Virginia’s Film Resume

Make your movie night local with films set in Virginia.

Director Kasi Lemmons with actors Zackary Momoh, Cynthia Erivo, and Vanessa Bell Calloway on the set of Harriet.

Photos courtesy of Glen Wilson/Focus Features

Here are a few of the many movies and television shows filmed in Virginia, with awards notes and release years.


Giant, 1956 (Oscar: Best Director, George Stevens)

Coal Miner’s Daughter, 1980 (Oscar: Best Actress, Sissy Spacek)

Dirty Dancing, 1987

Silence of the Lambs, 1992 (Oscar: Best Picture)

Cold Mountain, 2002 (Oscar: Best Supporting Actress, Renee Zellweger)

John Adams miniseries, 2008 

Lincoln, 2012 (Oscar: Best Actor, Daniel Day Lewis)

Argo, 2013 (Oscar: Best Picture)

Captain Phillips, 2014 

Turn: Washington’s Spies, 2014 

Mercy Street, 2017 

Homeland, 2017 

Harriet, 2019 

Wonder Woman 1984, coming in 2020

The Good Lord Bird, coming in 2020

The Walking Dead: World Beyond, coming in 2020

Ethan Hawke asJohn Brown and Joshua Caleb Johnson as Onion in The Good Lord Bird.

Photos courtesy of Showtime Networks Inc.


Want to read more about Virginia’s film history? Check out our feature story from the February 2020 issue.

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