World Premieres, David Wilcox, Drone Cameras and Virtual Reality Film at the DC Independent Film Festival

The DC Independent Film Festival (DCIFF) has announced its official 2015 selections. The festival opens on February 25th and runs through March 1st, during which time it will premiere 64 feature-length and short films at its main venue - the US Navy Memorial (701 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20004; Metro: Archives) as well as other locations throughout the city.

The festival opens on Wednesday, February 25th with the world premiere of Omo Child: The River and the Bush, a film which chronicles the stand that one man takes against his tribe’s longstanding practice of infanticide.

WildLike tells the story of a young girl who flees into the Alaskan wilderness to escape an abusive uncle. Starring Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek) and Ella Purnell (Maleficent), the film represents the culmination of director Frank Hall Green’s years-long struggle to film on location in areas whose beauty is matched only by its inaccessibility.

Three Windows and a Hanging, on the other hand, explores the boldness required to find truth and reconciliation in the aftermath of war. Kosovo’s first-ever Oscar-submitted film examines the ramifications of one woman’s decision to tell the truth about the war crimes which took place in a small village during that country’s conflict with Serbia in the late 1990s.

Mixing new with archival footage, Southeast67 (world premiere) documents the impact of the “I Have a Dream” education program in SE Washington DC over two decades against the backdrop of drugs and violence.

Several of this year’s films explore the power of personal narratives and other true stories to both inspire and to terrify - the World Premiere of the health drama Sally Pacholok, the unflinching festival darling horror film House of Manson, and Dutch director Martin Beek’s thriller Littekens (world premiere) as well as Kosovo’s Three Windows and a Hanging.

As always, DCIFF will play host to many special events including:

*Craft beer tasting in conjunction with the World Premiere of the hometown documentary Blood, Sweat and Beer about the explosive growth of the craft beer industry.

*A concert by folk musician David Wilcox following our closing night world premiere screening of Eye of the Hurricane about the impact of Wilcox’s music.

*Fully immersive 360 degree virtual reality indie film demonstrations

A literary event with San Francisco's Poet Laureate Alejandro Murguía (author of The Other Barrio).

*Seated yoga exercises for movie screen affecionados

This year, we present masterclasses on documentary film-making led by Vikram Jayanti, veteran multi-award-winning documentary director and producer (The Agony and The Ecstasy of Phil Spector, When We Were Kings) and acting led by Annet Mehendru (The Americans).

We are proud to highlight the exceptional talents of Metro DC filmmakers again this year, with six films:Blood, Sweat, and Beer, Southeast 67, Sally Pacholok, Enhanced, Six Crystals: Conversations with Angels and My Love Is Real.

DCIFF will host its second annual High School Film Competition on Saturday, February 28th.  In addition, DCIFF's "Summit on the Hill" (Wednesday, February 25th, 10:00 AM-1:00 PM; Congressional Offices, Cannon Building, Room 122), hosted by the Congressional Entertainment Caucus, will focus on legal issues surrounding the use of drone aircraft in independent film-making.

OPENING NIGHT

Omo Child: The River and The Bush (World Premiere)
8:00 PM Wednesday, February 25
US Navy Heritage Center
Director: John Rowe
Filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer Lale Labuko in Attendance

CLOSING NIGHT

Eye of the Hurricane (World Premiere)
7:30 PM Sunday, March 1
US Navy Heritage Center
Director: Steven Flynn
Filmmaker in attendance and acclaimed singer/songwriter David Wilcox performs.

ADDITIONAL WORLD PREMIERES

Sally Pacholok
7:20 PM Saturday, February 28
US Navy Heritage Center
Director: Elissa Leonard
Filmmaker and Cast Members in Attendance

Southeast67
7:30 PM Friday, February 27
Barracks Row Theater Church, Capitol Hill
Documentary Director: Elissa Leonard
Filmmaker in Attendance

SCREENING WITH ISSUE-RELATED PANEL DISCUSSIONS

In An Ideal World
5:30 PM, Wednesday, February 25th
US Navy Heritage Center
Director: Noel Schwerin
Filmmaker and Marc Mauer of The Sentencing Project participating

The Other Barrio
8:00 PM, Wednesday, February 25th
Jack Morton Auditorium (805 21st St. NW, Washington, DC 20052; Metro: Foggy Bottom/GWU)
Director: Dante Betteo Filmmaker, producer and San Francisco Poet Laureate Alejandro Murguía participating

DCIFF Official Film Selections 2015:



