Celebrate Cinema Super Bowl at the
25th Annual "And the Winner Is..." Oscar Night Party
The nominees are lined up and now the competition builds. Will Moonlight build to a win or will the movie musical La La Land continue racking up awards and honors? And then there’s the battle between Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea and Denzel Washington in August Wilson’s Fences. Find out who the Oscar recipients will be in one of the most diverse line-up of nominees in years at the Washington, DC Film Society’s 25th annual “And The Winner Is…” Oscar night party. So, don’t be a couch potato. Join us for the 89th Academy Awards LIVE ON THE BIG SCREEN on Sunday, February 26, 2017 at the Arlington Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse located at 2903 Columbia Pike in Arlington, VA. Ticket sales on site begin at 6:30pm. Doors open for the Red Carpet pre-show at 7:00pm with the Oscars broadcast at 8:30pm.
DC Film Society Director Michael Kyrioglou announced that the event will again be hosted by film critics Tim Gordon and Travis Hopson to guide attendees through the maze of nominees and, of course, conduct the “Predict The Winners” contest. BUT THERE’S MORE! You can place your bids at the Silent Auction (featuring theater, event and movie tickets, plus movie posters and other items signed by visiting filmmakers and actors including Manchester by the Sea poster signed by nominated writer and director Kenneth Lonergan and DVDs and poster of I Saw the Light signed by actor Tom Hiddleston - plus plenty of door prizes and promotional giveaways.
DC Film Society members had the opportunity to see 11 of the Award-nominated films first at free screenings throughout the year: Allied, Deep Water Horizon, Hail Caesar!, Hell or High Water, Fences, Florence Foster Jenkins, Jackie, La La Land, Lion, Manchester by the Sea and 20th Century Women.
As always, this 25th annual event will be held in support of Filmfest DC, DC Film Society’s parent organization. Tickets are only $20. Purchase tickets on-line beginning February 3, or at the door. For further information, check out our website or e-mail.
Coming Attractions Trailer Night - Winter 2016
By Cheryl L. Dixon, DC Film Society Member
Paterson trailer captures the Heart and Soul of New Jersey and our audience too!
It was a face-off between La La Land and Paterson. But Paterson prevailed and was selected as the best overall Film Trailer of the over 30 trailers in six categories shown at “Coming Attractions Trailer Night’s” Winter Edition program on November 29, 2016. Trailers covered soon-to-be-released winter/holiday movies, including the major film awards contenders. A cozy group of over 50 program attendees filled Landmark’s E Street Cinema and cast their votes, both informally (applause) and formally (ballot). Co-hosts Tim Gordon and Travis Hopson led the always-spirited discussion on the trailers and gave the audience the full buzz on the effectiveness of the trailers themselves and a peek at the movies they represent.
The categories, the winners of each category, and general commentary follow. Whether by applause vote or official ballot, attendees are never shy about expressing their opinions. And they know that their vote counts. Audience feedback is handed over to the Studios and just might impact the course of future trailers and how they are used to more effectively market the films they represent. By now, many of the films associated with the trailers have been released, but remember that attendees at this event saw the trailers first! If you liked what you saw in the trailers, go see the movies! And if you missed the trailers, but like what you’re reading here, go see the movies!!
Here’s a summary of the winning films in each of the six categories and further discussion:
The Agony and The Ecstasy
Fences
Hidden Figures WINNER!
Jackie
Lion
Live By Night
Tim and Travis began discussion of the group of trailers in the first category above, including what they thought would be the main Oscar contenders. They were very curious about what the audience thought about the Live By Night trailer for the movie directed and starring Ben Affleck. They also suggested that the movies, 20th Century Women and A Monster Calls in the second category, “Love Season,” deserved more attention and wondered about how Scorsese’s Silence would be received. More general commentary about some of the movies based on these trailers followed. The winner in this category was Hidden Figures, a surprising, true story of three pioneering African-American female mathematicians, portrayed by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae, who worked for NASA in the early 60s. Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, and Jim Parsons round out the cast. A crowd-pleaser.
