It’s that time of year again. Copley Lawn is a veritable lust den. If you can tear yourself away from the beach-towel saturated revelry, proceed to your nearest theatre and check out the D.C. International Film Fest.
Now in its 17th year, the festival kicked off Wednesday night with a screening of John Malkovich’s directorial debut, The Dancer Upstairs. Malkovich himself was on hand after the screening to explain what it’s really like being John Malkovich, with some erotically pertinent details about his film interspersed.
Don’t despair if you missed Malkovich, plenty of other renowned directors will be on hand over the course of the festival. You’ll finally have a chance to catch up with everyone’s favorite Icelandic director, Baltasar Kormakur, at Visions Cinema May 2 and 3 following the screening of his new film The Sea, which tells the story of a dysfunctional family desperately trying to save their beloved fishery.
Over 100 new and restored films made in far-off locales from Russia to Mauritania are to be shown at this year’s festival at 10 theatres throughout the D.C. Metro area. Many films will be shown at Loews Cineplex Georgetown, easily accessible to students who don’t realize the District extends beyond M Street.
New to the festival this year is the “Politics in Film” section, a selection of historical documentaries and films. Many of the filmmakers use their medium to raise awareness of politically issues. Jano Rosebiani in his film Jiyan documents the suffering of the Kurdish community of Halabja in the years following Saddam Hussein’s chemical and biological attacks. Amen, from French director Costa-Gavras provocatively explores the possibility that the Catholic hierarchy knew of the Nazi death camps.
The festival also has its fair share of erotic frivolity. You don’t have to leave the scantily clad revelry behind on Copley Lawn in Doris Doerrie’s aptly titled German film, Naked. A dinner party quickly degrades into a night of blindfolding and frank sexual discussions. Tony Gatlif’s Swing explores a young French boy’s growing erotic obsession with Gypsy culture as he falls in love with a young gypsy. We’ve all been there.
The 12-day festival closes with Alan Rudolph’s The Secret Lives of Dentists, not to be confused with last year’s The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. This film explores the fallout after a posh New York dentist discovers his wife is having an affair. No word yet if a run-in with a Mercedes is involved.
The Washington D.C. International Film Festival runs from April 23 to May 4. A complete schedule of the festival and movie descriptions can be found at www.filmfestdc.com
