Founded in 2011, the DC Palestinian Film and Arts Festival champions the work of Palestinian artists and filmmakers in Palestine and in diaspora, showcasing the range and complexity of Palestinian identities and narratives. More details about this year’s festival coming soon.
What happens when a community stops waiting on institutions and does accountability’s work itself? In Los Angeles, the gay community banded together to investigate a cold case murder and push it toward resolution — the subject of Rachel Mason’s new film My Brother’s Killer. It’s happening nationwide as legacy news organizations scale back and new local news outlets emerge: Chicago-based City Bureau trains community members to cover public meetings; Outlier Media in Detroit involved citizens in connecting residents to money the county owed them after selling their homes at auction. Other news platforms train citizens in filing FOIA requests, with OpenAI even providing a generator to automate the process. This session is about building a record where none exists — tools for everyone, and the networks to use them safely.
Featuring Lois Nembhard, George Kevin Jordan, Rachel Mason, Sonam Vashi, and Noah Kincade.
Double Exposure offers a variety of festival passes that provide attendees with priority access to a range of events. We also offer a limited number of standalone tickets to individual events, providing a more flexible way to participate.
Double Exposure combines four days of film screenings and a public forum including panel discussions, workshops, and special events.
This year’s Double Exposure turns on a single question: what happens to a democracy when the record itself is under assault, not only from those who manufacture doubt, but from the institutions once trusted to dispel it?
On the Record once implied security. To speak on the record was to be heard, held, verified. That assurance has grown fragile. The doubt this year’s theme names goes beyond a failure of attention or good will. It has been produced by platforms that delete inconvenient histories, by officials who quietly remove data from public websites, by a media landscape in which false information travels faster than correction, and by powerful organizations that quietly revise what they once asserted, without acknowledging on the record that they were ever wrong.
The DX slate engages both realities: the deliberate assault on facts, and the earned skepticism that accumulates when the systems designed to anchor truth repeatedly come up short. Each film and discussion on this year’s program asks audiences to look at evidence directly, and to weigh it themselves.
A showcase + mixer featuring a curated selection of shorts written and directed by Black women. Open to all, but especially for Black women filmmakers and the folx who love them. Come for the visuals, stay for the vibes. One (1) complimentary drink included with each ticket purchased.
FEATURED SHORTS
Writer, filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist Saaret E. Yoseph will show an episode from her visual docupoem anthology _JOURNEY(S)_, which she wrote, directed and edited, along with a preview of _ABYSSINIA & HARLEM_, her current archival project. Filmmaker, director, and producer Najma Nuriddin will share a sample of BEFORE THE CALL (working title), a personal documentary exploring faith, memory, identity, and belonging through the lens of her Black American Muslim upbringing.
Filmmaker and programmer Britt Sankofa will screen CURIOSITY , a two-part reenactment film exploring intimacy, family stories, and inheritance, as well as in-progress clips from her upcoming MFA thesis exhibition. ODESSA’S REIGN, directed by Robin Hamilton, is a portrait of the life of Odessa Madre, a Black queer female gangster who ran a widespread gambling and numbers-running ring in mid-20th century DC. Kamilah Thurmon’s THE LEGACY OF LEE?S FLOWER SHOP chronicles the history of one of DC’s oldest continuously, Black family-owned businesses and a longtime fixture in the U Street community.
The annual DC APA Film Festival curates films from established and emerging Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander artists. This year’s program explores the intersection of indigenous and AANHPI diaspora communities and features new and repertory films, some of which rarely screen for the public. All screenings will be followed by Q&As. Although AANHPI creatives have been writing, producing and directing films for over 100 years, so many beautiful, impactful works have not been seen by general audiences. This year, the festival will present an array of films that represent unexpected perspectives on identity, ancestry and community that spans nearly five decades of AANHPI cinema.
