By Aviva Kempner and Charlotte Hendrix
Being a documentary filmmaker in the Washington, DC area has numerous advantages. Choosing which premiering or historical documentary to watch is a nightly embarrassment of riches. We have competing opportunities to view documentaries at such varied sites as the Library of Congress, various Smithsonian venues and the Charles Guggenheim Center for the Documentary at the National Archives, to name just a few. Oftentimes there are interfacing encounters with the filmmakers and an opportunity to meet with them one-on-one. The Center for Social Media at American University has built a solid reputation on showcasing the latest socially minded films. Museums like the National Women's History Museum, the National Gallery, the Museum of the American Indian and the Hirschhorn Museum all have excellent film programs that often feature nonfiction movies. The community-restored Avalon Theatre also offers fresh-off-the-editing-machine documentaries.
These opportunities multiply when the various festivals are unspooling in the nation's capital. The recently launched Silverdocs, a successful festival from the get-go, at the AFI Theatre and literally down the street from its co-sponsor Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, Maryland, is a summer delight. Documentaries with Jewish themes are featured in the annual Washington Jewish Film Festival at the District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, which often features monthly showings of documentaries in its screening room. The DC Environmental Film Festival programs an abundance of great documentaries.
Women in Film and Video is a large and active organization open for membership to both sexes. The organization affords opportunities for valuable seminars, job markets and film programs. If you want to show your work in progress, there is the Docs in Progress program, which now uses Busboys and Poets restaurant. This has become a popular venue for also showcasing political films or interesting discussions at the Peace Caf in the Langston Room. The DC Film Salon hosts monthly meetings for filmmakers, where they can discuss current projects, screen works-in-progress and network with other like-minded filmmakers of all levels.
Those of us living in the District of Columbia proper might not have yet voting rights in Congress (although we are fighting to change that inequality), but we do thrive in a rich atmosphere of seeing, showcasing and developing documentaries.
Through our storytelling and vibrant documentary community, we are able to challenge the important issues and have our say.
So next time you come to Washington, DC for a meeting, filming or researching, make sure you leave plenty of time to also soak in the total documentary atmosphere. It can be a 24-7 experience in the nation's capital.
DC DOCULIST: FESTIVALS AND SCREENING VENUES
FESTIVALS
(Courtesy of the DC Shorts Film Festivals)
Adams Morgan Film Festival
OCTOBER
www.adamsmorganfilmfestival.com
All Roads Film Project
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER
www.nationalgeographic.com/allroads
Amnesty International Film Festival
OCTOBER
www.amnestyusa.org/filmfest/dc/2005/
Annapolis Film Festival
NOVEMBER
Annapolis, MD
www.annapolisfilmfestival.com
Asian Pacific American Film Festival
OCTOBER
www.apafilm.org
Blue Ridge-Southwest Virginia Film Festival
APRIL
Roanoke, VA
www.blueridgeswvafilm.org
Common Ground Film Festival
JANUARY
www.sfcg.org/programmes/filmfestival/filmfest_festival.html
The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital
MARCH
www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org
DC Independent Film Festival
MARCH
www.dciff.org
DC Labor Film Festival
SEPTEMBER
www.djdinstitute.org/film/
DC Shorts Film Festival
SEPTEMBER
www.dcshorts.com
DC Underground Film Festival
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER
www.dcuff.org
Filmfest DC
APRIL
www.filmfestdc.org
48 Hour Film Project
MAY
www.48hourfilm.com
Georgetown Film Festival
OCTOBER
www.georgetownfilmfest.com
Guerilla Film Festival
OCTOBER
www.gfilmfest.com
James River Film Festival
MARCH
http://rmicweb.org/jrff/index.html
Korean Film Festival
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER
www.dynamic-korea.com
Latin American Film Festival
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER
www.dclatinamericanfilmfestival.org
Maryland Film Festival
MAY
Baltimore, MD
www.mdfilmfest.com
MicroCineFest
NOVEMBER
Baltimore, MD
www.microcinefest.org
Reel Affirmations Film Festival
OCTOBER
www.reelaffirmations.org
RealScreen Summit
JANUARY-FEBRUARY
www.realscreensummit.com
Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Film Festival
OCTOBER
Sterling, VA
www.rpcvfilms.com
Rosebud Film Festival
APRIL
Arlington, VA
www.rosebudact.org
Silverdocs AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival
JUNE
Silver Spring, MD
www.silverdocs.com
Six Minute Cinema
APRIL
Burke, VA
www.sixmincin.com
Takoma Park Film Festival
NOVEMBER
Takoma Park, MD
www.takomaparkfilmfestival.org
Veneration Film Festival
NOVEMBER
Newport News, VA
www.venerationfilmfestival.org
Vinegar Hill Film Festival
APRIL
Charlottesville, VA
www.vinegarhillfilmfestival.com
Virginia Film Festival
OCTOBER
Charlottesville, VA
www.vafilm.com
Washington Jewish Film Festival
DECEMBER
www.wjff.org
SCREENING VENUES
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Centre
8633 Colesville Road
Silver Spring, MD
www.afi.com/silver
Avalon Theatre
5612 Connecticut Avenue NW
www.theavalon.org
Busboys and Poets
2021 14th Street NW
www.busboysandpoets.com
Center for Social Media
School of Communication
American University
Wechsler Theater at Mary Graydon Center
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
www.centerforsocialmedia.org
District of Columbia Jewish Community Center
1529 16th Street NW
www.dcjcc.org
Freer and Sackler Galleries
Meyer Auditorium
1050 Independence Avenue SW
www.asia.si.edu/events/films
Hirschhorn Museum
Ring Auditorium
Independence Avenue at Seventh Street SW
http://hirshhorn.si.edu/programs/films.asp
Library of Congress
Mary Pickford Theater
101 Independence Avenue SE
www.loc.gov/rr/mopic/pickford/pickford.html
National Air and Space Museum
Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Sixth and Independence Avenue, SW
www.nasm.si.edu/visit/imax/films
National Archives
Charles Guggenheim Center for the Documentary Film
William G. McGowan Theater
Constitution Avenue between Seventh and Ninth Streets
www.archives.gov
National Gallery of Art
East Building Auditorium
Fourth Street at Constitution Avenue NW
www.nga.gov/programs/film
National Museum of the American Indian
National Mall
Fourth Street and Independence Avenue, SW
www.nmai.si.edu/
National Women's History Museum
www.nmwh.org
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Kenneth E. Behring Center
NationalMall
Fourth Street and Independence Avenue, SW
http://american history.si.edu/events
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Johnson IMAX Theater5
Baird Auditorium
NationalMall
Fourth Street and Independence Avenue, SW
www.mnh.si.edu
Editor's note: Unless otherwise noted, all of the above festivals and screening venues are located in Washington, DC.
Aviva Kempner. director and producer of The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, is presently working on a film on Gertrude Berg, the creator of The Goldbergs on radio and television. She founded the Washington Jewish Film Festival.
Charlotte Hendrix is an associate producer, and she received a master's degree in producing for film and video from American University in May 2006.