The 20th annual Virginia Film Festival kicks off Thursday night with a showing of "Honeydripper," a new film from acclaimed independent director John Sayles.

Organizers sell tickets ahead of time for all 90 films being shown in theaters around Charlottesville through Sunday, but they expect tickets will be available at the door.

The festival is hosted by the University of Virginia. This year's theme is "Kin Flicks" and will feature events with 80 guests, including Sayles, actor/director John Turturro and actor Sean Patrick Thomas, a U.Va. alumnus, who appears in "Honeydripper."