Popular film critic Leonard Maltin will be on hand for this year’s Virginia Film Festival, which will be headquartered in the new Violet Crown Charlottesville on the Downtown Mall.

Organizers of the festival, which is set for Nov. 5 to 8, made both announcements Tuesday at The Local during its annual Stakeholders event.

Maltin’s appearance is “a continuation and strengthening of our relationship with the Library of Congress,” said Jody Kielbasa, director of the Virginia Film Festival.

As a member of the National Film Preservation Group, which serves as a public advisory group to the Librarian of Congress, the critic, author and “Entertainment Tonight” fixture will be the guest programmer for the film festival’s Library of Congress Series.

While in Charlottesville, Maltin will be presenting discussions and screenings of films found on the National Film Registry, and he will help bring in special guests.

“He has had a remarkable career,” Kielbasa said of Maltin. “In a time when film criticism has been all over the map, he’s respected.”

In addition to “Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide,” which has been updated and published each year since 1969, Maltin is the author of “Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons,” “Behind the Camera” and other books. He is the host of a syndicated radio program, “Leonard Maltin on Video.”

In announcing the festival’s new partnership with Violet Crown Cinemas, Kielbasa said he is “honored” that this year’s festival will help introduce local film fans to Violet Crown Charlottesville. The nation’s third Violet Crown Cinemas location will be the primary venue for the festival and home to its box office and headquarters.

“The very first screening in the Violet Crown Charlottesville will be for the Virginia Film Festival,” Kielbasa said, adding that the new cinema is scheduled to begin its regular screening schedule on Nov. 9, the Monday after the festival. “There’s a lot of anticipation about this theater opening on the Downtown Mall.”

Violet Crown Charlottesville will offer a 10-screen mix of independent, foreign, documentary and blockbuster films, as well as food and beverage options. In addition to customary concessions, there will be a full-service, sit-down restaurant featuring locally sourced, chef-prepared meals. Local beer, wine, cider and signature cocktails will be served in a full bar with 36 rotating taps. Cinema seats will offer built-in retractable trays so movie buffs can eat while watching screenings.

Kielbasa said that fans who’ve missed having a movie theater on the Downtown Mall won’t be disappointed. He has visited Violet Crown Austin, which opened in April 2011, and he called the venue “absolutely stunning.” The second location, Violet Crown Santa Fe, opened in May.

Mark your calendars for the Virginia Film Festival’s program announcement on Sept. 29 and the opening of this year’s box office on Oct. 28. To learn more about the festival and its programming, visit www.virginiafilmfestival.org.