Commentary: These trailers are for movies thought Oscar-worthy in the movie pipeline. There’s Fences, based on the August Wilson play about a father trying to raise his working-class family despite his bitter life disappointments in the 1950s. Two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, acts and directs the movie and is ably accompanied by Academy Award nominee Viola Davis. Natalie Portman stars as the grieving Jackie Kennedy in Jackie, following the period after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Lion, based on another unbelievably true story, stars Dev Patel as an Indian, adopted by an Australian couple, who seeks to find his birth family using early boyhood memories and Google Earth. Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara are in the supporting cast. One of the “movies to make you cry.” Ben Affleck stars, directs, and writes the screenplay for Live By Night, chronicling the story of Boston-area bootleggers during Prohibition. Zoe Saldana, Elle Fanning, Chris Cooper, Sienna Miller, and Brendan Gleeson are also featured in the movie based on the novel by Dennis Lehane.
Love Season
Silence
20th Century Women
La La Land WINNER!
Julieta
A Monster Calls
La La Land will tap its way right into your heart! Travis loves this one! Writer/Director Damien Chazelle spins a tale reminiscent of those good ole Hollywood musicals! Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are the struggling actress and the starving jazz musician, who find romance in modern times. With lots of dancing and singing and great music, it’s no wonder that the movie also includes John Legend as a cast member. He’s also a producer.
Commentary: Director Martin Scorsese presents Silence, featuring Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver as priests searching for a fellow priest portrayed by Liam Neeson in 17th century Japan. The trailer footage reminded me of Roland Joffe’s The Mission. Three women, portrayed by Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, and Greta Gerwig help to raise a young boy in late 1970s California in this coming-of-age story. Writer/Director Pedro Almodovar directs Julieta, about a mother-daughter split. Lewis MacDougall, Sigourney Weaver, and Felicity Jones star in A Monster Calls, where the monster is a talking tree providing comfort and protection to a grieving boy.
Bold Thinkers
The Founder WINNER!
Fifty Shades Darker
Rules Don’t Apply
The Great Wall
Patriot’s Day
Michael Keaton is Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s and how he made his millions. Laura Dern is his put-upon wife. Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch star as the McDonald brothers. “It’s founders, keepers” aptly observed one attendee.
Commentary: Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan return, still crazy in love, for the second installment of the Fifty Shades trilogy, Fifty Shades Darker, from the novels by E.L. James. Writer/Director/Actor Warren Beatty is in Rules Don’t Apply, a story about Howard Hughes, the aspiring actress (Lily Collins) he employs, and her chauffeur (Alden Ehrenreich). Fighter Matt Damon discovers the wonders of The Great Wall in the movie of the same name. Tim and Travis commented that the trailer was awful and likely made for an American audience highlighting the American star, as the last samurai meets whom? Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Bacon, and Michelle Monaghan are featured in Patriot’s Day about the Boston Marathon bombing and the search for the terrorists responsible.
Heavy is the Head…
Paterson WINNER! BEST TRAILER OVERALL!
Solace
Sleepless
Split
The Space Between Us
Writer/Director Jim Jarmusch presents Paterson with Adam Driver portraying a forlorn bus driver-poet. An “ordinary” man conveys the extraordinary through his observations in writing. Tim and Travis assert that Adam Driver “captures the heart and soul of New Jersey.” Well-said.
Commentary: Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Colin Farrell star in Solace, about a psychic working with police to find a serial killer, who also appears to be a psychic. Jamie Foxx and Michelle Monaghan are in Sleepless about a police officer’s search for his kidnapped son. For horror fans, M. Night Shyamalan’s Split features James McAvoy, as a kidnapper with multiple personalities, some with a killer instinct, some not. For sci-fi fans, Asa Butterfield is a young man born on Mars, who travels to Earth in The Space Between Us.
