Washington West Film Festival Comes to Herndon, Reston

"Story can change the world" is the theme of the first Washington West Film Festival, which will kick off in Reston on Nov. 3 and run through Nov. 5.

The event is the brainchild of Brad Russell, a native Northern Virginian who says he has been trying to get an area film festival organized for three years.

"I love a great movie," says Russell, the pastor of Dulles Community Church. "I like when a film is talked about and has some impact that goes beyond entertaining."

Russell says the 23 films that will be part of the festival all have elements to inspire and educate, as well as entertain.

The festival opens Thursday, Nov. 3 with a screening of The Loving Story at 

The Loving Story, a documentary co-produced by HBO, tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, the couple whose 1958 marriage led to their arrest and a watershed Supreme Court case that overturned anti-miscegenation laws in Virginia.

Filmmakers Nancy Buirski (Director, Producer) and Elisabeth James (Producer, Editor) will be in attendance and available for a Q & A session following the film. Bernard Cohen, one of the two attorneys who represented plaintiffs Richard and Mildred in Loving v. Virginia will also be in attendance, says Russell.

The festival continues Friday and Saturday with screenings at Herndon's . Several short and feature-length films have been added to the lineup of events at the inagural event.

Among the additions is The Famous Firsts of Chuck Jones, which will look at the first cartoons and creative process of Academy Award-winner Chuck Jones.

Jones was the creator of such Warner Bros. characters as Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, and Pepe Le Pew & co-creator of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, and Daffy Duck. He directed over 250 animated shorts while at Warner Bros; he received an Academy Award for The Dot and The Line in 1965.

As part of the event co-owner and Patch movie reviewer Leslie Combemale will present an accompanying exhibition. Rare original art from the career of this great artist will be shown as part of this presentation. For further education on the art of animation and Chuck Jones, go to www.artinsightsmagazine.com and www.chuckjonescenter.org.

For a web gallery of rare Chuck Jones original art, you can go to www.artinsights.com.

The closing-night film on Saturday is Sun City Picture House. This movie is about the quest to build a relief center by day/movie house by night in Port Au Prince, Haiti.

Sun City filmmaker David Darg will be in attendance at the closing-night screening. The movie's executive producers are actresses Maria Bello and Olivia Wilde.

Also set for closing night at Herndon's Center for Innovative Technology is the movie Harlistas: An American Journey. This movie follows Latino Harley-Davidson riders in the U.S. as they seek adventure and the American Dream.

The Washington West Film Festival will give 100 percent of box-office proceeds (after expenses) to a non-profit organization, Russell said. This year's beneficiary is Operation Blessings, which offers relief efforts in Haiti.

Tickets are on sale and a schedule can be found online. Visit Washington West Film Festival's website for more information and to purchase tickets. You can also get more festival info by following the festival on on Twitter @WWFilmFest or on the Facebook page.

Other local businesses that will play a part in the festival: the will be official headquarters; the opening party will be held at The  at Reston Town Center; and has formed a partnership with the festival.