Film Schedule

Award-winning director Ali El Arabi returns again to Filmfest DC (Captains of Zaatari, Filmfest DC 2021) with 52 Blue, the story of Ashish, a young man breaking free into the big city to meet his idol, Messi, at the World Cup in Qatar. When he lies to his family, pretending that he was chosen as India's representative for the Soccer World Cup, he embarks on ... more

Three crucial moments mark the life of the famous Sardinian writer Grazia Deledda, the only Italian woman to have won a Nobel Prize, and the second ever woman to win: The unexpected arrival of her mother from Nuoro, the hours before winning the world's most prestigious award, and the moments when a doctor looks into her eyes, searching for words that will ... more

The confessional is, for many faithful, a sacred place to lay bare one's sins and seek forgiveness. For the quartet of devout and enterprising teens in director Piotr Domalewski's clever coming-of-age dramedy, it also becomes a lucrative vehicle for social justice. After discovering that their local archdiocese has been lining its pockets with monies donated ... more

Buffalo, New York, is a union town first, a coffee town second. In 2021, when local Starbucks baristas had had enough of low wages, insufficient health insurance, and other workplace inequities, the call was "No contract, no coffee." The fight for the right to unionize Starbucks has now spread nationally to some 600 stores, led not by union bosses but by brave ... more

Kameron Richards' professional basketball career ended so terribly that he took on the name "Bust." When he's offered a chance at a comeback through a fledgling sportswear company, he must return home and confront all that he's left behind. From basketball legend and Executive Producer Greg Oden, comes a tale of redemption that aims to humanize those we discard ... more

Stéphanie (two-time César winner Léa Drucker), an investigator with France's National Police Inspectorate (IGPN), is assigned to Case 137, which involves Guillaume Girard, a young man left in critical condition after a tense Paris demonstration. Initially, there are no clear signs of police misconduct, but the investigation takes a personal turn when Stéphanie ... more

Twenty-five years after The Hustler, Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) has stopped playing pool and is an alcoholic beverage salesman. When he discovers Vincent Lauria (Tom Cruise), a talented pool player, his desire to return to his old passion comes back and he organizes a trip through the United States with the young man and his girlfriend. From one pool hall ... more

Nearly 30 years after his Chacun Cherche Son Chat screened at the festival, award-winning director Cédric Klapisch returns to Filmfest DC with this delightful time-tripping romantic dramedy that masterfully captures the lavish wonder of la Belle Epoque and the invigorating energy pulsing through a society stepping into a new cultural era. In 1895, Adèle leaves ... more

Although opening titles say it's a "mostly true story," Comandante Fritz is a rom-com for the Cold War era. Simultaneously stylish, serious, and darkly funny, the film opens in 1959 at a swank Cuban hotel nightclub where singer Lola Morales (Yany Prado) is about to go onstage, but Castro's revolutionaries interrupt the fun. The action jumps to 1972, as East ... more

Director Gianni Di Gregorio (The Salt of Life, Mid-August Lunch) returns to Filmfest DC with his latest comedy-drama, in which he also takes on the lead role. In this charming film, Di Gregorio stars as a retired professor whose peaceful, perfectly predictable life is upended by the unexpected arrival of his daughter (Greta Scarano), who's taken her two children—teenaged ... more

In this playful comedy, the Icelandic Church faces an unexpected crisis: its supply of sacramental wine is running dry, thanks to an unlikely surge in popularity. Seeking a solution, the bishop dispatches four unassuming priests to Rioja to find a wine worthy of both ritual and palate. What follows is a sun-drenched odyssey through Spain's famed vineyards, ... more

Achille Ronaimou's electrifying debut feature tells the story of Dane, a driver for a humanitarian NGO, and the whirlwind moment when he runs over a young schoolboy. Accused of killing the boy, he is forced to pay a blood debt, the payment of an unthinkable sum he doesn't have. Cleverly orchestrated, Diya puts us right at the heart of Dane's torment: repaying ... more

El Sett is a sweeping, emotionally charged portrait of Umm Kulthum, the iconic "Star of the Orient," whose voice defined a nation and resonated across the world. Directed by Marwan Hamed and anchored by a luminous performance from Mona Zaki, the film traces her extraordinary rise from humble beginnings to unparalleled stardom. Moving fluidly through time, ... more

When Sting admits that he "stole" the arrangement from the singer who recorded what is likely the definitive version of his own song Fields of Gold, he's referring to a world-class artist. The Essence of Eva is a revealing portrait of Bowie, Maryland's own Eva Cassidy, who left this world too soon. The picture that emerges through home movies and interviews ... more