Beyond the Stars
Passengers
Get Out
Rogue One WINNER!
Underworld: Blood Wars
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage
Cue the orchestra. Another Star Wars movie, Rogue One…. The rebel Alliance discovers the Death Star’s fatal flaw and must find its plans. Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Mads Mikkelsen, and Forest Whitaker are amongst the cast. New characters meet the old familiar and much-loved ones. Ready your light sabers! Now, with nostalgia, clearly in the mix, this is a real audience pleaser! Can’t get enough of these movies, even if there are multiple trailer versions. May the Force be with you!
Commentary: Another sci-fi offering, Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt star in Passengers, as two passengers who are prematurely awakened on a malfunctioning spaceship enroute to a distant planet. Writer/Director Jordan Peele presents Get Out, about an African-American’s unwelcome visit to a white family’s home. Could this be due to his interracial romance? This was supposed to be a comedy, but the trailer makes it seem serious, and unfunny. Kate Beckinsale reprises her role in Underworld: Blood Wars, yet another edition of this franchise. She’s still fighting in these vampire wars. Vin Diesel is also back in xXx: The Return of Xander Cage and delighting fans with superhuman action stunts.
The Lighter Side
Monster Trucks
The Lego Batman Movie WINNER!
The Red Turtle
Moana
A Dog’s Purpose
The Lego Batman Movie features the caped crusader and all the other hero and villain characters you’d expect from the Lego universe. Jenny Slate, Ralph Fiennes, and Zach Galifianakis are amongst the actors lending voices to the movie. Lots of audience chuckles.
Commentary: Into each life, a little comedy must fall! In Monster Trucks a young man builds a monster truck that literally ends up containing a monster inside it. Hilarity ensues. The trailer did not get much of an audience response. For animation lovers, there are two entries: The Red Turtle and Moana, the latter which features the voices of Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, clearly benefits from the Disney production budget with a Lin Manuel song to boot. Director Lasse Hallstrom’s A Dog’s Purpose, tackles the subject of reincarnation, this time from a dog’s POV. Dennis Quaid stars. High on the “cuteness” scale.
BONUS TRAILERS
Of course, the evening would be incomplete without the bonus trailers. We got a sneak peek of Disney’s live action remake of Beauty and the Beast, with Emma Watson, scheduled for a March 2017 release. Then there’s another installment of King Kong in Kong: Skull Island, with Tom Hiddleston and the hardest-working man in show business, Samuel L. Jackson. From the DC Comics superhero franchise comes Wonder Woman featuring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. Wonder Woman’s duty is to save the world….Finally, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, is back again with an awesome mix soundtrack, Peter Quill and the gang’s all here. These trailers weren’t included in the audience voting….
And so, our very sated movie-going audience enjoyed a full evening of trailer film surprises and promotional giveaways and prizes just for showing up. Plus there were raffle prizes. Always nice to add a free DVD to one’s collection, and there were lots of t-shirts, books, movie posters and other assorted movie memorabilia to please any discerning movie fan. See you at our next trailer program, and at the movies!
Thanks to all of the DC Film Society Directors, Coordinating Committee Members, and Volunteers for putting together this twice-annual educational program. And thanks to our uber hosts,Tim Gordon and Travis Hopson, for providing their commentary, sharing their opinions, and tolerating ours, Allied THA, Landmark Theatres, DC Shorts, Women in Film & Video, and Filmfest DC.
Land of Mine Q&A with Writer/Director Martin Zandvliet
By Ron Gordner, DC Film Society Member
Land of Mine (Denmark/Germany, 2015) had its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2015. It was soon picked by distributor SONY Picture Classics and is Denmark’s foreign language Oscar nominee and has made the final five for the Oscars in February 2017. The film captures a historical period after World War II in Denmark when young German prisoners of war were recruited to dig up and clear nearly 2 million land-mines on the Danish coastline that were originally planted by the Nazis. A Danish Army sergeant, Carl Rasmussen (played by Roland Moller) is given a group of very young German soldiers to clear a section of the coastline. Danish hate for German occupancy and the dangerous job given the soldiers creates a very tense plot. At my screening, the movie was briefly stopped when an audience member fainted from the film’s graphic portrayal of the harm bombs can cause.
