Calendar of Events
FILMS
American Film Institute Silver Theater
The 12th Capital Irish Film Festival (March 1-4) takes place at the AFI Silver Theater. Titles include The Breadwinner, Bad Day for the Cut, A Date for Mad Mary, The Farthest, Maudie, In the Name of Peace, It Tolls for Thee, Maudie, Maze, Pilgrimage, Zoo, The Secret Scripture, Puck of the Irish and two programs of short films. A festival pass is available.
The 14th annual New African Films Festival (March 8-14) shows new films from African countries. Titles are The African Storm, Borders, Breathe in the Roots, Chateau, Felicite, Five Fingers for Marseilles, Her Broken Shadow, High Fantasy, I Am Not a Witch, I Won't Bear No More, Liyana, Mama Colonel, Kalushi, Naked Reality, Namibia The Struggle for Liberation, Potato Potahto, Razzia, Soleil O, The Royal Hibiscus Hotel, Sheikh Jackson, Supa Modo, Thank You for the Rain, T-Junction, Until the Birds Return, Waithira, Wallay, and Winnie. A festival pass is available.
"Wes World: The Films of Wes Anderson" is a retrospective of Wes Anderson's films including the new Isle of Dogs. Titles in March are Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore. More in April.
"Directed by Michael Curtiz" (March 17-25) is a short collection of films by the prolific director. Titles include The Breaking Point, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Sea Wolf, Flamingo Road, The Unsuspected with two double features: Mad Genius shown with The Strange Love of Molly Louvain and Doctor X shown with Mystery of the Wax Museum. Alan K. Rode, author of "Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film" will introduce some of the films.
The AFI takes part in the Environmental Film Festival with Thank You for the Rain, Coyote: The Mike Plant Story, Woman and the Glacier, Mountain, and Donkeyote.
"Recent Restorations" (March 19-April 26) includes The Old Dark House, The Great Silence, Threads, Bird with the Crystal Plumage and more.
Special Events this month include The Big Lebowski, Casablanca, Donnie Darko (theatrical version) presented by Doctor Sarcofiguy, the Russian silent film New Babylon (Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg, 1929) with a live performance by the PostClassical Ensemble of Dimitri Shostakovich's music score, and Night of the Lepus presented by Count Gore de Vol.
"Iranian Film Festival: Iran Inside Out" (February 21-March 6) concludes with the animated Tehran Taboo and the documentary When God Sleeps.
"2017: A Look Back" (February 23-March 13) is a collection of some of the best films from 2017. Titles in March include BPM, The Meyerowitz Stories, Call Me By Your Name, Coco, Good Time, God's Own Country and Loving Vincent.
"An Evening with Jean Picker Firstenberg & Friends" (re-scheduled) is on March 26 at 6:30pm. Celebrating the American Film Institute's 50th anniversary, there will be a book signing and discussion with former AFI president Jean Picker Firstenberg, journalist Cokie Roberts and other special guests including James Hindman, co-author of "Becoming AFI: 50 Years Inside the American Film Institute."
Freer Gallery of Art
A new series of Japanese classic films is beginning at the Freer. On March 7 at 2:00pm is Onibana (Kaneto Shindo, 1964).
The series "Women at the Helm: Four by Female Directors from Asia" begins on March 4 at 2:00pm with By the Time It Gets Dark (Anocha Suwichakornpong, 2016) from Thailand; on March 9 at 7:00pm is the re-scheduled Angels Wear White (Vivian Qu, 2017) from China; on March 16 at 7:00pm is the documentary Tokyo Idols (2017) from Japan with the film's director Kyoko Miyake present for questions. The series ends March 23 at 7:00pm with Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Mouly Surya, 2017) from Indonesia.
On March 18 at 2:00pm is A Beautiful Star (Daihachi Yoshida, 2017), a sci-fi film from Japan, as part of the Environmental Film Festival.
National Gallery of Art
"From Vault to Screen: British Film Institute National Archive" (February 18-March 31) is a five-part program of recently restored films from the BFI Archive. On March 3 at 4:00pm is Shooting Stars (Anthony Asquith, 1928); on March 4 at 4:00pm is Women in Love (Ken Russell, 1969); on March 31 at 2:00pm is Minute Bodies: The Intimate World of F. Percy Smith (Stuart Staples, 2016) and on March 31 at 4:00pm is Wittgenstein (Derek Jarman, 1993).
