Entertainment, Interviews, Media, People, Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts

DMVIFF: A Festival for Filmmakers

Tanecia Britt; photo courtesy DMVIFF

This weekend marks the start of the DMV International Film Festival, showcasing the talents of various artists in our area. (‘DMV’ stands for the District, Maryland, and Virginia, for those wondering.) By showcasing up and coming artists from around the world, the DMVIFF is a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding the area’s indie film market through the development and presentation of original stories for the screen. The DMVIFF hopes to educate about the business of film through workshops and panel discussions during the course of the festival. The festival – and organization – has been put together by Tanecia Britt, a DC native and a freelance director.

The festival, which runs Friday through Wednesday the 30th, was the brainchild of Britt after her return from London where she obtained her Masters in Film Video and New Screen Media. “After I got back and created my first feature, School Without Walls, I had trouble entering the film in various area film festivals,” she said. “School was selected in 3 international festivals, so I was confused as to why it wasn’t accepted here in the DC area. It was then I noticed a real lack of knowledge of film festivals, so I decided to do something about it.”

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Adventures, Downtown, Entertainment, Fun & Games, Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts

National Geographic Live: February 2010

Photo courtesy National Geographic Society

Chimps of Goualougo; Photo courtesy National Geographic Society

The spring season of National Geographic Live – a series of dynamic lectures, concerts, films and more – kicks off next week.

This year, the National Geographic Society has graciously offered some event tickets to our readers. If you’re interested in winning a pair of tickets to any of the events below, simply remark in comments which two events – in preferred order – you’d like to attend. We’ll do a random drawing on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 2nd) after 1pm and we’ll get the winners set up with their first (or second, if your first choice is full) selection. Keep in mind that tickets are for single events only, not multi-part series or showings, unless otherwise indicated. (The kung-fu film festival is an exception; you can win tickets for all three movies!)

Okay, enough about rules. Check out the February offerings after the jump. Continue reading