This Sundance award-winning documentary about ordinary citizens spontaneously uniting to resist a hostile immigration raid could hardly be timelier here. May 13, 2021, happened to be Eid, an important holiday for the diverse Glasgow neighborhood of Pollokshields, yet that was the day the Home Office chose to execute a surprise dawn arrest of two men who had ... more

From student Oscar® winner Thomas Stuber comes a beautifully heartwarming and humorous story about two characters who meet unexpectedly and quickly bond. The Frog and the Water follows Buschi, a man living in an assisted living facility that leaves no room for adventure. Seeking a change, he sneaks out and seizes the moment to join a group of Japanese tourists ... more

The year is 1800; the place, Sant Ignazio College, a decrepit musical institute for girls somewhere near Venice. Here lives a silent, solitary maid tasked with humble chores. No one knows that her name is Teresa; no one suspects that she possesses an extraordinary talent that enables her to sense the harmony of the universe. While the old chapel master is ... more

Good Valley Stories focuses on Vallbona, a northern district of Barcelona, and its inhabitants, both old and new. Renowned for his interest in the intersections of documentary and fiction, Spanish director José Luis Guerín provides a playful and thought-provoking account of many generations living, working, and playing in Vallbona.—Various sources... more

Sarah Goher's acclaimed debut feature is a tour (de force) of modern-day Cairo, from its upper-class enclaves, to its streets teeming with motor scooters and life, to the beautifully observed world of 8-year-old Toha and her loving family of fisherwomen. As Toha dons a scarf for a day's work as an upper-class family's maid, she asks her "friend" Nelly, "What ... more

Andrius Blaževičius took home the Best Director award in the World Cinema Dramatic competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival for this insightful social commentary. Centered around a marriage that ends just as Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine begins, the drama follows newly separated exes Marija (Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė) and Vytas (Marius Repšys), who ... more

Beneath Baghdad's bridges and bustling streets, 9-year-old orphan and dreamer Chum-Chum and 13-year-old rebel Moody navigate the city's unforgiving reality with youthful determination. Inspired by the legend of Gilgamesh, Chum-Chum (Youssef Husham Al-Thahabi) clings to the belief that he will be reunited with his beloved parents in the blue-black waters of ... more

The deep ache of desire is at the core of this gorgeously shot romantic drama set in 1980s' post-war Saigon. In the same vein as Wong Kar Wai's classic In the Mood for Love, this rich and dreamy film revolves around translator Khang (Liên Bỉnh Phát), who's moved to the city to work for the new regime, and the intense relationship he slowly develops with his ... more

Set in the charged landscape of the West Bank, Lost in Territories offers a comic, deeply human glimpse of life beyond the headlines, uncovering moments of connection and absurdity where division seems absolute. Told through five interwoven stories, this audacious debut finds unexpected humor in the impossible, revealing how coexistence in the "Wild West of ... more

Denis Podalydès is a fine addition to the many Detective Maigrets who have appeared onscreen and in novels since 1930. His Maigret is a man of precision. Director Pascal Bonitzer has set this latest adventure in early 2000s Paris, where the ever-cautious Chief Inspector (André Marcon) summons Maigret to investigate the murder of a renowned former ambassador. ... more

African-American ballet teachers made it possible for children in underserved communities in Washington, D.C. to infiltrate the stereotypical world of ballet and thrive as ballerinas during segregation. The cultural shift these teachers created in Washington D.C. has lasted through generations.... more

This is the ninth edition of our popular program of films from the vibrant, creative community of filmmakers in DC and the immediate Metro area. Featuring Sudakas, Kaju Katli, A Poem, A Poet in Self-Exile: James A. Emanuel, Paralysis By Analysis, and From the Hill to the Horizon.... more

This is the ninth edition of our popular program of films from the vibrant, creative community of filmmakers in DC and the immediate Metro area. Featuring Words of Power: Mastering the Art of Calligraphy, Sin Luces, Highly Visible, The Magical World of Joan Danziger, Work From Home, Hill Boy, and CHOCOLATE: A Motion Poetry Homage to Black D.C.... more

The Negotiator creates such an edge-of-your-seat feeling that when you realize the film is based on actual people and events, the story hits even harder. Amid the bleak chaos of the Iraq war in 2005, an Italian journalist (Sonia Bergamasco) has just been kidnapped. Among other consequences, this interrupts veteran Italian secret service agent Nicola Calipari's ... more

