Guide to the AFI-Discovery Silverdocs Film Festival

Are you a film lover? Well, this week was specially made for you!

AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival was created to recognize excellent contemporary documentary films.

This year, the festival celebrates 10 years.

For updates on the festival and behind-the-scenes photos and more, follow Silver Spring Patch on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

During the week-long film festival, the audience can pick from a variety of over a hundred films.

In 2011, festival goers met Kevin Clash, the man behind Elmo, who shared a documentary of his life in Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey. They also listened to a one-on-one .

This year’s highlighted events include:

OPENING NIGHT: DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’: EVERYMAN’S JOURNEY

Monday,  June 18, 2012

Travel with Filipino singer Arnel Pineda as he strives for his dreams to be a singer and watch how he transforms into a huge success. Filmmaker Ramona Diaz chronicles Pineda’s life from the streets of Manila to his exciting life of newfound fame.

GUGGENHEIM SYMPOSIUM

Tuesday,  June 19, 2012

This year the Symposium is celebrating Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. As the leading voices in American nonfiction cinema, they are being recognized for landmark films; Brother’s Keeper (1992), Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood (1996), Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000), Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004), and the Academy Award-nominated Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011). 

CENTERPIECE SCREENING: HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

When being diagnosed with HIV was a death sentence, two local organizations took on this fear and fought it with knowledge. AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) and the Treatment Action Group (TAG) joined forces against Washington and pharmaceutical industry.

BAD BRAINS: A BAND IN DC

Thursday, June 21, 2012 

Bad Brains, punk band, started their journey to global stardom in Washington, DC in the late 1970s. This documentary takes you on a journey through the band’s breakups, riveting ride to stardom and an unpredictable bandleader. The film’s suspect HR and filmmakers Benjamen Logan and Mandy Stein will be in attendance.

OUTDOOR SCREENING: UNDER AFRICAN SKIES

Friday, June 22, 2012

The popular Grammy Award-winning album “Graceland” by Paul Simon was inspired by sounds in South Africa. While creating the album, Simon helped to unite cultures to help end apartheid. He received a host of backlash for his actions during the time and revisits this place of controversy in Under African Skies to face his critics.

CLOSING NIGHT:  BIG EASY EXPRESS

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Three bands showcase their talents during a six-stop train tour from California to New Orleans.

Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show play before their loving crowds and spontaneously jam out with American landscapes serving as their backdrop.