TIFF Moderator: We’ve had so many World War II stories in the past in film, but Martin you seem to have found a new story that is very powerful. Can you tell us a little about how you got the idea or genesis for the film?
Martin Zandvliet: As you mentioned there are lots of stories, even from my country. We also usually portray Denmark as the kind, helping nation, and the Nazis were the monsters and the Danes were helping others, including the Jews to flee to Sweden. We also have some of these bad stories of retribution and abuse after the War as well. There was a lot of an eye for an eye mentality.
TIFF Moderator: You also wrote the script which is amazing and directed the film.
Martin Zandvliet: Yes I read many stories and did research.
Audience Question: What kind of obstacles did you find trying to set up the whole land mine setting?
Martin Zandvliet: I had a fantastic set designer and we had some pictures of how the land mines looked on the Danish beaches. I must tell you it is not easy dealing with all the sand and the lighting needed. We pretty much set everything where it was when the Germans set and then later the younger soldiers had to clear the land mines.
Audience Question: Since you said you did a great deal of research, is this based on a true story then or stories?
Martin Zandvliet: That is a matter of opinion. It is based on facts and numbers. How many mines were there, how many young soldiers were there, how many blew up and how many died, and others who were hospitalized? Sgt. Carl is a man of the system but then finds himself fighting the system also. There aren’t many books written about it and maybe there will be interest now. But really the whole movie is fiction. It has to be entertaining.
Audience Question: Today they use sniffer dogs to find many of the mines. Do you know if this was done in World War II or did you think about using that aspect?
Martin Zandvliet: No at that point they didn’t have dogs. Someone had to do it, and so the Germans were recruited to do it.
Audience Question: Were the Geneva Convention Rules of War also out at this time about the treatment of prisoners of war?
Martin Zandvliet: Yes, but like the Germans also, there were many instances of abuse.
Audience Question: Did people know at the time this was going on or did it later emerge much later?
Martin Zandvliet: People knew yes, and they came and took pictures of the German boys. It was really propaganda. They were not being called POWs but more like volunteers. Although I don’t know who would volunteer to dismantle mines.
Audience Question: From the beginning I noticed the boy Sebastian had a bandana which somewhat singled him out and made me think he would be the boys’ leader. Was that carefully planned or not to signal him as a special one?
Martin Zandvliet: The bandana actually means that he had a girlfriend. She had given him that.
Audience Question: Can you discuss more about the food rationing or starving, especially in the beginning?
Martin Zandvliet: After the War there wasn’t a lot of food. The Danes wanted to feed their own children first. The first few weeks however they got very little food and being so weak probably did contribute to their fatigue and nervousness and of course many being blown up or injured by the mines in the earlier weeks especially.
Audience Question: Did you find testimonies from the young German survivors?
Martin Zandvliet: No, we didn’t find anything like that unfortunately. That is the silent generation of Germans also who don’t talk much about the war and their experiences. These boys look quite young and innocent to us, but we have no clue what they did as Nazi soldiers during the War. We did talk to a Danish Sergeant and got some information.
Audience Question: I understand historically that the land mines were planted on the Western coasts of Denmark because at one time they thought the Allies would land there, is that true?
Martin Zandvliet: Yes that is true, it was one of the shortest routes to Germany so it was one choice.
Audience Question: Do you think the film will be controversial when shown in Denmark or elsewhere?
Martin Zandvliet: Yes we thought there would be some controversy, but so far with the publicity for the film we surprisingly have had little of that. We expect there will be some people saying oh it wasn’t that bad, but nothing so far. Again this may be the silence of those on both sides after the War.
