The final day of the Virginia Film Festival showcased a few Charlottesville-area residents’ humble roots.

In the second day of this year’s Virginia Film Festival, students and filmmakers came together in a forum to discuss the back-stories of the big screen.

When the 21st-annual Virginia Film Festival opens Oct. 30 with its “Aliens!” theme, Charlottesville will be the landing zone for films and discussions about immigrants, exiles, extraterrestrials and outsiders of all kinds.

A gripping science-fiction story that spooked radio listeners in 1938 and thrilled film audiences in 1953 is heading to an observatory near you.