Fairfax Filmmaker Featured In May 2-5 Fredericksburg Film Festival

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — A film directed by a Fairfax resident will be among the 33 films screened from May 2-5 as part of the Fredericksburg Film Festival.

Joe Carabeo shot Kira vs Everyone in February 2023 at locations throughout Northern Virginia, featuring a cast of actors drawn from across the D.C. region. It's scheduled to be screened at 5:30 p.m., on Sunday, at 718 Venue in Fredericksburg.

"In short, the film is about a humanitarian who is not what he seems," Carabeo said. "After receiving an award, he starts to get hunted down by an unknown entity."

Now a professional photographer and filmmaker based in the D.C. area, Carabeo's interest in filmmaking started while he was a student at Lake Braddock Secondary in Burke. At first he wanted to be a comic book artist, but figured out he wasn't good enough. Once he started taking photography classes, he developed an interest in becoming a filmmaker."

"I had to go off campus and do television production," Carabeo said. "It was the closest thing I could do to get my hands on a professional camera."

That experience combined with his friends' interest in pro wrestling put him on the path to becoming a filmmaker.

"Pro wrestling is very close to filmmaking," he said. "We're making scenes. We're putting together things, gathering people telling stories, and learning on the fly. Shooting films with my friends and doing the pro wresting thing along with doing television production in high school is pretty much where I first started."

Having written many scripts and producing a variety of short films, Carabeo learned what it took to be a filmmaker.

"Once you've make your first film or once you make your 20th film, you actually learn life skills," he said. "You learn how to organize. You learn how to communicate with people. All those things you need to make your first film a success. If you can't tell people what's on your mind or communicate your vision or your story to other people or how you want the shot, you're not going to be a success in the production of a movie."

Presented by 1108 Media, the Fredericksburg Film Festival aims to celebrate the art of storytelling by featuring works of local and international filmmakers.

Film screenings, happy hours and panels will take place at several locations around downtown Fredericksburg, including the Fredericksburg Area Museum, 718 Venue, Curitiba Art Cafe, REIGN The Venue, Red Dragon Brewery, Castiglia's Wine Cellar and Wild Hare Cider Pub.

A full schedule of films and ticket information are available on the Fredricksburg Film Festival's website.

Narrative Shorts

• Oddities
• Lethologica
• Amor
• Shakespeare for All Ages
• The Lives Between the Lines

Shorts Block: Student Showcase

• Student Film: The Movie
• Swing of Things
• Chinese Connection No Matter How Small
• Daedalus
• Jazz

Shorts Block: First Time For Everything

• Familiar
• In the Name of the Oyster
• Between the Earth and the Sky
• Harlem Fragments
• Banana Triangle Six

Shorts Block: Where The Heart Is

• Abundance: The Farmlink Story
• Lengua de diamante
• The Masterpiece
• Common As Red Hair

Documentary Feature

• Kim's Video
• Born in Chicago

Narrative Feature

• The Trip
• American Meltdown
• Burst the Silence
• Her Name Was Jo

Shorts Block: VA is for (Film) Lovers

• Kira vs Everyone
• The Drove
• Wisteria
• Tyndall Typewriters
• Tell Me About Orange
• Keys
• Free Beer
• The Death of Anne Bronte