In four years, Northern Virginia-native Brad Russell has watched his film festival grow into an event that now receives over 300 submissions from over 30 countries.
Through the Washington West Film Festival, Russell hopes to see Northern Virginia grow into an area celebrated for its film industry. The Festival returns October 22–26 with showings happening at George Mason University, Angelika Film Center and at the festival flagship location, Reston Town Center Bow Tie Cinemas. – Elke Thoms
Q&A with Washington West Film Festival President and Founder, Brad Russell:
What kind of submissions do you usually receive?
They come from all over the world. We’re a multi-genre festival, so we receive short films, feature length films, documentaries, comedies and various types of dramas. This year, we’ll screen somewhere between 40 to 45 films.
What’s the significance behind the festival’s tagline, “Story Can Change the World?”
We’re the only film festival in the world that gives our box office profit to aiding a community in need. Julia Louis-Dreyfus [and her] new film will be with us this year. [She and husband Brad Hall] came two years ago, and D.C. premiered her new HBO film “Picture Paris.” When they got back to L.A., they sent a really nice note saying they’d never seen anything in a film festival like what we are doing, helping people with their communities and needs. … We’re connecting our audience members to the idea of creating a story. It’s not just the filmmakers who are creating a story, our audience members are as well.
Was promoting a charity an aspect of the festival you wanted from the beginning?
Yeah, I started it with that concept. We’re just hoping that our festival can be a catalyst to assisting people’s needs around us. We want to grow to be an, at least, 100,000-attendee festival, which would equate to about a million dollars in net box office proceeds that we would be giving away each year. One of our dreams is to see this region that’s become known as the wealthiest counties in the country become known as the most generous.
What makes this area great for hosting a film festival?
It’s a very educated region, and it’s a film-hungry region. There really has not been an overabundance of prominent film festivals in our region, and we found that there’s an appetite here. … We’d like our festival to be part of attracting more filmmaking to the D.C. region.
Local Filmmakers
Dan Cohen
Silver Spring, Md.
Years Participated: 2012 Winner of Best Documentary
Films: “An Article of Hope,” also known as “Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope.” Executive produced by Tom Hanks.
“What [Washington West] did for me was bring my film home. They’re upfront in not only what filmmaking is about, but upfront in doing something important beyond the world of filmmaking. It’s a natural—filmmaking is about the journey of life, so why not ‘story can change the world?’”
Bryan Reichhardt
Reston
Years Participated: 2013, 2014
Films: “Barnstorming” (2013), “Pictures from a Hiroshima Schoolyard” (2014)
“When I went [to Washington West last year] they definitely went to great lengths to make it feel like a big time film festival, but it also felt very—for lack of a better word, homey. It felt familiar and intimate … that’s why it was a no-brainer to submit my film “Pictures from a Hiroshima Schoolyard” to the festival this year.”
Rebecca Wingert-Jabi
Reston
Years Participated: 2013
Films: “My Neighbourhood”
“Virginia is a fascinating place for a storyteller. There is not only a rich history here but also a very dynamic contemporary political setting. … [The audience at Washington West was] really interested to know how they could get involved and learn more about the issues raised in my film. This is exactly what the festival is all about—going beyond headlines to get a deeper sense of an issue and get involved.”
Washington West Film Festival
Oct. 22-26;
various locations throughout Northern Virginia
Opening Night Film: Thursday, Oct. 23
Closing Night Film: Saturday, Oct. 25
(October 2014)