In just over a week, film fans will have the chance to explore the work of both expert and new filmmakers at this year’s D.C. Shorts Film Festival.
On September 7–17, the D.C. Film Alliance will present the D.C. Shorts Film Festival and Screenplay Competition, which celebrates filmmakers and the craft of filmmaking. This 11-day festival includes educational programming, specialty showcases, family showcases at local libraries, six separate receptions, and a screenplay competition. Most events will take place at the E Street Cinema in Theatres A and B and at the Miracle Theatre on 555 11th Street Northwest. The final 170 short films featured at the festival were chosen from more than 1,500 entries, representing 31 nations. Each 90-minute screening will include between seven and nine short films.
There are multiple ways to take in the film festival experience. Since it's one of the few festivals that allows fans to view screenings online, a simple flat fee of $30 will give fans at-home or tablet/smartphone access to 80-plus films that will be available online during the dates of the event. Fans who attend the festival in person, however, will have the opportunity to view all 170 films. Serious film buffs can choose the $150 All Access Pass, which guarantees seating to all screenings, entries into all the event’s parties, access to online screenings, and a free t-shirt and swag bag. Others, meanwhile, may want to choose and pay only for the screenings and workshops (roughly $10-$12 each) that are of individual interest to them.
Whether it be “Huni Kun -- The Last Guardians” (the seven-minute short set in the Brazilian Amazon in which a tribal leader addresses the need for preservation of the forest where he and his indigenous people live), or “Dear Baltimore” (the 25-minute documentary in which a young man writes a letter about a program that helped the teenager get on the right path), there are a wide variety of films to choose from. Drama, comedy, documentary, animated short, musical, thriller, or experimental film -- the DC Short Film Fest will have it all.
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Perhaps some of the hottest filmmakers to be featured at the event are Samah Safi Bayazid and Muhammad Bayazid, whose film “Fireplace” tells the story of a young child who survived the brutal bombings in Syria by hiding in the fireplace of his home.
The Screenplay Competition portion of the event is scheduled to take place on Friday, September 15. Six writers are participating in the competition, with their screenplays being performed by area actors in front of an audience. After the performances, the audience will pick the winner, who will receive $2,000 towards shooting a film to be featured at next year’s festival.
For more information, including event schedules, film descriptions, and venue and ticket information, check out the festival website.
Do you plan to go to the film festival? Have you gone in the past? Tell us in the comments!
