MetroStage Theater logo
Two of Alexandria’s leading nonprofit organizations are joining forces to make the Old Town North Arts and Cultural District an exciting arts destination. Beginning in 2026, MetroStage’s new theater at 915 N. Fairfax Street will become the permanent home of the Alexandria Film Festival, a four-day event in November that presents the best independent features and short films curated from around the world. The Alexandria Film Festival is the first “In Residence” arts organization to share physical and calendar space with MetroStage, a model for future complementary programming partnerships.
The 20th edition of the festival, scheduled for Nov. 5-8, 2026, will include a theater-centric slate of films jointly curated by AFF and MetroStage, with talent from both worlds participating in audience discussions and educational sessions. AFF may also host special film screenings and events at MetroStage throughout the year on a schedule to be determined.
MetroStage is in the final stages of its fundraising campaign to complete the buildout of the arts space provided by CarrAmerica at its Venue condominium complex at North Fairfax and Montgomery streets. The theater will be a state-of-the-art facility with 120 comfortable seats, excellent sightlines and acoustics, and film and video projection technology optimized for festival screenings.
“MetroStage in the Old Town North Arts District is the ideal home for the Alexandria Film Festival. It’s long epitomized excellence in the arts and its new facilities will be state-of-the-art for both theatre and film,” said AFF Executive Committee Chair Dara Sanders.
Carolyn Griffin, MetroStage Producing Artistic Director said: “We very much look forward to complementing our live theater offerings with select film presentations and the AFF is the perfect partner to curate, present, and connect films with the entire DMV audience. We are very excited to be the home of the annual Alexandria Film Festival and other film offerings throughout the year.”
Both organizations will participate in the annual Spring2Action fundraising campaign.
MetroStage:
https://www.spring2action.org/organizations/metrostage
Alexandria Film Festival: https://www.spring2action.org/organizations/alexandria-film-festival
