Film Fest Moves from D.C. To Brentwood

After a three year run in downtown Washington, a local art-house film festival is switching venues from the Goethe Institute to the Brentwood Arts Exchange at the Gateway Arts Center. 

That festival would be the DMV International Film Festival, or DMVIFF for short. Local cinephiles will have 25 films to choose from throughout the three day festival. 

The festival is sponsored by the Hyattsville Community Development corporation and the Prince George's Arts and Humanities Council.

The film festival will be held on June 15, 16 and 17. The exchange is located at 3901 Rhode Island Avenue in Brentwood. 

The festival's opening featured film is Tin Man, from Irish filmmaker Conor Slattery. According to IMDB, it tells the tale of a street performer trying to gain the affection of a pretty lady. 

There will also be an acting workshop on June 16 from 11 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. taught by casting director Winsome Sinclair, who has made a career out of casting extras in top level productions. The class will focus on improving audition skills, and will feature an improv and question and answer session. Each participant will also get a private scene reading and critique with Sinclair.

Sunday has a double feature screening of Chocolate City and Charlie Casanova.

Chocolate City, which premiered in 2008, documents the effect of gentrification in Washington, D.C. through the eyes of the residents caught on the wrong side of economic progress. 

Charlie Casanova, another Irish film, subversively deals with issues of class and fate in telling the story of how a rich man reacts when he runs over a working class girl with his car. 

Tickets, which can be bought online or at the door, cost $10 per day.