Over the Oscars? On to the DC Independent Film Fest!

Whether you boycotted the Oscars or watched them with rapt attention, here’s a film event everyone can look forward to right here in the District: the DC Independent Film Festival (DCIFF), which starts this Friday, March 4 and continues through March 13.

Now in its 18th year, the festival will bring more than 70 feature, documentary, short, and animated films from around the world to DC-area venues, along with seminars and masterclasses on topics ranging from screenwriting to entertainment law to studio lighting and more.

While all DCIFF screenings are DC premieres, many are world premieres, including the Eye of Istanbul, American Bred, A Brilliant Genocide, and Districtland— which is the opening night feature and a DC-made submission. Other locally made films include Kara and Haze; while Mind/Game follows the story of former Washington Mystics star Chamique Holdsclaw.

“When the festival started 18 years ago there really wasn’t an independent version of film making here in DC, there was a sense that [DC] filmmakers weren’t getting attention,” said Deirdre Evans-Pritchard, DCIFF Executive Director and Programmer. “We started like that and we’ve tried to keep that purpose. We try to mix films from people who have made several films with complete novices, and we make no distinction between the two. That’s our principle.”