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WASHINGTON FILM INSTITUTE
cordially invites you to attend the AFI DOCS FILM FESTIVAL:

Closing Night Screening of NORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU  and other SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS

WORLD PREMIERE OF DOC & DARRYL

Sunday, June 26 at 5:15 p.m.  DOC & DARRYL at the Landmark E Street Cinema Theater 1.  Directors Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio delve deep into the triumphs and trials of baseball greats Darryl Strawberry and Dwight “Doc” Gooden.  Expected guests include directors Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio.  Panel moderated by The Undefeated’s Kevin Merida. 

NORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU CLOSING NIGHT SCREENING

WHAT: At 93, an energetic, funny and thoughtful Norman Lear looks back on a remarkable career that defined American television in the 1970s.

WHO: Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady and film subject Norman Lear

WHEN: Sunday, June 26, 2016

7:00 p.m.   Screening begins

8:41 p.m.  Panel with directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, moderated by PBS  NewsHour’s Jeffery Brown

WHERE:  Newseum, Annenberg Theater, 555 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC

FILMMAKER FORUM:  Virtual Reality: Where Have We Been? Where Are We Now?  Where Are We Headed?

If 2016 is, as many have said, “Year One” in the Virtual Reality revolution, then AFI DOCS offers a unique opportunity to pause at this critical midpoint juncture and examine the incredible forward leaps made in this burgeoning creative space, as well as its limitations and prospects for future growth. Join a panel of VR makers, journalists, academics and industry insiders for a thought-provoking and insightful conversation about the past, present and future of VR and documentary.  Panelists include Mitch Gelman (Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, senior fellow at the Newseum in media and technology and co-author of the Knight Foundation report, “Viewing the Future? Virtual Reality in Journalism”), Emma Mankey Hidem (Founder & CEO at SunnysideVR), Brad Lichtenstein (duPont-winning filmmaker, co-founder Custom Reality Services, ACROSS THE LINE), Amy Nichols (Co-Founder & CEO bThere Inc.) and Gina Scarpulla (Supervising Producer at Discovery Communications), moderated by Patricia Aufderheide (University Professor, School of Communication, American University).

 

OTHER FILMS:

10:30 a.m.  CARE

LANDMARK E STREET THEATER 7

Compassionate caregivers support millions of elderly Americans who want to remain in their homes, yet too often cannot afford a roof over their own heads.  North American premiere.  Expected guests include CARE director Deirdre Fishel and producer Tony Heriza and TALLER THAN THE TREES director Megan Mylan.

Preceded by:  TALLER THAN TREES

 

11:00 a.m.  SHORTS: THE END OF THINGS

AFI SILVER THEATRE 3

Featuring: BARBARIAN PRESS, HEARING MADGE, THE LAST BLINTZ, PAUL’S LAST WALTZ and SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.  Expected guests include THE LAST BLINTZ director Dori Berinstein, BARBARIAN PRESS director Sarah Race and PAUL’S LAST WALTZ director Lieza Röben.

 

11:00 a.m.  FAREWELL FERRIS WHEEL

AFI SILVER THEATRE 2

There are many parallels between the lives of a migrant laborer and a carnival worker. FAREWELL FERRIS WHEEL is a year in the lives of men who are both.  Expected guests include directors Jamie Sisley and Miguel Martinez.

 

12:00 p.m.  WHEN TWO WORLDS COLLIDE

LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA THEATER 1

When lucrative mining and clearcutting contracts threatened their native lands, indigenous Peruvians took to the streets.  This remarkable film documents their struggle against environmental devastation.  Expected guests include directors Heidi Brandenburg and Mathew Orzel.

 

12:30 p.m.  SHORTS: NO BORDERS

LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA THEATER 6

Featuring AMERICAN BAGHDAD, CLÍNICA DE MIGRANTES: LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, IRREGULARS and THE ISLAND OF ALL TOGETHER.  Expected guests include AMERICAN BAGHDAD director Rob Najor and editor Adam Thomson, IRREGULARS director Fabio Palmieri and producer Paola Pontelli, CLINICA director Maxim Pozdorovkin and DP Joe Bender.

