The DC Independent Film Festival (DCIFF) is a film festival in Washington, D.C. Launched in 1999, DCIFF exhibits features, animation, shorts and documentaries from around the world, focusing on cutting-edge ideas, new visions and advances in the craft of filmmaking. The festival hosts world premieres, seminars, and workshops, and also sponsors discussions on topics that impact independent filmmakers, in particular the annual "On the Hill" hearing hosted by the Congressional Entertainment Caucus. The festival includes a dedicated POLIDOCS section for documentary films that shed light on human rights, politics and social justice and an international high school film competition started in 2013. The festival also has an oral history collection program Going to the Movies documenting the role of movie-watching in US cultural history.
DCIFF has continued to be an essentially volunteer-run festival. DCIFF has not been a curated festival. With the exception of retrospectives and honorees, all films screened are chosen through the submissions process. As of 2019, the festival has embraced the concept of deep discussion about the film and increased interaction between films, filmmakers and audiences.
The festival was founded by Carol Bidault de L'Isle who was executive director until 2011 when Deirdre Evans-Pritchard assumed the role.
2010
Held at the Arleigh Burke Theater, the 2010 festival hosted the documentary "The Quantum Tamers: Revealing Our Weird and Wired Future and animated short Roue.
2012
The 2012 festival was held between February 29 and March 4 and honored documentarian Les Blank.
Awards
Best of Fest
Ultrasonic (film) Best Feature The Caretaker Best Documentary Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen Best Short (fiction) Zombie Bohemia Best Experimental/Animation Drained
2018
The 19th annual festival was held between February 14 and 19th, 2018 at the Burke and Carnegie Theaters in Washington DC.
Awards
Best of Fest: This is Congo, directed by Daniel McCabe (USA / 2018 / 93mins) Best Feature: Closure, directed by Alex Goldberg (USA / 2017 / 90mins) Best Documentary: Generation Zapped, directed by Sabine El Gemayel, (USA / 2018 / 74mins) Best Documentary Short: Daddy, directed by John Gallen & Alex Faoro (USA / 2018 / 30mins) Best International Film: Little Fiel, directed by Irina Patkanian (Mozambique & USA / 2018 / 16 minutes) Best Animation: Negative Space, directed by Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata (France / 2017 / 5mins) Best Short (fiction): Moving Violation, directed by Laura Hinson (USA / 2017 / 13mins) Best of Metro DC: Change in the Family, directed by Sam Hampton, (USA / 2018 / 63mins) High School Film Awards 1st Place: Invisible, directed by Matthew Gannon (USA / 2017 / 7mins) 2nd place: Aftershock, directed by Ryan Beard, Ceci Becker, Alexander Gaither, Stephen Gentry (USA / 2017 / 9mins) 3rd place: CREDIT 1, directed by David Murillo (Chile / 2017 / 4mins)
2019
The 20th annual festival was held between March 1 and 10th, 2019 at the Miracle and Carnegie Theaters in Washington DC and included a retrospective of the work of Australian director Phillip Noyce.
Awards
Best of Fest
Worlds of Ursula k. Le Guin directed by Arwen Curry (USA/2018/69 mins) Best Feature Film Touched directed by Barak Barkan (USA/2019/80mins) Best International Film Penguin Highway directed by Hiroyasu Ishida (Japan/2018/118 mins/Animation) Best Documentary Wbcn and the American Revolution directed by bill Lichtenstein (USA/2019/125 mins) Best Metro DC Film Dakota directed by Roberto Carmona (USA/2019/98 mins) Best Short Film – Fiction The Scorpion's Tail directed by Jhosimar Vasquez (USA/2018/22.18 mins) Best Short Film – Documentary 33: Local DC directed by David Ross, Lloyd foster, Kavon Martez (USA/2018/5.38 mins) Best Web Series Pilot Vows directed by Ginny Leise (USA/2018/9.21mins) Best Animation Alef B’tamuz directed by Yael Reisfeld (Israel/2018/5.58 mins) Best Film by a Woman Director Inaugural Award Facing the dragon directed by Sedika Mojadidi (Afghanistan/2018/80 mins.)
High school film competition winners: 1st place : Finding home directed by Volanda Morrison (USA/2018/14 mins/documentary) 2nd place : I am not broken directed by Abrielle Yen Marsden (USA/2018/2.18 mins./animation) 3rd place : Blagden Alley nw directed by Nyrene Monteforte (USA/2018/9.13 mins/documentary)
2020
The 21st annual festival was held between March 4–8, 2020 in Washington DC.