We’re off to a great start for the 3rd annual Washington West Film Festival, one of the most anticipated and fast-emerging film festivals in the country. The Northern Virginia-based festival—taking place now through Sunday—has twice the number of films from the year before—41 screenings of new independent and Hollywood films—and is expected to draw more than 2,000 film-goers.
With its tagline—“Story can Change the World,” the festival features inspiring films that capture the human condition as part of its goal to turn the region into a true, attractive film market. It’s also changing lives as all box office net proceeds are donated to a charity that then becomes the subject of a short film debuting at the festival. This year proceeds will benefit Shelter House, a local nonprofit working to alleviate family homelessness.
All of this would not be possible without the support of the Reston community. Although it’s spreading to other locations as it grows, the festival largely takes place at Reston Bow Tie Cinemas in partnership with Boston Properties. We also enjoy deep support from a volunteer force—many of whom call Reston home. And of course, we have our board member and Reston’s founder—Robert E. Simon, whose vision for a community that embraces the arts and cares for its people has hugely contributed to the success of Reston and our growing festival.
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That’s why our closing night festivities—this Saturday, October 26—will focus on Reston. As part of our closing night, we will be having a short tribute to Robert E. Simon—marking his leadership. In addition, the closing night film features Peabody Award winner My Neighbourhood by Rebekah Wingert-Jabi, a Reston-based filmmaker. The film is about a Palestinian teen coming of age in East Jerusalem.
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The red carpet on closing night will include Actor Ed Asner, Robert E. Simon, Actor/Director Brad Hall (Saturday Night Live), Director Tom Shadyac (Patch Adams, Bruce Almighty), Director Rebekah Wingert-Jabi, Director Mark Rydell (On Golden Pond), Film Musical Composer Snuffy Walden (West Wing, Wonder Years), and Fairfax-native and Actress Ashley Dyke (12 Years as a Slave).
The festival aspires to grow the DC-region as a world class film hub, helping draw great film premieres, provide programs to develop artists and technicians in the film industry, and use storytelling as a powerful engine for change and charity…but we haven’t forgotten our Reston roots.
Tickets are still available and range from $12-$25 with discounts for students and seniors. View the schedule and order tickets at: wwfilmfest.com/tickets.