 

1:00 p.m.  PATIENT

LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA THEATER 7

The enduring love between a mother and her 23-year-old cancer-stricken daughter is at the heart of this beautifully constructed film about care and devotion.  Expected guests include PATIENT producer Rosa Ramos and WAR AND THE CITY director Dmytro Konovalov.

Preceded by:  WAR AND THE CITY

 

1:00 p.m.  TOWER

AFI SILVER THEATRE 2

The ingenious blend of animation, narration and live action focuses on a fateful day in 1966 when a sniper climbed the bell tower at the University of Texas at Austin.  Expected guests include producer Megan Gilbride and animation producer Steph Swope.

 

1:15 p.m.  THEY CALL US MONSTERS

AFI SILVER THEATRE 3

This fresh look at juvenile justice follows three young men awaiting sentencing for violent crimes as a legal debate rages on imposing life sentences for minors.  Expected guests include director Ben Lear, producer Sasha Alpert and Norman Lear.

 

2:45 p.m.  CHICKEN PEOPLE

LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA THEATER 1

Purebred dogs have Westminster; purebred chickens have the annual Ohio National Poultry Show.  Some 10,000 specimens compete for the crown in this competition, boasting an array of meticulously manicured poultry perfection.

Preceded by: THE DOG

 

3:00 p.m.  RAISING BERTIE

LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA THEATER 6

RAISING BERTIE is a sensitively made portrait of three African American teen boys coming of age in the rural community of Bertie County, North Carolina.  Expected guests include director/producer Margaret Byrne, producer Ian Robertson Kibbe and film subjects Vivian Saunders, Davonte Harrell, David Perry and Reginald Askew.

 

3:15 p.m.  THE LAND OF THE ENLIGHTENED

LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA THEATER 7

This visually stunning hybrid documentary follows a posse of preadolescent boys living by their wits in an unforgiving no man’s land in rural Afghanistan.

 

3:30 p.m.  MAYA ANGELOU: AND STILL I RISE

AFI SILVER THEATRE 2

Co-directors Bob Hercules and Rita Coburn Whack present a lovingly crafted and stunningly comprehensive portrait of the esteemed Dr. Maya Angelou.  Expected guests include director Rita Coburn Whack.

 

3:30 p.m.  PLAZA DE LA SOLEDAD

AFI SILVER THEATRE 3

Noted Mexican photographer Maya Goded makes an impressive filmmaking debut in this sensitive study of the older prostitutes she has photographed for years.  Expected guests include director Maya Goded.

 

5:30 p.m.  VISITOR’S DAY

LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA THEATER 7

A runaway at age 10, a homeless alcoholic at 14, now at a home for boys in Mexico, can Juan Carlos achieve self-acceptance and become the man his father wasn’t?  Expected guests include director Nicole Opper, co-producer Kristan Cassady, editor/producer Carlo Corea and TRAIN SURFERS director Adrien Cothier.

Preceded by:  TRAIN SURFERS

 

5:45 p.m.  CINEMA, MON AMOUR

LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA THEATER 6

As the last of Romania’s once great movie palaces slowly shutters its doors, theater owner Victor and his staff go to ridiculous lengths to save their now run-down theater.

 

5:45 p.m.  5 OCTOBER

AFI SILVER THEATRE 3

Facing a surgery with a 50/50 chance of survival, a man vagabonds across Europe.  Solemn yet upbeat, 5 OCTOBER delivers a beautiful portrait of humanity in limbo, both geographical and mortal.

Followed by:  TWO WORLDS

 

5:45 p.m.  TWO WORLDS

AFI SILVER THEATRE 3

TWO WORLDS is a delightful portrait of a teenage girl who navigates life with her deaf parents in rural Poland.  Expected guests include TWO WORLDS director Maciej Adamak. 