Land of Mine will open in the DC metro area in mid-February 2017.
Calendar of Events
FILMS
American Film Institute Silver Theater
The AFI takes part in the Freer's Iranian Film Festival with a number of films by Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. On February 4 at 3:15pm is Close-Up (1990); on February 5 at 3:15pm is Where is the Friend's Home? (1987); on February 11 at 1:15pm is And Life Goes On (1992); on February 12 at 1:15pm is Through the Olive Trees (1994); on February 18 at 1:15pm is The Wind Will Carry Us (1999); on February 19 at 2:45pm is Ten (2002); on February 25 at 1:15pm and February 27 at 7:15pm is Certified Copy (2010); on February 25 at 3:30pm and February 28 at 7:15pm is Like Someone in Love (2012). One more in March. See the National Gallery of Art for more in the series.
Freer Gallery of Art
The Freer is closed for renovations until October 2017. Films will be shown at varying locations.
The Freer's Iranian Film Festival "Reseeing Iran: The 21st Annual Iranian Film Festival" continues in February at two locations, see the AFI and National Gallery of Art.
National Gallery of Art
The Gallery takes part in the Freer's Iranian Film Festival. On February 4 at 4:30pm is Radio Dreams (Babak Jalali, 2016); on February 5 at 4:00pm is The Salesman (Asghar Farhadi, 2016); on February 11 at 4:00pm is Me (Soheil Beiraghi, 2016); on February 12 at 4:00pm is Drought and Lies (Pedram Alizadeh, 2016); on February 18 at 4:30pm is Lantouri (Reza Dormishian, 2016); on February 25 at 4:30pm is Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiarostami, 1997); and on February 26 at 4:00pm is 76 Minutes and 15 Seconds with Kiarostami (Seifolla Samadian, 2016) with special guests Paul Cronin, author of Lessons with Kiarostami and Hamid Dabashi, author of Masters and Masterpieces of Iranian Cinema. More at the AFI.
"Alternate Takes: Jazz and Film" (February 3-March 4) is a film series accompanying the Stuart Davis exhibit. On February 3 at 12:30pm is "Duke Ellington: Black and Tan Fantasy, Love You Madly, Symphony in Black and At the White House; on February 3 at 2:30pm is Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959); on February 4 at 1:00pm is Big Ben: Ben Webster in Europe (Johan van der Keuken, 1967) shown with two short films Jammin' the Blues (Gjon Mili, 1944) and Cab Calloway's Hi-De-Ho (Fred Waller, 1934); on February 4 at 2:30pm is the Washington premiere of I Called Him Morgan (Kasper Collin, 2016); on February 11 at 1:00pm is Elevator to the Gallows (Louis Malle, 1958); on February 17 at 12:30pm is The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith (Sara Fishko, 2015); on February 17 at 2:30pm is Murder of the Heart (Louis Malle, 1971); and on February 24 at 12:30pm is Kansas City (Robert Altman, 1996). More in March.
"El Pueblo: Searching for Contemporary Latin America" is a program of films selected from film scholar Federico Windhausen's El Pueblo series organized for the 2016 International Short Film Festival Oberhausen. On February 18 at 1:00pm is "From Passage to Chronicle;" on February 18 at 2:30pm is "Theater of Conflict;" on February 19 at 2:00pm is "Labor Is Absence;" on February 25 at 1:00pm is "The City Machine;" and on February 25 at 2:30pm is "Against Ethnography." Federico Windhausen will introduce the two programs on February 25.
Special events at the Gallery during February include a Cine-Concert "Pancho Villa's Revenge," a compilation of newsreels and other materials about Pancho Villa and accompanied by the Secret Orchestra.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
On February 21 at 7:00pm is Mele Murals (Tadashi Nakamura, 2016), a documentary about Hawaiian graffiti artists.