This film festival has multiple screenings throughout the weekend at the following locations:
Alamo Drafthouse DC, 630 Rhode Island Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002
Angelika Pop Up at Union Market, 550 Penn St NE, Washington, DC 20002
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910
DC Movie Club is hosting its first local filmmakers showcase!
We received over 50 submissions (!) from talented filmmakers across the DMV, and somehow managed to narrow the line-up down to 9 films. From horror/comedies with ghosty girlies and possessed horses, to documentaries covering art, cultural identities, climate resilience, we’ve got it all. Come for the incredible local talent, stay for the panels, socializing, and community!
Schedule:
2:30pm – Welcoming Remarks
2:40pm – 4:00pm – Comedy & Horror Block
4:00pm – 5:00pm – Identity & Diaspora Block
5:00pm – 6:00pm -Social Impact Showcase
6:00pm – Happy Hour
As part of Rosedale’s annual Spring Fling, step inside for work-in-progress excerpts from the highly anticipated documentary, REUNION CHOIR, about DC’s legendary Eastern High School Choir. Let’s talk about the history and the future of arts education and cultural activities in our schools. ASL interpretation and open-captioned video will be provided.
Two sessions at 1 PM and 6 PM!
Our 6 PM special guest is Lakisha Goldsberry, Eastern HS Class of 1998.
Presented by Kuyamba LLC in partnership with the DC Department of Recreation, as part of a series supported by HumanitiesDC, DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, the Capitol Hill Community Foundation, and Washington DC Alumnae Foundation.
We’re delighted to invite you to the 2026 Spring edition of DC[FRAMEWORKS] Works-in-Progress Screening, a community event celebrating documentary storytelling in progress.
DC[FRAMEWORKS] provides directors and producers at all experience levels with a unique opportunity to receive constructive, peer-level feedback on their rough-cut films—whether feature-length or short. Each screening is followed by a moderated discussion, where filmmakers gain valuable insights from an engaged audience, subject-matter experts, and experienced DC-based filmmakers.
Interested in submitting your film?
If you’re a DC-based filmmaker with a work in progress and are interested in having your project considered for the Works-in-Progress Screening, you can apply via this form, and email info@dcdoxfest.com if you have any questions.
We’re excited to be partnering once again with DC/DOX for this special off-season program dedicated to supporting DC-area filmmakers.
Join us for work-in-progress excerpts from the highly anticipated documentary, REUNION CHOIR, about DC’s legendary Eastern High School Choir.
Meet Joyce Garrett, the celebrated DC music teacher at the center of the story, and filmmaker Malkia Lydia. Let’s talk about preserving arts education and local history. Light refreshments, ASL interpretation and open-captioned video will be provided. Presented by Kuyamba LLC in partnership with Woodridge Neighborhood Library, with support from HumanitiesDC and DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities.
HumanitiesDC Present Culture Series: Leadership Without Titles, a film showcase that brings together three documentaries produced through the Community Voice Lab at American University — Kil and the Kids, Street Reporter, and We Rock! — that spotlight everyday people turning challenges into connection, creativity, and change across Washington, DC.
From a mentor supporting youth in a high violence neighborhood, to a woman reclaiming her life as a community journalist after experiencing homelessness, to a young professional finding courage and belonging through music, these films expand how we define leadership.
The program will feature three short film screenings followed by a post discussion with the filmmakers, centered on our bold question: What defines a community leader and who gets to decide?
Join us for an evening of film, conversation, and reflection that invites us to reconsider where leadership lives, and how communities rise when everyday people show up.
More About the Curator: The Community Voice Lab at American University produces social impact films that amplify untold stories, ignite dialogue and spur action toward a more empathetic, generous and just world. Centered on our creative ethos of collaboration rather than extraction, our emerging filmmakers and seasoned film faculty work together with local storytellers to honor the ordinary heroes shaping the heart of our nation’s capital. Community Voice Lab films uplift stories of hope, resilience, and determination for the common good.