Preceded by:  5 OCTOBER

 

6:15 p.m.  SHALOM ITALIA

AFI SILVER THEATRE 2

SHALOM ITALIA focuses on three Jewish brothers who go in search of a cave in the Italian countryside where their family hid during World War II.  Expected guests include director Tamar Tal Anati and film subject Bubi Anati.

 

7:30 p.m.  ANTS ON A SHRIMP

LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA THEATER 1

Follow the team behind Copenhagen’s Noma — widely regarded as the world’s best restaurant — as they work to create a mind-blowing menu for their Tokyo pop-up.

 

7:45 p.m.  UNDER THE SUN

LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA THEATER 6

UNDER THE SUN is a remarkable glimpse behind North Korea’s propaganda curtain as filmmaker Vitaly Mansky captures his government minders manipulating his film about a “typical” Pyongyang family.

 

8:00 p.m.  THE ISLANDS AND THE WHALES

LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA THEATER 7

Rising levels of mercury, changes in the environment, and anti-whaling activists affect an ancient way of life for the remote Faroe Islanders.  Warning: contains graphic footage of hunting.  Expected guests include THE ISLAND AND THE WHALES director Mike Day and executive producer Minette Nelson.

Preceded by:  MY DEADLY, BEAUTIFUL CITY

 

8:15 p.m.  SONITA

AFI SILVER THEATRE 2

A teenage rapper in Iran dreams of becoming the next Internet sensation.  Her family needs her to marry for money. Could music be her escape?  Expected guests include director Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami

 

8:30 p.m.  HOOLIGAN SPARROW

AFI SILVER THEATRE 3

Director Nanfu Wang follows intrepid activist “Hooligan Sparrow” throughout southern China, exposing widespread official indifference to sexual abuse of girls and women, while dodging a cadre of government operatives who track her every move. Expected guests include director Nanfu Wang and co-producer Michael Shade.

 

 

TICKETS / MORE INFORMATION

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FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS JUNE 24

AFI DOCS Charles Guggenheim Symposium and Screening
with Honoree Werner Herzog,
Day Two of the Filmmaker Forum

Washington, DC, Friday, June 24, 2016 — AFI DOCS presents a full schedule of Friday events that include the Charles Guggenheim Symposium and Screening celebrating Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Werner Herzog. The Symposium will include a conversation followed by the East Coast premiere of Herzog’s latest film LO AND BEHOLD, REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD. Meanwhile, the Filmmaker Forum continues at the DOCS Festival Hub at the District Architecture Center.

WHAT: THE GUGGENHEIM SYMPOSIUM AND SCREENING
This year’s Symposium pays tribute to legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog, with clips from Herzog’s documentary oeuvre along with a discussion moderated by filmmaker Ramin Bahrani. The conversation will be followed by the East Coast premiere of Herzog’s LO AND BEHOLD, REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD.

WHO: Filmmaker Werner Herzog, filmmaker Ramin Bahrani and AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale

WHERE: Newseum, Annenberg Theatre, 555 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC

FILMMAKER FORUM: DAY TWO

8:30 a.m. –3:00 p.m. Festival filmmakers and industry professionals will meet at the AFI DOCS Festival Hub at 421 7th St. NW in Washington, DC, for Day Two of the four-day Filmmaker Forum. Each day, the Forum explores a unique topic with keynote presentations, conversations, panel discussions and micro-meetings. Friday’s Filmmaker Forum schedule will include:

Toward Sustainability
On its second day, the 2016 AFI DOCS Filmmaker Forum turns its focus to the industry and institutions that play roles, for better and for worse, in either driving the diversification of documentary filmmaking forward or holding it back. The relevance of the issues behind the #OscarsSoWhite campaign to the documentary world, where white male directors continue to dominate just as they do in feature films, will be examined, as will the role played by industry gatekeepers. Efforts within public media to identify, train and retain a diverse group of senior and executive producers and other content leaders will also be highlighted.

