CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW)- The 38th Annual Virginia Film Festival ended Sunday evening at the Paramount Theater with a screening of the final film, “Rental Family.” 

The film stars Brendan Fraser, coming off his Oscar-winning turn in “The Whale,” as struggling American actor Phillip Vandarploeug, as he tries (in vain) to keep it professional while working for a rental family agency in the city of Tokyo.

“Rental Family” is the second feature film by director Hikari, who was in attendance to accept the festival’s Breakthrough Director Award and answer questions about the movie following the screening.  It is set for a Nov. 21 theatrical release in the United States when it wraps up its time on the festival circuit. 

The festival’s 38th iteration highlighted the work of filmmakers and artists throughout its run for excellence in the craft and delighted thousands of eager theatergoers from Wednesday through Sunday.   

Composer Nicholas Brittell, who in the past has written scores for movies and television including Succession and recently for the acclaimed Disney+ series Andor, was honored in the Film Composition category for his score of Netflix’s new film “Jay Kelly,” which screened Friday evening. 

Director of Photography Evgenia Alexandrova took home the Craft Award for Cinematography at Saturday afternoon’s screening Brazilian action thriller, “The Secret Agent.”  

Actor and singer Miles Caton, star of Ryan Coogler’s smash horror hit “Sinners” (which hit theaters earlier this year in April), took home the Achievement in Film Music award at Saturday’s screening, and performed for the crowd following a Q&A session when the film ended.

The festival also named the audience’s favorite choices in the various genres of film showcased during its run.

Chloe Zhao’s drama Hamnet, telling the story of the playwright William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes losing their 11-year-old son Hamnet and the effect of the tragedy on them and Shakespeare’s work, earned top honors in the narrative feature category.

Documentarian Ryan White’s Come See Me in the Good Light, featuring poet Andrea Gibson and her partner Megan Falley dealing with her the former’s cancer diagnosis, won the crown for the documentary feature category.

Bear Damen’s Mexico-set short Synthesize Me took home first place among the narrative shorts.

And documentarian Joshua Seftel’s All the Empty Rooms won the documentary short category.