtime: 2 hours
Synopsis: After shoplifting from a store, Osamu and his son run into a little homeless girl shivering with cold. At first glance, Osamu's wife is not quite keen to take her under her wing, but she eventually feels sorry for her. Despite eking a living from shoplifting, the family is happy until an unforeseen incident unveils a secret that puts their bond to the test.
Opens: Friday, January 4th at 7:30pm
Shows: every Friday at 7:30pm and Saturday at 5pm in January
🍅Rotten Tomatoes: 99%
💛IMDb: 8.1/10
💚Metacritic: 93
***A frontrunner for the Academy Award for Best Foregin Film***
What critics are saying:
“In the past, Kore-eda’s delicacy has at times enervated his movies. Here, though, the family’s toughness, thieving and secrets, its poverty and desperation, work like ballast on his sensibilities. In their grubby imperfections, Kore-eda finds a perfect story about being human.” (NY Times)
“Kore-eda examines the nature of what makes a family and how it stands up to poverty, prosecution and government neglect. It’s impossible to experience the deep-seated compassion of this film and not be moved to tears.” (Rolling Stone)
“At once charming and heart-wrenching, this exquisitely performed film will steal the hearts of both art-house and mainstream audiences.” (Variety)
The Underground Cinema is excited to present its January feature film: Vox Lux! See below for more information!
Vox Lux (2018, drama)
Rated R
Runtime: 1 hour, 54 minutes
Synopsis: Vox Lux follows the rise of Celeste from the ashes of a major national tragedy to pop super stardom. The film spans 18 years and traces important cultural moments through her eyes, starting in 1999 and concluding in 2017. In 1999, teenage Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) survives a violent tragedy.
Opens: Thursday, January 3rd at 7pm
Shows: every Thursday at 7pm and Saturday at 7:30pm in January
What critics are saying:
“Vox Lux is an audacious story about a survivor who becomes a star, and a deeply satisfying, narratively ambitious jolt of a movie.” (NY Times)
“Lol Crawley’s superb 35mm cinematography is as restless and as changeable as the woman it follows, sometimes charging forward in tune with her chaos, sometimes freezing her in its still, scientific gaze — yet another fixated lens she doesn’t need in life.” (Variety)
“A dynamite provocation. The film creates a universe where fame crowds out humanity. You can’t stop thinking about it.” (Rolling Stone)
The West Virginia International Film Festival and the Underground Cinema would like to thank you all for another amazing year supporting our cinema and films. We are so excited to bring you even more in 2019, and we can’t wait for another year of great film to begin!
Happy New Year from all of us with WVIFF and the Underground Cinema! 🎉