Here Are the AFI DOCS 2017 Opening Night and Closing Night Films

Here Are the AFI DOCS 2017 Opening Night and Closing Night Films

May 4, 2017

AFI DOCS, AFI’s annual documentary celebration in the nation’s capital, announces the Opening and Closing Night films for its 15th annual edition. The festival will open with the East Coast premiere of Netflix’s ICARUS, directed by Bryan Fogel, and will close with ESPN Films’ YEAR OF THE SCAB, directed by Emmy® winner John Dorsey. Both screenings will be held at the Newseum, the festival’s Official Gala Screening Partner. AFI DOCS runs June 14–18, 2017, in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, MD.

Read More Here Are the AFI DOCS 2017 Opening Night and Closing Night Films

afi AFI DOCS afi news Documentary ICARUS newseum washington YEAR OF THE SCAB

Calling All Documentary Fans and Filmmakers

October 16, 2015

The American Film Institute’s annual documentary film festival, AFI DOCS 2016, will take place June 22–26, 2016 in the nation’s capital and is now open for entries. Each year, AFI DOCS presents a diverse slate of documentaries from around the world that draws documentary fans from the Washington metropolitan region and across the US and convenes filmmakers with policymakers and opinion leaders in DC. How to submit: Filmmakers are invited to submit feature and short documentaries at AFI.com/AFIDOCS or through Withoutabox.com. The 14th edition of AFI DOCS will have three submission date deadlines — early, regular and late — for both…

Read More Calling All Documentary Fans and Filmmakers

AFI DOCS afi docs 2016 washington dc AFI DOCS News Documentary film festival

The AFI DOCS Interview: THE RUSSIAN WOODPECKER's Chad Gracia

The AFI DOCS Interview: THE RUSSIAN WOODPECKER's Chad Gracia

July 22, 2015

In the AFI DOCS film THE RUSSIAN WOODPECKER, a young, eccentric Ukrainian artist named Fedor Alexandrovich — just four years old when the Chernobyl disaster struck — seeks to learn more about what happened at the nuclear plant. Fedor becomes fascinated with the Duga — a massive, Soviet-constructed radio antenna near the Chernobyl site that remains shrouded in mystery. Fedor discovers that the Duga was one of the USSR’s secret Cold War weapons built to penetrate Western communications systems and, possibly, minds. AFI spoke to director Chad Gracia about his film. There are potential spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution. What…

Read More The AFI DOCS Interview: THE RUSSIAN WOODPECKER's Chad Gracia

afi AFI DOCS AFI DOCS News Documentary Russia The Russian Woodpecker

50 Years Later, AFI is Back at the White House:

50 Years Later, AFI is Back at the White House:

July 19, 2015

Right now, AFI DOCS is in full swing showing some of the best documentaries in the heart of Washington, DC. It’s a unique and influential festival but this year’s entry is particularly meaningful. That’s because the 2015 festival marks the 50 year anniversary of the origin of AFI in the nation’s capital – right in the White House Rose Garden. AFI leaders, including President & CEO Bob Gazzale and AFI DOCS Director Michael Lumpkin, along with AFI DOCS 2015 filmmakers paid a visit to the White House during the festival. From a White House blog post. 2015 is a momentous year for the American Film Institute. It…

Read More 50 Years Later, AFI is Back at the White House:

AFI DOCS Documentary White House

The AFI DOCS Interview: THE STORM MAKERS' Guillaume Suon

The AFI DOCS Interview: THE STORM MAKERS' Guillaume Suon

July 17, 2015

Every year, hundreds of thousands of young Cambodians go abroad, lured by promises of well-paid work. Nearly a third will be enslaved, forced to work without pay and subjected to beatings and sexual violence. In his film THE STORM MAKERS, French-Cambodian filmmaker Guillaume Suon exposes the human-trafficking industry perpetuating this misery through revealing interviews with a teen pressured by her mother to go, a returned woman traumatized by two years of captivity and two so-called “recruiters” hustling to snare more victims. We spoke to Suon about his film and why he believes AFI DOCS is an impactful place to showcase the film.…

Read More The AFI DOCS Interview: THE STORM MAKERS' Guillaume Suon

AFI DOCS AFI DOCS News Cambodia Documentary Interview The Storm Makers