A LOOK BACK AT THURSDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, June 18, AFI DOCS kicked off the four-day Filmmaker Forum at the District Architecture Center. Day one of the Forum included filmmaker conversations and presentations on diversity and inclusion in the documentary field. Thursday’s film programming included the Spotlight Screenings NEWTOWN and AUDRIE & DAISY, followed by panel discussions, at the Newseum. Post-screening panel discussions included guests such as NEWTOWN director Kim A. Synder and producer Maria Cuomo Cole, and AUDRIE & DAISY directors Bonni Cohen and John Shenk. VISITOR’S DAY had its world premiere on Thursday at the AFI Silver Theatre.

A LOOK BACK AT WEDNESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

At the Newseum on Wednesday, June 22, AFI DOCS kicked off its 14th edition with the Opening Night Gala and North American Premiere screening of ZERO DAYS, from Academy Award®-winning director Alex Gibney.  A panel discussion with Gibney, film subjects Eric Chien and Liam O’Murchu and The New York Times’ David Sanger, moderated by The Washington Post’s Ann Hornaday, was followed by a reception

OTHER FRIDAY EVENTS

11:45 a.m. SHORTS: THE NATURE OF THINGS
AFI SILVER THEATRE 2
Featuring BIRD STRIKE NETHERLANDS, BISONHEAD, THE BOTANIST, THE ART OF FLYING NETHERLANDS and SNAILS.

12:30 p.m. 5 OCTOBER
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 1
Facing a surgery with a 50/50 chance of survival,
a man vagabonds across Europe. Solemn yet upbeat, 5 OCTOBER delivers a beautiful portrait of humanity in limbo, both geographical and mortal. North American premiere.
Followed by: TWO WORLDS

12:30 p.m. TWO WORLDS
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 1
TWO WORLDS is a delightful portrait of a teenage girl who navigates life with her deaf parents in rural Poland. North American premiere. Expected guests include director Maciej Adamak.
Preceded by: 5 OCTOBER

1:15 p.m. A FAMILY AFFAIR
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 7
In this intriguing and intimate documentary, Dutch filmmaker Tom Fassaert probes the dark corners of his family history in an attempt to understand his enigmatic grandmother. Expected guests include director Tom Fassaert.

1:30 p.m. ABORTION: STORIES WOMEN TELL
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 6
Director Tracy Droz Tragos surveys reproductive politics in her native Missouri, which some hope to proclaim the first abortion-free state in the nation. Expected guests include director Tracy Droz Tragos. Panel moderated by The Undefeated’s Soraya Nadia McDonald.

1:45 p.m. FOLLOWING SEAS
AFI SILVER THEATRE 3
Utilizing beautiful archival 16mm footage, FOLLOWING SEAS recounts Bob Griffith and Nancy Hirsch’s adventures on the high seas, from Polynesia to circumnavigating the Arctic Circle. Expected guests include directors Tyler J. Kelley and Araby Williams.

2:00 p.m. THE MAN WHO SAW TOO MUCH
AFI SILVER THEATRE 2
For more than five decades, photojournalist Enrique Metinides roamed the streets of Mexico City capturing images that reveal the drama of disaster in a single frame. Expected guests include director Trisha Ziff.
Preceded by: THE DIVER.

3:30 p.m. MAYA ANGELOU: AND STILL I RISE
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 1
Co-directors Bob Hercules and Rita Coburn Whack present a lovingly crafted and stunningly comprehensive portrait of the esteemed Dr. Maya Angelou. Expected guests include director Rita Coburn Whack.

4:00 p.m. TEMPESTAD
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 6
A haunting, beautifully shot portrayal of violence and corruption in Mexico revealed through evocative imagery showing a society where fear is a fact of life. Expected guests include director Tatiana Huezo and producer Jim Stark.

4:00 p.m. THOSE WHO JUMP
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 7
This riveting depiction of human desperation chronicles a community of men from across Africa in Morocco and their attempts to scale a fence to gain entry to Europe. Expected guests include producer Heidi Elise Christensen.

