Now in its 27th year, the D.C. Film Fest continues to showcase a comprehensive selection of foreign films and documentaries. This city-spanning event brings in some of the more enigmatic filmmakers and public figures of the age, but to categorize these guests as provocateurs would be a bit of stretch.
On Thursday, Apr. 11, the festival kicks off with a screening of Underground: The Julian Assange Story. Following the screening, Assange will be interviewed via phone, and you can be sure he’ll have some inflammatory remarks up his sleeve.
To continue with this “provocative” theme (the festival’s only semblance of cohesion), the Canadian-made adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children will be shown on Apr. 13. Rushdie and director Deepah Mehta are arranged to make appearances at the screening, giving the outspoken author a chance to talk about the visceral experience of having one’s written work come to life on the big screen. But most likely he’ll just talk about the fatwah.
Those notable guest appearances aside, Film Fest has a string of foreign comedies thrown into the mix—and trust me, it’s not unusual to see a foreign comedy that makes Judd Apatow look like a prude. 4some, a Czech film presumably discovered during a not-so-innocuous Google search, follows two sets of next-door couples who take part in some amorous experimentation.
The sobering documentary, Fire in the Blood, on the other hand, narrates the contentious issue of AIDS therapy and its steep price tag; millions of lives have been lost or shortened because pharmaceuticals and governments in Africa have impeded access to low-cost AIDS drugs. Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu, and economist Joseph Stiglitz provide input on what has been done to address this inherently unjust situation.
The festival also includes a slew of espionage, crime, and thriller selections along with a category focusing on D.C.’s three sister cities—Beijing, Paris, and Taipei. The festival will be held in ten locations; the Landmark E Street Cinema, the National Gallery of Art, and the Embassy of France are within the closest proximity to Georgetown. So, when you’re too sunburned to veg on Healy Lawn, consider escaping the heat and getting a bit of culture in the process.
