Summer Intensive High School Filmmaking Course – July 10 to August 4, 2023, final screening August 5th.
A practical hands-on course in digital short fiction film production with weekly speakers/trips and discussions, introduction to green screen and shooting outdoors. Learn valuable skills and production team development: cinematography, sound, script, on set and editing. Our teaching team has a wealth of experience in filmmaking and we know students love them and the program!
Our program has a $45 (DC) / $85 (non DC) registration fee to cover incidentals due by June 25th, but otherwise the course is free. Interested?
Put your name down HERE to receive more details or email Program Coordinator Dasha Pavlova at d.pavlova@outlook.com
Deadline for applications is June 20th. We review applications, and offer places, as they came in.
Welcome to the DCIFF Film Club Podcast! Your host, Erin Devost, this season for intimate and engaging interviews that peel back the curtain of the best emerging independent filmmakers in the industry. If you love film and want a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how future legends of cinema hone their craft, you’ve got to hear this!
Our job is to make sure that filmmaker voices are heard. DCIFF’s Press and Outreach team spreads the word through the press, through social media, and by reaching out to embassies and other communities of interest.
Interested in DCIFF Press?
Send us an email to dcindiefilmfest@gmail.com
Introducing our two summer interns. They are both excited to start this new journey as they learn how to navigate the film world and we are thrilled to work with them. They will help us run our 5 week summer filmmaking course for teenagers and prepare for our Fall events and activities.
Sign up to receive updates on the 2023 Program!
Thank you for joining us for our 24th annual DC Independent Forum! We were excited to welcome over 70 filmmakers March 1 – 5. Click to explore our program, buy passes, or purchase tickets which can be found on the individual film pages below. We showcased 9 feature films and 10 short film program blocks starting at $13 each with exciting filmmaker Q&A’s. Please also check out our selection of seminars and workshops with industry professionals. Click HERE to download a printout of our schedule
Wednesday, March 1st – Sunday, March 5th
directed by Michael Rainin
narrated by Michael Madsen
(USA / 2022 / 101 mins)
Despite a historical legacy that dealt the dark cards of slavery, holocaust and poverty, music has always been the winning hand for Gypsy survival.
Location: Landmark's E Street Cinema
Times: Sunday, March 5th - 5:05pm
(March 5) - $13 (+Eventbrite fee) HERE or AT THE DOOR
Michael has served as a producer and director for countless productions across film, television, and online platforms including promotional campaigns for FX Network’s Nip/Tuck and commercials, music videos and web productions for revered artists and performers. Michael currently wrapped production on a new, in-depth feature documentary on the music of the Roma and the musicians behind this renowned artform, narrated by Michael Madsen while producing ongoing projects with celebrity editorial photographer Kwaku Alston (New York Times, Time Magazine), as well as serving as the creative director behind CBD industry leader Green Gorilla alongside Alston. Michael has additionally founded a boutique branding, design, and production company RAINPIX, INC.
directed by Ellie Foumbi
( USA and Cameroon / 2021 / 1:47 mins )
An African refugee’s quiet existence in a sleepy mountain town in the south of France is upended by the arrival of a charismatic Catholic priest whom she recognizes as the warlord who slaughtered her family.
Location: Landmark's E Street Cinema
Times: Thursday, March 2nd - 8:15pm; Friday; March 3rd - 9:00pm
(March 2) - $13 (+Eventbrite fee) HERE or AT THE DOOR
(March 3) - $13 (+Eventbrite fee) HERE or AT THE DOOR
Ellie is an award-winning Cameroonian-American filmmaker whose debut film, Our Father, the Devil, went on to win 17 prizes at international film festivals, including Tribeca where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. She's an alum of Berlinale Talents and was named one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine. She's also a 2022/2023 BAFTA Breakthrough USA Fellow. Her projects have been supported by The Gotham, Film Independent, the Tribeca Film Institute, SFFILM Rainin Grant, and the Venice Biennale College. Ellie's stories often explore pressing social-political issues within the African diaspora, aiming to shine a light on marginalized populations whose voices are seldom heard or included.
directed by directed by Andre Sigwalt & Augusto Soares
( Brazil / 2022 / 1.44mins )
Two brothers and a fistful of friends face the Chinese mafia:Three Generations Revenge relying on Smoke Master and his unique Cannabis fighting style. A Stoned Kung-Fu movie.
Location: Landmark's E Street Cinema
Times: Thursday, March 2nd - 9:00pm; Saturday, March 4th - 8:30pm
(March 2) - $13 (+Eventbrite fee) HERE or AT THE DOOR
(March 4) - $13 (+Eventbrite fee) HERE or AT THE DOOR
Andre Sigwalt studied cinema and, since 1999, has specialized as a cinematographer and camera operator. He was director of photography for other features such as "Pólvora Negra", "Uptake Fear" and "Skull, The Mask." "The Smoke Master' is the first feature film he directs.
Augusto Soares has a degree in Radio and Television from FAAP since 2000. Founder of Terceiro Ato Videomarketing, he specializes in corporate videos and has been working in this market for over 20 years. "The Smoke Master" is his first feature film.
directed by Èric Boadella
(USA / 2023 / 1:27 mins)
Spencer, a troubled rideshare driver in Los Angeles, goes to dangerous lengths to reconnect with the world he lost after spending 20 years in jail.
Location: Landmark's E Street Cinema
Times: Sunday, March 4th - 7:10pm
(March 4) -$13 (+Eventbrite fee) HERE or AT THE DOOR
Èric Boadella is an award-winning Spanish filmmaker with a rather unique background: Electronic Engineering and punk rock. His first feature film, Toastmaster (2014), won Best Director and Best Script at the 17th Malaga Spanish Film Festival, where it was acquired by Canal+. Èric is one of the seven directors selected for the 2018-2019 FOX TV Directors Lab and he just directed his second feature film, City of Love (2022). He is also the in-house Music Video Director at Frontiers Records and a Branded Content Director at Pluck Studios.
