Alexandria Film Festival Announces Early-Acceptance Films

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Movie lovers can get an early look at the Alexandria Film Festival's offerings, as early-acceptance films were announced.

The 17th annual Alexandria Film Festival will be held Nov. 10 to 12. Over 50 films will be showcased at several locations, including AMC Hoffman Center and The Lyceum on Nov. 11 and 12 and free programming at Charles Beatley Library on Nov. 10. Films at the festival are independent short and feature length and represent various genres, from comedies and documentaries to dramas and thrillers.

"We have a very strong program planned for this year’s festival, with several international films we’re really excited about, and expect many filmmakers to accompany their films," said Alexandria Film Festival chair Dara Sanders. "Tickets for our full schedule will be available at AlexFilmFest.com by October 1, and we encourage film lovers across the Washington metro area to check us out."

To get a glimpse of the festival, here are a few of the early-acceptance films and descriptions provided by organizers:

Art Thief (thriller): "After stealing a painting from a local museum, a passionate but untalented artist is thrust into the midst of an even bigger theft. The film was inspired by the 1990 robbery of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston."

Lousy Carter (comedy): "Variously labeled as a deadbeat by his ex, a failure by his mother and a shell of himself by his best friend, Lousy Carter, a professor of English literature, suffers a moody reality that gets worse through a bad medical diagnosis. The film’s lead is David Krumholz who
starred as Bernard the elf in The Santa Claus movies."

Normal (drama): "Bright and industrious 14-year old Lucie does her best to juggle school, a part-time job and trying to write a novel while taking care of her dad, who has multiple sclerosis. While fun-loving, he is not the most responsible father. When a social worker tries to intervene, Lucie and her dad concoct an elaborate scheme to make social services believe they are a perfectly normal family."

Privacy (thriller): "Roopali is an operator at a surveillance command and control center in Mumbai. While being ambitious, she constantly fights her own guilt and resists a dark past. Things start to get complicated when Roopali ignores protocol and investigates a robbery/murder that takes place on her watch.

Two Lives in Pittsburgh (documentary): Confronted by his mother’s illness and his child’s exploration of gender, a traditional blue-collar guy is torn between who he has always been and who his child needs him to be. This film offers an exploration of how imperfect people stumble through societal questions and culture war issues when it's part of their own lives.

Tickets for each film showcase are $15, and an all-festival pass costs $80. Visit alexfilmfest.com for more information.