Philippe Béziat's latest documentary opens the doors of the Philharmonie de Paris, granting rare access to a rehearsal of the Orchestre de Paris. More than a simple behind-the-scenes portrait, the film captures the delicate balance of orchestral life—where moments of transcendence coexist with strain and uncertainty. Through candid reflections from the musicians, ... more

In 2007 Gaza, Yahya works at his friend's falafel shop—a storefront that secretly doubles as a hub for drug dealing. Drawn into the operation, he witnesses a brutal crime that will haunt him for years. Years later, Yahya is selected to star in a TV series celebrating martyrs and heroes of the resistance. As tensions simmer and conflict looms, the line between ... more

"I cannot vote today. Ask me why," reads the homemade sandwich board sign that D.C. native Lisa Rice wears on primary election day. Passing voters ask, and this good-natured election reformer has answers and petitions to sign. Like the fastest-growing contingent of voting Americans, Lisa is a registered Independent and therefore unable to vote in party primaries—that ... more

In the early eighteenth century, in Venice, Italy, the fate of a virtuoso violinist named Cecilia (Tecla Insolia) is transformed when her orphanage hires an ambitious composer as the new musical instructor: Antonio Vivaldi. The young women's ensemble performances attract the attention of audiences, patrons, and even suitors, who become enchanted by their talent, ... more

"Education does not change the world. Education changes people. People change the world," said Paulo Freire. Featuring newly unearthed archival footage of Brazil in the 1960s, this fascinating excursion into Freire's early work shows how he implemented the ideas of democratic, non-hierarchical education that made him an internationally revered education philosopher. ... more

Real threat or a strange delusion? With an impressive world premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival, Yann Gozlan's psychological drama explores the colliding worlds of rigid artificial intelligence and vibrant human creation. Set in the near future, the film follows novelist Clarissa (César winner Cécile de France), a novelist suffering from writer's ... more

Two-time winner of the Cannes Grand Prix awards, acclaimed filmmaker Juan Cabral returns to the big screen with Risa and the Wind Phone, a poignant and poetic piece that will break your heart just to mend it again. After losing her father in a tragic fire, 10-year-old Risa discovers that an abandoned out-of-service phone booth allows her to speak with the ... more

Lebanon's official submission for the 98th Academy Awards® for Best International Feature Film, A Sad and Beautiful World spans three decades of passion, loss, and hope. It centers on the magnetic bond between Nino and Yasmina, born on the same day amid a tragic massacre in Beirut, their lives bound by fate from childhood. United by hardship—Nino's loss of ... more

A kaleidoscopic lens on our world today. Members of filmmaking teams from select films expected in person. Featuring Carmela, Ludmilla, Black Boys Being Beautiful, As I Lay Dying, The Muse, Beast of the Seine, For My Ela, and Candy Bar.... more

A kaleidoscopic lens on our world today. Members of filmmaking teams from select films expected in person. Featuring Happy Anniversary, Table 12, Somewhere To Be, The Diva, My Grandma and Me, The Truth About Space, Remembrance, Too Far, Too Late, Rolling Film, Rocking History: Al Maysles Captures the Beatles, The Gun Machine, and Hugs.... more

Acclaimed actress Hiam Abbass shines in this comedy about a young chef named Medhi, who is struggling to launch a restaurant with Léa, his French girlfriend, while dealing with his long-suffering mother's attempts to set him up with a proper Algerian wife. Adding to the tension is the fact that Léa has yet to meet Medhi's mother, although her parents are putting ... more

At 17 years old, Ainara stands at a crossroads. On the verge of leaving high school—maybe starting university, maybe falling in love—she's actually considering a life as a cloistered nun. This bombshell ripples through her family, particularly affecting her widowed father and her aunt Maite, a progressive atheist who has been very active in raising her, challenging ... more

"The role of a revolutionary artist is to make revolution irresistible," Toni Cade Bambara (1939–1995) was known for saying. She was a novelist, filmmaker, professor, and editor of the groundbreaking 1970 literary anthology The Black Woman, but none of these accomplishments defined her; she referred to herself simply as a "culture worker." "She swept into ... more

Based on a short story by Nobel Prize–winner Olga Tokarczuk, Winter of the Crow is a chilling cat-and-mouse drama. Starring multi-award winning Lesley Manville as Dr. Joan Andrews, the film follows a British psychology professor who travels to Poland to deliver a lecture in late 1981, only to find herself targeted as a fugitive in the chaos of a country on ... more