The DC/DOX Film Festival brings notable documentary film premieres to the District from June 11 to 14.
California may have Hollywood, and New York may have, well, New York City, but the nation’s capital has … Docuwood! This term is a nod to how the District is booming in the documentary industry, and from June 11 to 14, that notoriety comes to a head with the DC/DOX Film Festival.
While only in its fourth year, DC/DOX has grown into a major international film festival dedicated solely to documentary film.
This year, over 64 features and 49 shorts from 32 countries will screen across several marquee venues around the District, with nine world premieres, three North American premieres, five U.S. premieres, as well as numerous East Coast and D.C. premieres in store. Several of these screenings are accompanied by filmmaker Q&A’s and discussions.
The film festival has grown to be not simply a local film festival but a highly respected showcase of high-caliber films, as well as a gathering place for filmmakers, journalists, policymakers and other engaged audiences. It’s also become a gathering ground for filmmakers and other industry leaders, thanks to the Reality Check Forum, which features panels, workshops and master classes.
Sky Sitney, the co-founder and festival director of DC/DOX, told WTOP that five films that were nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary category had previously screened at DC/DOX, as well as two of the shorts.
“I think that the broader documentary community and media community see DC/DOX as a really trusted platform to showcase the most important work that’s out there in a given year,” said Sitney.
Sitney has been a major player in the city’s documentary film scene. She cocreated and co-directed Double Exposure, a film festival and symposium dedicated to the intersection of documentary film and investigative journalism.
She is also the former festival director of AFI Docs (previously known as Silverdocs), and she currently serves as an associate professor at Georgetown University in the film program.
On the DC/DOX Festival, she said, “My hope is that people come away from the festival with an expanded worldview and a sense of the ways in which we’re all part of a shared community, rather than fighting one another and different — and to more than anything, develop compassion and empathy, for people and experiences that might go beyond one’s own personal set of experiences.”
Some of this year’s films include the opening night’s screening of “Give Me the Ball,” which is focused on global icon Billie Jean King, who will attend the post-screening discussion along with the filmmakers.
Other notable highlights include “Time Warp,” about a drag and queer theater company’s debut production of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” set in a small town in Wyoming. There is also “Stealing Magic,” which is about the theft of a number of magic tricks that went on the black market. A biopic on the GRAMMY-award-winning band Earth, Wind & Fire is also planned to screen at the festival with a post-screening discussion with the film’s director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, among others.
The full slate of films can be found on the DC/DOX Festival website.
California may have Hollywood, and New York may have, well, New York City, but the nation’s capital has … Docuwood! This term is a nod to how the District is booming in the documentary industry, and from June 11 to 14, that notoriety comes to a head with the DC/DOX Film Festival.
While only in its fourth year, DC/DOX has grown into a major international film festival dedicated solely to documentary film. This year, over 64 features and 49 shorts from 32 countries will screen across several marquee venues around the District, with nine World Premieres, three North American premieres, five U.S. premieres, as well as numerous East Coast and D.C. premieres in store. Several of these screenings are accompanied by filmmaker Q&A’s and discussions.
The film festival has grown to be not simply a local film festival, but a highly respected showcase of high-caliber films as well as a gathering place for filmmakers, journalists, policymakers and other engaged audiences. It’s also become a gathering ground for filmmakers and other industry leaders, thanks to the Reality Check Forum, which features panels, workshops and masterclasses.
Sky Sitney, the co-founder and festival director of DC/DOX, told WTOP that all five films that were nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary category had previously screened at DC/DOX, as well as two of the shorts.
“I think that the broader documentary community and media community see DC/DOX as a really trusted platform to showcase the most important work that’s out there in a given year,” said Sitney.
Sitney has been a major player in the city’s documentary film scene. She co-created and co-directed Double Exposure, a film festival and symposium dedicated to the intersection of documentary film and investigative journalism. She is also the former festival director of AFI Docs (previously known as Silverdocs), and she currently serves as an Associate Professor at Georgetown University in the film program.
On the DC/DOX Festival, she said, “My hope is that people come away from the festival with an expanded worldview and a sense of the ways in which we’re all part of a shared community, rather than fighting one another and different – and to more than anything, develop compassion and empathy, for people and experiences that might go beyond one’s own personal set of experiences.”
Some of this year’s films include the opening night’s screening of “Give Me the Ball,” which is focused on global icon Billie Jean King, who will attend the post-screening discussion along with the filmmakers.
Other notable highlights include “Time Warp,” about a drag and queer theater company’s debut production of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” set in a small town in Wyoming. There is also “Stealing Magic,” which is about the theft of a number of magic tricks that went on the black market. A biopic on the GRAMMY-award-winning band, Earth, Wind & Fire, is also planned to screen at the festival with a post-screening discussion with the film’s director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, among others.
The full slate of films can be found on the DC/DOX Festival website, with Sitney saying, “I guarantee that every single film is worthy of one’s time and worthy of their discovery.”
California may have Hollywood, and New York may have, well, New York City, but the nation’s capital has … Docuwood! This term is a nod to how the District is booming in the documentary industry, and from June 11 to 14, that notoriety comes to a head with the DC/DOX Film Festival.
While only in its fourth year, DC/DOX has grown into a major international film festival dedicated solely to documentary film. This year, over 64 features and 49 shorts from 32 countries will screen across several marquee venues around the District, with nine World Premieres, three North American premieres, five U.S. premieres, as well as numerous East Coast and D.C. premieres in store. Several of these screenings are accompanied by filmmaker Q&A’s and discussions.
The film festival has grown to be not simply a local film festival, but a highly respected showcase of high-caliber films as well as a gathering place for filmmakers, journalists, policymakers and other engaged audiences. It’s also become a gathering ground for filmmakers and other industry leaders, thanks to the Reality Check Forum, which features panels, workshops and masterclasses.
Sky Sitney, the co-founder and festival director of DC/DOX, told WTOP that all five films that were nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary category had previously screened at DC/DOX, as well as two of the shorts.
“I think that the broader documentary community and media community see DC/DOX as a really trusted platform to showcase the most important work that’s out there in a given year,” said Sitney.
Sitney has been a major player in the city’s documentary film scene. She co-created and co-directed Double Exposure, a film festival and symposium dedicated to the intersection of documentary film and investigative journalism. She is also the former festival director of AFI Docs (previously known as Silverdocs), and she currently serves as an Associate Professor at Georgetown University in the film program.
On the DC/DOX Festival, she said, “My hope is that people come away from the festival with an expanded worldview and a sense of the ways in which we’re all part of a shared community, rather than fighting one another and different – and to more than anything, develop compassion and empathy, for people and experiences that might go beyond one’s own personal set of experiences.”
Some of this year’s films include the opening night’s screening of “Give Me the Ball,” which is focused on global icon Billie Jean King, who will attend the post-screening discussion along with the filmmakers.
Other notable highlights include “Time Warp,” about a drag and queer theater company’s debut production of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” set in a small town in Wyoming. There is also “Stealing Magic,” which is about the theft of a number of magic tricks that went on the black market. A biopic on the GRAMMY-award-winning band, Earth, Wind & Fire, is also planned to screen at the festival with a post-screening discussion with the film’s director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, among others.
The full slate of films can be found on the DC/DOX Festival website, with Sitney saying, “I guarantee that every single film is worthy of one’s time and worthy of their discovery.”