FEATURE FILMS


House of Manson USA / 2014 / 106 mins / directed by Brandon Slagle
Littekens (Scars) Netherlands / 2014 / 105 mins / World Premiere / directed by Martin Beek
Sally Pacholok USA / 2014 / 87 mins / World Premiere / directed by Elissa Leonard
Teenkahon (3 Obsessions) India / 2014 / 124 mins / directed by Bauddhayan Mukherji
The Chain USA / 2014 / 47 mins / directed by Noël Dow Barlow
The David Whiting Story USA/2014/88mins / directed by Walter Reuben
The Other Barrio USA / 2014 / 92 mins / World Premiere / directed by Dante Betteo
Three Windows And A Hanging Kosovo / 2014 / 91 mins / directed by Isa Qosja
WildLike USA / 2014 / 98 mins / directed by Frank Hall Green

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILMS


Blood, Sweat, and Beer USA / 2014 / 71 mins / directed by Chip Hiden
Eye Of The Hurricane Ireland & USA / 2015 / 95 mins / World Premiere / directed by Steven Flynn
In An Ideal World USA / 2014 / 84 mins / World Premiere / directed by Noel Schwerin
James Ellroy's Feast of Death USA/2002/ 90mins/ directed by Vikram Jayanti.
Le Semeur (The Sower) Canada / 2013 / 78 mins / U.S. Premiere / directed by Julie Perron
Omo Child: The River and the Bush USA / 2014 / 89 mins / World Premiere / dir. by John Rowe
Snowblind USA / 2009 / 90 mins / directed by Vikram Jayanti
Southeast 67 USA / 2014 / 72 mins / U.S. Premiere / directed by Betsy Cox
The Secret Life of Uri Geller-Psychic Spy? United Kingdom / 2013 / 90 mins / directed by Vikram Jayanti

DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILMS


Controversies Canada / 2014 / 17 mins / directed by Ryan McKenna
Gasper & Son USA / 2015 / 32 mins / directed by Hannah Jayanti, Jen G. Pywell & Miguel A. Rodriguez
Six Crystals: Conversations with Angels USA / 2015 / 11 mins / directed by Natalie Johnson

SHORT FILMS


Advent United Kingdom / 2014 / 16 mins / directed by Mahalia Belo
Bedbugs: A Musical Love Story Canada / 2014 / 16 mins / directed by Matthew Kowalchuk
Birthday Boy USA / 2014 / 9 mins / directed by Josef Lorenzo
Bowes Academy USA / 2014 / 15 mins / World Premiere / directed by Greg Emetaz
Call Me Cappy USA / 2014 / 18 mins / World Premiere / directed by Maja Holzinger
D. Asian USA / 2014 / 10 mins / directed by Sarah Smith
Enhanced USA / 2014 / 17 mins / World Premiere / directed by Jeremy David White
First Metro France / 2014 / 6 mins / directed by Hugo P. Thomas
Francesca Canada &USA / 2014 / 4 mins / World Premiere / directed by Gaëna da Sylva
My Love Is Real USA / 2014 / 18 mins / directed by Russell Max Simon
Rabbit Australia / 2014 / 15 mins / directed by Matthew Richards
Schnee In Rio (The Way You Die) Germany / 2014 / 26 mins / North American Premiere / directed by Manuel Vogel
Sunflowers Malaysia / 2014 / 34 mins / World Premiere / directed by Shio Chuan Quek
Sweetheart Germany / 2014 / 26 mins / directed by Miguel Angelo Pate
The Art Police USA / 2015 / 12 mins / World Premiere / directed by Jonah Zeiger
Thicker Than Water South Korea / 2014 / 14 mins / World Premiere / directed by Seung Yeob Lee
We Got Your Back Sweden / 2014 / 4 mins / directed by Viktor Hertz
We Know USA / 2014 / 10 mins / World Premiere / directed by Seandor Szeles & Olaf Steel

ANIMATED FILMS


Bar USA / 2014 / 2 mins / World Premiere / directed by Jon Hartman
Bear Story Chile / 2014 / 11 mins / North American Premiere / directed by Gabriel Osorio Vargas
Between Times Netherlands & USA / 2014 / 15 mins / directed by Max Porter & Ru Kuwahata
Humble Pie USA / 2014 / 4 mins / World Premiere / directed by Cynthia Hogan
La Valigia (The Suitcase) Italy / 2014 / 15 mins / North American Premiere / directed by Pier Paolo Paganelli
Mirror In Mind (SimGyeong) South Korea / 2014 / 3 mins / U.S. Premiere / directed by Seunghee Kim
Paper World Poland / 2013 / 7 mins / directed by Wojciech Ostrycharz
Purgatory Lounge USA / 2014 / 12 mins / directed by Aaron Martinez
Re-Place Germany / 2013 / 1 min / directed by Sven Windszus

DCIFF is a small festival with a big profile that helps truly independent film keep up with the studio giants and cultivate extraordinary talent and ideas for the future of visual media.

For our full schedule and detailed description of fllms, please visit http://dciff-indie.org/ friend us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/dciff)