The DC Traveler

With 35 films from 27 countries, the 21st American Film Institute (AFI) European Union Film Showcase features the very best of European cinema from 2008.
Here’s a list of the festival’s films by country:

Austria – 42 PLUS
Belgium – MOSCOW, BELGIUM and ELDORADO
Czech Republic – THE COUNTRY TEACHER
Denmark – JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY
Estonia – I WAS HERE
Finland – THE HOME OF DARK BUTTERFLIES
France – I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG, A CHRISTMAS TALE, ON WAR, and ACTRESSES
Germany TRIP TO ASIA: THE QUEST FOR HARMONY, THE BAADER and MEINHOF COMPLEX
Greece EL GRECO and CORRECTION
Hungary – DELTA
Ireland – KISSES, EDEN …read more

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It’s voting season – but I’m not talking about the presidential election. It’s time to vote for your favorite “short”, short film, that is.
The 102 short films presented at the 5th annual DC Shorts Festival in Washington, DC run from just one minute to over 20 minutes, and include a wide ranges of genres – dramas and documentaries, comedies and science-fiction, animation and creative, and of course, a few experimental shorts. Six screenplays will also be performed live.
Besides the films, there will be two free seminars for budding filmmakers on Friday, September 12th at Flashpoint (916 G Street, …read more

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A few times a season, the National Symphony Orchestra steps out of its traditional role of playing famous classical music by composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, and Wagner, and play scores from classic Hollywood movies.
For two evenings in September, the NSO will perform music from some of the greatest films of all time. 
The first evening, Classical Hollywood, includes selections from movies that use classical music as parts of their score, including Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, The Godfather, and Raging Bull.
The second evening, entitled The Golden Age of Film Music, features musical scores written …read more

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Catch a few free baseball movies every Wednesday night, at Riverfront Reel outdoor movie series near the Washington Nationals stadium.
Films are presented on a 28-foot screen, featuring a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround sound.  There’s also music, games, Wii baseball and other activities for adults and kids to participate in as well.
Here’s the schedule for the rest of the season:

July 16 – Eight Men Out – the story of the Chicago Black Sox
July 23 – The Pride of the Yankees – Gary Cooper plays the famed baseball player, Lou Gehrig
July 30 * – Rookie of the Year …read more

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With over 100 films to her credit and ten Academy Award nominations, plus two wins for Best Actress in Jezebel and Dangerous, Bette Davis is one of Hollywood’s most recognized icons.
Over the summer, the National Theatre in Washington, DC is screening some of her more famous films in their free Summer Cinema 2008 series.
Films in the series include:
July 7 – Jezebel Davis plays a Southern Belle who enjoys publicly breaking social rules of “proper” behavior and thus loses her banker fiancé.  She then goes on a mission to win him back.
July 14 – Dark VictoryThe carefree and hedonistic …read more

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In it’s 6th year, Silverdocs, the annual international documentary film festival in Washington, DC brings 108 documentary films from 63 countries, including 20 U.S. premieres to the Capital region.
Providing a forum for international filmmakers with access to American audiences.  Various awards are presented during the festival as well as a 5-day International Documentary Conference and the Guggenheim’s symposium award for artistic excellence.
The range of topics is wide as the list of films from ballet to war, nature to AIDS. 
Some of the more interesting documentaries are:

Corridor 8 – a road trip documentary down the Balkan equivalent of America’s Route 66.
Dust – …read more

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Disney’s movie the Lion King was a mega-blockbuster. And now you can watch the live musical recreation version on stage in Washington, DC.
With Oscar-winning music by Elton John and Tim Rice, the birds, giraffes, gazelles and lions from the original movie are brought to life on stage by more than 40 actors. 
The Lion King tells the story of the Lion King on the Savannah of Africa.  The young lion cub, Prince Simba, is convinced by his wicked uncle,  that the young cub accidentally killed his father.
Simba leaves the kingdom in shame, unaware that his …read more

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After 25 years of civil war and internal conflict in Afghanistan, it was thought that many of Afghanistan’s cultural and historical treasures had been lost or stolen.  Luckily, three years after the fall  of the Taliban in late 2001, over 22,000 artifacts were discovered in a vault located under the Presidential Palace in Kabul and in other locations.
The works belong to the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul. Their collection of over 100,000 items was once one of the finest in Central Asia, and housed antiquities from over 4,000 years of Afghan history, including the periods of Alexandria, Greek, …read more

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While it may not be as star studded as Sundance, Cannes, Telluride, or Tribeca, the 22nd annual Washington, DC International Film Festival brings more than 100 feature films, documentaries, shorts and special programs from over thirty nations to explore their music, cultures, people and politics. 
For 12 days, starting April 24th, this year’s festival will highlights the cinema of Latin America and, perfect for our upcoming presidential election, politics on film.
The fest also includes several free events, including Filmfest DC for Kids and Cinema for Seniors.
Here’s the list of films and locations. Unfortunately, the fest’s website is a bit frustrating …read more

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If you see what looks like a camper convention at different places around town, it’s probably the film crew of the new political thriller being filmed in Washington, DC, “State of Play”.
Scheduled to be released in April of next year, “State of Play” becomes one more film in a long list of movies that have been filmed in and around Washington, DC. 
As recently as yesterday, the cast and crew were shooting scenes at various locations around the district, including on U Street in Northwest, at the Library of Congress and on the Waterfront at Maine Avenue Fish Market. …read more

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