March 8th, 2020, and with a shout not a whisper, DCIFF completed its twenty-first festival and the full weight of the pandemic descended. In this process this made us, unwittingly, the last film festival on the East Coast.

March 2021 and we are trying to be one of the first hybrid film festivals. DCIFF like so many arts organizations has had a year to think about not just how to pivot to the situation but what to build that is new, relevant and needed from out of the ashes.  We have chosen more education, more conversation, the art of film, the philosophy of the moving image, the social value of documentaries, media literacy, the genius of animation, interaction, synergy and community: a forum built on a festival.

The 22nd edition of DCIFF will run March 30th to April 8th, 2021 as a hybrid experience with the options of a fully online festival of films to watch, in-person screenings and events in the Metro Washington DC region and a combination of the two.  We hope you will join us to continue to celebrate independent filmmaking, learn/discuss/feel/think and support the arts.  See our offerings at our website.

The link to festival passes is here @$25 and up for all 30 films, online taped events, live streamed activities, Q&As, workshops and seminars.  What a deal! And we are keep adding to the line-up as the situation permits. A Last Minute Inc. approach! 

In-person events following local pandemic guidelines are HERE  and we are adding more events as the situation permits. Our workshops will include: legal issues for live streaming, meet the distributors, 10 tricks for making horror movies, filming live music, how to get started in your media career, animation and the ethics of representation in documentary.

Thank you for your support of an independent spirit in DC and  online. The blurry photos below? Those were the days and we plan to recreate the same energy in new ways.  

Deirdre Evans-Pritchard, executive director, DCIFF