4:15 p.m. AFTER SPRING
AFI SILVER THEATRE 3
AFTER SPRING follows several residents of Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp — the largest in the Middle East — a temporary home to many Syrians fleeing the brutal civil war. 
Expected guests include directors Ellen Martinez and Steph Ching.

4:45 p.m. THE LOVERS AND THE DESPOT
AFI SILVER THEATRE 2
This stranger-than-fiction tale chronicles the amazing story of director Shin Sang-ok and actress Choi Eun-hee, who were kidnapped by North Korea and forced to work as Kim Jong-il’s personal filmmakers. East Coast premiere.

6:15 p.m. GLEASON
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 1
GLEASON is an unflinchingly honest portrait of football star Steve Gleason, who was diagnosed with a rapidly progressive form of ALS at age 34. Expected guests include director Clay Tweel.

6:30 p.m. HAVEABABY
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 7
HAVEABABY focuses on
a group of aspiring parents who enter a controversial video contest held by a Las Vegas fertility clinic. Expected guests include director Amanda Micheli and producer Serin Marshall.

6:45 p.m. ALMOST SUNRISE
AFI SILVER THEATRE 3
Two Iraq War vets hike a 2,700-mile course from the Midwest to the California coast in order to heal from their time in combat. Expected guests include director Michael Collins and impact producer Erin Sorenson.

6:45 p.m. TICKLED
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 6
A New Zealand reporter stumbles across a mysterious American website for tickling fetishists and uncovers much more than he bargained for in this wildly entertaining exposé. East Coast premiere. Expected guests include director David Farrier.

7:15 p.m. IN THE SHADOW OF THE HILL
AFI SILVER THEATRE 2
The disappearance of a bricklayer from Rio’s largest slum exposes the dark side of pacifying police units charged with sanitizing favelas in the lead-up to the World Cup and Summer Olympics. U.S. premiere. Expected guests include director Dan Jackson and associate producer Jazba Singh.

8:45 p.m. SOUTHWEST OF SALEM: THE STORY OF THE SAN ANTONIO FOUR
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 7
Four Latina lesbians in San Antonio fight to clear their names after being convicted of the sexual abuse of two young girls.

9:00 p.m. MISS SHARON JONES!
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 1
Director Barbara Kopple trains her lens on the inspiring and soulful chanteuse Sharon Jones as she fights a yearlong battle with cancer. Expected guests include director Barbara Kopple and film subject Sharon Jones.

9:15 p.m. TOWER
LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 6
The ingenious blend of animation, narration and live action focuses on a fateful day in 1966 when a sniper climbed the bell tower at the University of Texas at Austin. Expected guests include producer Megan Gilbride and animation producer Steph Swope.

9:15 p.m. CINEMA, MON AMOUR
AFI SILVER THEATRE 3
As the last of Romania’s once great movie palaces slowly shutters its doors, theater owner Victor and his staff go to ridiculous lengths to save their now run-down theater.

9:45 p.m. ALL THIS PANIC
AFI SILVER THEATRE 2
This sumptuously photographed portrait shot over three years centers on seven teen girls navigating the excitement and anxiety of adolescence in New York. 

 

TICKETS / MORE INFORMATION

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ABOUT AFI DOCS

About AFI DOCS
AFI DOCS is the American Film Institute’s annual documentary festival in the Washington, DC area. Presenting the year’s best documentaries, AFI DOCS is the premier festival in the U.S. dedicated to screenings and events that connect audiences, filmmakers and policy leaders in the seat of our nation’s government. The AFI DOCS advisory board includes Ken Burns, Davis Guggenheim, Chris Hegedus, Werner Herzog, Rory Kennedy, Barbara Kopple, Spike Lee, Errol Morris, Stanley Nelson, D A Pennebaker, Agnès Varda and Frederick Wiseman. Now in its 14th year, the festival will be held June 22–26, 2016 in landmark Washington, DC venues and the historic AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, MD.  

 

PROGRAM

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CALENDAR

AFI DOCS