A movie about a widowed mortician and a life-size doll named Pedro won top honors at the 2019 Alexandria (Virginia) Film Festival (AFF).
“Wake” directed by Cyrus Mirakhor was awarded Best of Fest as movie lovers in the Washington, D.C. area enjoyed their selections of more than 50 films this past weekend during the Festival.
- “Fruits of Peace” directed by Kevyn Settle, won the AFF Joe Cantwell Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking.
- “She’s in Portland” directed by Marc Carlini, won the AFF Audience Award.
- “Demand Curve” co-directed by Meredith Bragg and Austin Bragg, was honored with the Best of the Region Award.
- “On the Outside” directed by Paul Gray, took Best Foreign Film honors.
The 13th annual event was November 7-10. The AFF offers new films in advance of their arrivals at commercial theaters, streaming services, or television.
The 2019 festival presented independent film screenings at two popular Alexandria venues: the Beatley Library and the AMC Hoffman Center 22 Cinema Complex. More than 50 free and ticketed films from around the world were screened or premiered this year.
The four-day event was open to all area motion picture enthusiasts and featured the Burke and Herbert Bank Family Showcase, a late-night package of film noir, a program of entertaining short films, and two Veterans' Showcases, offering cost-free ticketing for active duty and retired military and guests.
“The Alexandria Film Festival wrapped its 13th year with record attendance of more than 1,000 film lovers, warm homecomings for Alexandrian filmmakers Casey Wilson and Marc Carlini, two Veteran’s Showcases, a Mayoral proclamation, and a new partnership with NOVA’s film degree program. We thank the Alexandria community for its constant support to the AFF and we look forward to an exciting 2020 festival!” stated AFF Chair Margaret Wohler.
The AFF partnered with Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) to promote Films by NOVA Students. To kick off the 2019 AFF, the works of young NOVA filmmakers were featured during the festival’s cost-free screenings Nov. 8 at the Beatley Library. Student filmmakers were also on hand for a Q&A session. The 2019 NOVA Student Film Festival can be viewed at blogs.nvcc.edu/nsff/.