National Museum of African Art
On February 18 at 2:00pm is Dingomaro (Kamran Heidari, 2014), a documentary about Iranian musician Hamid Said.
National Museum of the American Indian
On February 25 at 2:00pm is Dauna: Gone with the River (Mario Crespo, 2014) from Venezuela.
On February 25 at 7:00pm is Poi E: The Story of Our Song (Tearepa Kahi, 2016), a documentary about one of New Zealand's most iconic pop songs.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
On February 1 at 7:00pm is I Am Not Your Negro (Raoul Peck), a documentary about James Baldwin with a discussion and Q&A following the film.
On February 16 at 7:00pm is the rescheduled film Olympic Pride, American Prejudice (Deborah Riley Draper, 2016), a documentary about 18 African Americans at the 1936 Olympic Games.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
On February 11 at 3:00pm is Through a Lens Darkly (Thomas Allen Harris, 2015), a documentary about the role of photography and African Americans. Preceded by a short film Black Art, Black Artists (1971).
On February 18 at 3:00pm is F For Fake (Orson Welles, 1977), a documentary about art forgery.
Washington Jewish Community Center
On February 5 at 1:30pm is Aida's Secrets (Alon Schwarz and Shaul Schwarz, 2016), a documentary about Izak Szewelwicz who discovers an unknown brother through adoption files.
On February 7 at 7:30pm is the French film My Shortest Love Affair (Karin Albou, 2015).
On February 14 at 7:30pm is a "voter's choice" Israeli film, Saint Clara (Ari Folman and Ori Sivan, 1996).
On February 21 at 7:30pm is The Last Laugh (Ferne Pearlstein, 2016), a documentary about Holocaust humor.
On February 28 at 7:30pm is Mr. Predictable (Roee Florentin, 2016), a romantic comedy from Israel.
Goethe Institute
On February 24 at 6:30pm is The Age of Cannibals (Johannes Haber, 2014).
National Air and Space Museum
"Hollywood Goes to War: World War I on the Big Screen" is a series of WWI films commemorating the entry to the US in 1917. Films are shown once a month in both locations and the series ends in November. On February 17 at 7:00pm is Wings (William Wellman, 1927), known for its aerial combat scenes.
French Embassy
"Coming of Age" is a series of four films, ending in February. On February 7 at 7:00pm is We Did It on a Song (David André, 2013) and on February 21 at 7:00pm is Camille Rewinds (Noémie Lvovsky, 2012).
The Japan Information and Culture Center
On February 3 at 6:30pm is a program of short films from the 2016 Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia 2016 Film Festival. See the website for titles.
On February 10 at 6:30pm is "Kiyoshi Kurosawa: Action Shorts Short Films." The two films are Beautiful New Bay Area Project (2013) and Seventh Code (2013).
The Textile Museum at GWU
On February 23 at noon is Planet Money Makes a T-Shirt (2015), a chronicle of the journey from cotton farm to finished product.
National Archives
The Archives presents its 13th Annual Showcase of Academy Award-Nominated Documentaries and Short Subjects. The Documentary Feature Nominees are shown on February 22 at 7:00pm, February 23 at 7:00pm, February 24 at 11:00am, February 25 at 7:00pm and February 26 at 4:00pm. On February 25 at noon are the Live Action Short Film Nominees; on February 25 at 3:30pm are the Animated Short Film Nominees; and on February 26 at 11:00am are the Documentary Short Subject Nominees.
Bethesda Row
"Cinema Arts Bethesda" is a monthly Sunday morning film discussion series. On February 12 at 10:00am is A Man Called Ove (Hannes Holm, 2015) from Sweden. Breakfast is at 9:30am, the film is at 10:00am and discussion follows, moderated by Adam Spector, host of the DC Film Society's Cinema Lounge and author of the column "Adam's Rib."