"Avant-Garde to Underground: Outliers and Film, Part I" (February 3-March 16) features documentary portraits of outlier artists and works by experimental filmmakers. On March 3 at 2:00pm is Benjamin Smoke (Jem Cohen and Peter Sillen, 2000) and on March 16 at 2:00pm is Creator of the Jungle (Jordi Morato, 2014) about the Catalan artist Josep Pujiula Garrell. Part II of the series will be in April and May.
Special events in March include the Russian films The Youth of Maxim (Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg, 1935) on March 10 at 3:00pm; and King Lear (Grigori Kozintsev, 1971) on March 11 at 4:00pm. Also see the AFI for another film by the same director. For the Environmental Film Festival is City of the Sun (Rati Oneli, 2017), about a deserted mining town in the Republic of Georgia on March 17 at 2:00pm. Two films about artists are Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf (Thomas Piper, 2017) about the Dutch landscape painter, on March 17 at 4:30pm and Cezanne-Portraits of Life (Phil Grabsky, 2018) on March 25 at 4:30pm. A restoration of The Sacrifice (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1986) is on March 18 at 4:00pm.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
On March 17 at 2:00pm is Human Flow (Ai Weiwei, 2017), a documentary about the world's 65 million displaced people. Part of the Environmental Film Festival.
Also part of the Environmental Film Festival is Rat Film (Theo Anthony, 2016), a documentary about rats and Baltimore.
Museum of American History
On February 18 at 2:00pm is a film screening and discussion in observance of the Day of Remembrance Never Give Up, about a Japanese American lawyer who challenged the legality of the 1942 order incarcerating 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII. The film's Executive Producer and Co-Director Holly Yasui and others will take part in a Q&A after the film.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
On March 8 at 2:00pm is Let the Church Say Amen! (St. Clair Bourne, 1973) shown with the short film Verdict: Not Guilty (Eloyce Gist and James Gist, 1933), a documentary about the Black church. A discussion follows the films.
On March 16 at 7:00pm is The Rape Of Recy Taylor (Nancy Burski, 2017), a documentary about an incident in 1944 Alabama. Discussion follows the film.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
On March 3 at 3:00pm is Who does she think she is? (Pamela Tanner Boll, 2008), a documentary about five women artists. After the film, Sybil E. Gohar, professor of art history and film director Pamela Tanner Boll will discuss the film.
National Museum of Women in the Arts
On March 4 at 2:15pm is Womanhouse (Johanna Demetrakas, 1974), a documentary about an art show.
On March 22 at 6:30pm is High Tide in Dorchester, a documentary about the effects of climate change on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Part of the Environmental Film Festival. The filmmakers will be present for discussion.
Washington Jewish Community Center
On March 6 at 7:30pm is Itzhak (Alison Chernick, 2017), a documentary about the life and music of violinist Itzhak Perlman.
Goethe Institute
In conjunction with the exhibit "Early UFA Film Posters: Projecting Women" are two films. On March 8 at 6:00pm is Sumurun (Ernst Lubitsch, 1920) starring Pola Negri. Lubitsch himself also appears as an actor in the film. A reception follows for the exhibit's opening. On March 15 at 6:00pm is The Congress Dances (Erik Charell, 1931) starring Lilian Harvey.
On March 30 at 6:30pm is The Case General (Stephan Wagner, 2015), a political drama about Fritz Bauer who was involved with the capture of Adolf Eichmann.
Strathmore
On March 3 at 3:00pm is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Alfonso Cuaron, 2004) in concert with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
National Geographic Society
Films are shown as part of the Environmental Film Festival: The Opening Night film The Last Animals with a Q&A. Other titles are Dear President Obama, Anote's Ark, Mountain, March of the Penguins 2, BearTrek, Ranger and Leopard, Jane, Bird of Prey, Silas, Point of No Return, Albatross, Wild Florida: Hidden in Plain Sight, Unbranded: An Epic Ride Through the American West, and short films.
