What gets you behind the scenes of a film and the filmmaking process?

At film festivals like DCIFF2019, all screenings are followed by a discussion while seminars and workshops show you how films are made. As director Phillip Noyce shared in his Masterclass last weekend, now that most of us have access to the technology, the craft of film is ours for the creating and has become cheaper. So come and get behind the scenes Thursday, March 7 through Sunday, March 10 at our Carnegie Institution for Science festival site, 16th Street and P Streets:

Thursday, March 7 brings a film financing workshop where you can talk with one director and one producer with extensive experience in pre-sales, working with investors, tax incentives and what you need to do to attract $$$ (4.50-6.20pm, $12).

Friday, March 8 from 8:30-10:30pm ($18) allows you to be part of creating an animation using light pens so that you watch the expert team of TOCHKA enjoy how an animation is constructed.

Saturday, March 9 at 4pm, at our seminar CHANGING THE LOOK OF REALITY: Integrating Animation and Digital Effects into Documentaries, experts examine this new genre cross-over and what it means for documentary films.

And on Sunday, March 10th, the final day of the festival, we have both a workshop on how to light your film from the people who actually do this for a living: THE GAFFER KNOWS BEST: Creating Exceptional Lighting In Any Situation (2:30-4pm, $15) and a chance for you to enter the world of virtual reality filmmaking as you try your hand at distorting film and turning images 3D:  Introduction to Volumetric Filmmaking (4-7pm, $15)

Our closing night film Curtiz (followed by a delicious buffet with drinks and music courtesy of the Embassy of Hungary) starts at 7pm. It too takes us behind the scenes as it paints a portrait of the prolific, controversial Hollywood director Michael Curtiz, best known for directing CASABLANCA. There, film is mostly presented as if we were on set as CASABLANCA is being filmed amidst turmoil. As Curtiz is famously claimed to have said: ‘Don’t talk to me while I’m interrupting.”