National Museum of Natural History
On February 28 at 6:30pm is The Land Beneath Our Feet (Gregg Mitman and Sarita Siegel, 2016), a documentary weaving together rare archival footage from a 1926 Harvard expedition to Liberia with the journey of a Liberian man uprooted by war. Filmmaker Gregg Mitman and film subject Emmanuel Urey take part in a discussion following the film. Part of the series "Stories from a Transforming World."
The Avalon
On February 1 at 8:00pm is Cameraperson (Kirsten Johnson, 2016), part of the "Avalon Docs" series.
On February 8 at 8:00pm is Stuck With a Perfect Woman (Tomas Hoffman, 2016), part of the "Czech Lions" film series.
On February 15 at 8:00pm is Things to Come (Mia Hansen-Love, 2016) starring Isabelle Huppert, as part of the "French Cinematheque" series.
On February 23 at 8:00pm is Disturbing the Peace (2016) about Israeli and Palestinian fighters, fed up with the status quo, who become non-violent peace activists. Part of the "Films in Focus" series. Filmmaker Stephen Apkon will participate in a Q&A after the film.
Italian Cultural Institute
On February 2 at 7:00pm is 9x10 Novanta (2014), a selection of 10 minute long footage from archives, chosen by rising Italian filmmakers.
On February 7 at 7:00pm is The Venice Ghetto, 500 Years of Life (Emanuela Giordano, 2015), about the oldest ghetto in Europe, focusing on themes such as the origins, different languages and cultures, historicla figures, money, food, persecutions and integration. Part of the series "La Serenissima (February 3-21), a music and arts festival.
On February 15 at 7:00pm is Kryptonite! (Ivan Cotoneo, 2011), a coming of age story set in 1973 Naples.
Library of Congress
The Mary Pickford Theater at the Library of Congress starts a new series of films showcasing the Library's collection and including newly preserved films. On February 2 at 7:00pm is Shaft (Gordon Parks, 1971) and on February 16 at 7:00pm is The Mark of Zorro (Rouben Mamoulian, 1940).
Anacostia Community Museum
On February 10 at 11:00am is Floyd Norman, An Animated Life (2016), a documentary about the animator and comic book artist. On February 25 at 2:00pm is Igual Que Tú (Ellie Walton, 2016), a documentary about a week in the life of six immigrant day laborers living in Washington DC. Filmmaker Ellie Walton will be present for Q&A.
Kennedy Center
On February 22 at 6:00pm at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, Andrew Simpson will accompany silent films.
Atlas Performing Arts
On February 12 at 4:00pm is Flesh and the Devil (Clarence Brown, 1926), starring Greta Garbo and John Gilbert, part of the Atlas Silent Film Series. Andrew Simpson provides accompaniment to the silent film.
Hill Center
On February 6 at 7:00pm is "Novels and Film: Like Apples and Oranges," a lecture comparing US literature and motion pictures. Titles to be discussed: Moby Dick, The Grapes of Wrath and To Kill a Mockingbird. Film clips will highlight the differences between the two forms.
"The Uncivil Civil War" is a film series celebrating the Old Naval Hospital's 150th anniversary. On February 12 at 4:00pm is Ride With the Devil (Ang Lee, 1999); on February 19 at 4:00pm is Freedom Road (Jan Kadar, 1979); and on February 26 at 4:00pm is Slavery By Another Name (Samuel D. Pollard, 2012). This series is hosted by Tom Zaniello.
Reel Affirmations XTra
On February 17 at 7:00pm is the documentary Jewel's Catch One (C. Fitz, 2016).
Alliance Francais
On February 8 at 6:30pm is the French film Kings and Queen (Arnaud Desplechin, 2004).
On February 17 at 7:00pm is Tout en haut du monde, an animated French-Danish feature set in 19th century St. Petersburg.
DC Shorts
On February 10 are two different shows of award-winning films from past DC Shorts Film Festivals at 7:00pm and 9:00pm. Location: The Miracle Theater, 535 8th Street, SE. See the website for titles and tickets.
FILM FESTIVALS