French Embassy
The "Francophonie" festival includes films shown at various locations. At the French Embassy is Beauty and the Dogs (Kaouther Ben Hania, 2017) from Tunisia on March 6 at 7:00pm followed by a discussion with Tunisian film expert Hisham Ben Khamsa; Diamond Island (Davy Chou, 2016) from Cambodia on March 13 at 7:00pm and Wulu (Daouda Coulibaly, 2016) from Senegal on March 27 at 7:00pm.
On March 15 at 6:00pm is Women and Men (2016), a documentary about gender equality, Filmmaker Frédérique Bedos will be present for discussion.
Other films are part of the Environmental Film Festival. On March 16 at 7:00pm is Makala (Emmanuel Gras, 2017) and on March 20 at 7:00pm is Paris: A Wild Story (Frederic Fougea, 2016).
The Japan Information and Culture Center
On March 14 at 6:30pm is Hidden Fortress (Akira Kurosawa, 1958) starring Toshiro Mifune, the film that inspired George Lucas' Star Wars.
On March 16 at 6:30pm is the documentary Ama-San (Claudia Varejao, 2016), about divers for abalone who use no air tanks or other aids.
Part of the Environmental Film Festival.
The Textile Museum at GWU
On March 15 at noon is Love Songs of the Miao in China (1993), a documentary about the Miao, a minority ethnic group in the mountains of southern China.
National Archives
The 14th Annual Showcase of Academy Award-Nominated Documentary and Short Film Nominees began February 28 and continues through March 4. On March 1 at 7:00pm is the documentary feature Icarus (Bryan Fogel, 2017). On March 2 at 7:00pm is the documentary feature Last Men in Aleppo (Feras Fayyad, 2017). On March 3 at 12:00 noon is the Live Action Short films DeKalb Elementary (Reed Van Dyk, 2017), The Eleven O'Clock (Derin Seale, 2016), My Nephew Emmett (Kevin Wilson, Jr, 2017), The Silent Child (Chris Overton, 2017), and Watu Wote/All of Us ((Katja Benrath, 2017). On March 3 at 3:30pm is the Animated Short films Dear Basketball (Glen Keane, 2017), Garden Party (Victor Caire, 2017), Lou (Dave Mullins, 2017), Negative Space (Max Porter, 2017), and Revolting Rhymes (Jakob Schuh, 2016). On March 3 at 7:00pm is the documentary feature Strong Island (Yance Ford, 2017). On March 4 at 11:00am is the Documentary Short films Edith+Eddie (Laura Checkoway), Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405 (Frank Stiefel), Heroin(e) (Elaine McMillion Sheldon), Knife Skills (Thomas Lennon), and Traffic Stop (Kate Davis). On March 4 at 4:00pm is the documentary feature Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (Steve James, 2016).
On March 6 at noon is Democracy's Messengers: The Never-Before-Told Story of Young Americans on Capitol Hill, about pages in the U.S. Congress and Supreme Court. Film producer Jerry Papazian and former pages will discuss the film.
On March 15 at noon is "From the Vaults: Remembering Vietnam," the second in a series of archival selections related to the war in Vietnam. Films shown are A Day in Vietnam (1967) and Vietnam Crucible (1968).
On March 22 at 7:00pm is Generation on the Wind (1979) is a documentary about environmental activists who built the world's largest electrical generating windmill. Part of the Environmental Film Festival.
Bethesda Row
"Cinema Arts Bethesda" is a monthly Sunday morning film discussion series. On March 11 at 10:00am is the After the Storm (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2016) from Japan, about an author/detective/failed father. 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." A season pass is available.
Embassy of Canada
On March 21 at 7:00pm is Bagages (Paul Tom, 2017), a documentary about adolescent immigrants and part of the "Francophonie" series.
National Museum of Natural History
On March 2 at 2:30pm is Oh What a Blow that Phantom Gave Me (John Bishop and Harald Prins, 2003), a documentary about the work and life of anthropologist Edmund Carpenter who worked in Papua New Guinea. Part of the Ethnographic Film Series.
On March 9 at 2:30pm is The city roof were so near that even a sleepwalking cat could pass over Runik without ever touching the ground (Petrit Halilaj, 2017), a short documentary about the village of Runik and its Neolithic artifacts. The filmmaker will be present to discuss the film. Part of the Ethnographic Film Series.
