“Brother Verses Brother,” “Checkpoint Zoo,” “Dragonfly,” and Oscar-contending “Coexistence, My Ass!” Among Films to be Screened
ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Alexandria Film Festival (AFF) is bringing to audiences in the DMV feature narrative and documentary films that premiered at the nation’s top film festivals, including one that is in contention for an Academy Award. AFF kicks off November 2 and continues November 7-9 at venues across the city. Tickets ($15) for these films as well as 60 others are available now for purchase online at https://afffilmsthatmatter2025.eventive.org.
“Brother Verses Brother” - 11/8, 7 pm, Virginia Tech (ALX) - Buy Tickets
Executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola and directed by four-time Sundance filmmaker Ari Gold, this single-take musical film premiered at SXSW and is based on the director’s own family – and performed by them. It’s a funny and moving story about the power of music, the bonds of brotherhood, and the life of a city – experienced by the viewer in real-time.
“Checkpoint Zoo”- 11/7, Noon, Virginia Tech (ALX) - Buy tickets
This documentary, which was executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and premiered at Tribeca, tells the story of the harrowing rescue of thousands of animals that were trapped inside Kharkiv’s Feldman Ecopark zoo amid the war in Ukraine. “This is a film about the unintended victims of war that you don’t quite see,” says filmmaker Joshua Zeman.
“Dragonfly” - 11/7, 9 pm, the Lyceum - Buy tickets
Paul Andrew Williams’ genre-defying British film, which also had its debut at Tribeca, features Oscar-winning actresses Brenda Blethyn and Andrea Riseborough who were jointly awarded the performance award at the festival. A heartbreaking and tense narrative about forgotten people, this film is unsettling and challenges preconceptions.
“Coexistence, My Ass!” - 11/7, 3 pm, Virginia Tech (ALX) - Buy tickets
Premiering at Sundance, this film by Lebanese director Amber Fares went on to win the festival’s World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Freedom of Expression and the Golden Alexander Award for Best Documentary at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival in Greece, qualifying it for Oscar consideration. Shot over five tumultuous years, the film traces Israeli activist-comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi’s personal, professional, and political journey in tandem with the region’s steady deterioration.
The Alexandria Film Festival is made possible with support from the Alexandria Commission for the Arts, the City of Alexandria, as well as the generous support of individual donors and corporate sponsors including: Adobe; Alexandria Gazette Packet and Connection Newspapers; Alexandria Hyundai; Alexandria Living Magazine; Alexandria Times; Bad Ass Coffee; Briar Tek; Burke & Herbert Bank; Conte’s Bike Shop; Continues Arcade; Charter Up; Hadeed Rug Cleaning; Hotel Heron; Jet’s Pizza; Jim Connolly/Long & Foster Real Estate; Law Office of Deborah Matthews; Matt & Tony’s All Day Kitchen and Bar; Old Town Crier; Patagonia Old Town, St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub; Ted’s Montana Grill; Union Sandwich Co.; Virginia Tech; Visit Alexandria; Wegmans; and The Zebra.
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About the Alexandria Film Festival
The Alexandria Film Festival brings high-quality short and feature-length films of all genres, filmmaker panels, and arts presentations to the port city of Alexandria, Virginia and the greater DCmetro-area.The festival highlights the talents of local, national and international filmmakers in an acclaimed travel destination within eyesight of the nation’s capital. For more information visit www.alexfilmfest.com.