On March 23 at 2:30pm is A Balinese Trance Seance (Linda Connor, Patsy Asch and Timothy Asch, 1980-81) and Jero on Jero: A Balinese Trance Seance Observed (Linda Connor, Patsy Asch and Timothy Asch, 1980-81), both a portrait of Jero, a Balinese medium who speaks with spirits. Part of the Ethnographic Film Series.
The Avalon
On March 14 at 8:00pm is Our Blood Is Wine (Emily Railsback, 2018), a documentary about winemaking in the Republic of Georgia. Part of the "Films in Focus" series. A wine-tasting is at 7:00pm and there is a Q&A after the film.
On March 21 at 8:00pm is Until the Birds Return (Karim Moussaoui, 2017) from Algeria, as part of the "French Cinematheque" series and doing double duty as one of the "Francophonie" films. The filmmaker will be present for discussion.
"Exhibition on Screen" is a series of art exhibition films. On March 4 at 10:30am and March 6 at 10:30pm is "David Hockney at the Royal Academy of Arts." On March 26 at 10:30am is "Canaletto and the Art of Venice" (Encore) with a post-screening discussion.
Italian Cultural Institute
On March 8 at 6:00pm is the U.S. premiere of Is It About Love? (Elisabetta Lodoli, 2017), a documentary about three abusive men who tell their stories of violence against women. The film's director will take part in a panel discussion after the film.
On March 28 at 6:00pm is Worldly Girl (Marco Danieli, 2016), winner of an award for Best New Director.
New York University Abramson Family Auditorium
On March 21 at 7:00pm is Dans le lit du Rhone, a documentary from Switzerland about the river Rhone. Filmmaker Melanie Pitteloud will participate in a Q&A after the film. Part of the Environmental Film Festival and Francophonie.
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. Two Jerry Lewis will be shown this month. On March 13 at 7:00pm is The Caddy (Norman Taurog, 1953) and on March 27 at 7:00pm is The Ladies' Man (Jerry Lewis, 1961).
"Capital Classics" at Landmark's West End Cinema
Classic films are shown at the West End Cinema on Wednesdays at 1:30pm, 4:30pm and 7:30pm. On March 7 is Auntie Mame (Morton Da Costa, 1958); on March 14 is A Streetcar Named Desire (Elia Kazan, 1951); on March 21 is Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston, 1948); and on March 28 is Easter Parade (Charles Walters, 1948).
Kennedy Center
On March 16 at 8:00pm is Koyaanisquatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1982) with The Philip Glass Ensemble performing live along with the Washington Chorus. Philip Glass, Godfrey Reggio and moderator Bason Bates will take part in a pre-concert talk.
On March 18 at 7:30pm is The Colorado (Murat Eyuboglu), a documentary exploring the Colorado River Basin from social, ecological and historical perspectives. Live music by the vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth joined by cellist Jeffrey Ziegler and percussionist Andy Meyerson. The director will discuss the film after the screening. Part of the Environmental Film Festival.
Alden Theater
On March 24 at 2:00pm is Sing Faster: The Stagehand's Ring Cycle (Jon Else, 1999) a documentary about the San Francisco Opera stagehands as they rehearse for Wagner's Ring Cycle. On March 30 at 7:00pm is Clue (Jonathan Lynn, 1985), part of the audience-participation "Quote Along" series of films. Shown at the Old Firehouse, 1440 Chain Bridge Rd.
Reel Affirmations XTra
On March 30 at 7:00pm is "Q Mason," a selection of films from students at George Mason University's Film and Video Studies telling LGBTQ stories. See the website for titles.
Busboys and Poets
On March 7 at 6:00pm is the documentary Stitching Palestine (Carol Mansour), followed by a discussion.
Alliance Francais
On March 2 at 7:00pm is Moka (Frederic Mermoud, 2016) from Switzerland and on March 8 at 7:00pm is Chasse-Galerie (Jean-Philippe Duval, 2016), an award-winning film from Quebec. Both are part of the "Francophonie" festival.
DC Shorts
On March 2 at 7:00pm and 9:00pm and March 3 at 8:00pm and 10:00pm are two different short film showcases, selected from the award-winners of the 2017 DC Shorts International Film Festival. Location: the Miracle Theater, 535 8th Street, SE.
FILM FESTIVALS
