Films by Local Filmmakers Comprise Half of Program
Press Release | October 6, 2025 | Contact: Casie Graham | 301-873-3052 | grahamcasie@gmail.com
ALEXANDRIA, VA – Today, the 19th annual Alexandria Film Festival announced it will screen more than 60 films starting Sunday, November 2, and continuing Friday through Sunday, November 7-9, at venues across the city including Virginia Tech (ALX) in Potomac Yard, The Alexandria History Museum at the Lyceum, Patagonia Old Town, and Charles E. Beatley Library. Tickets ($15) and All-Festival Passes ($80) are on sale now at the festival’s Eventive website (afffilmsthatmatter2025.eventive.org).
The 62 films in this year’s program span a variety of genres and topics ranging from serious social issues to crowd-pleasers. Half of the films were made by local filmmakers who will be in attendance at the festival to participate in Q&A discussions following their film screenings. Additionally, 70 percent of the films are having premieres at this year’s festival including 15 world and U.S. premieres and 14 DMV – District, Maryland and Virginia – premieres.
Among the “local” feature films in this year’s program:
11/2 at Patagonia Old Town – Kicking off the festival, the documentary “Upstream, Downriver: Uniting for Water Justice” by Maggie Burnette Stogner, executive director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at American University in Washington, D.C., takes viewers into the heart of communities uniting for water justice.
11/7 at Virginia Tech (ALX) – “The Other You” is local filmmaker Shoshana Rosenbaum’s directorial debut. It follows writer, wife, and mom Annie as she discovers a tiny door in her closet that leads to what appears to be a better version of her life.
11/8 at The Alexandria History Museum at the Lyceum – “500 Fireflies” is a dramatic comedy set in the mid-1990s. The story of a newly single dad who brings his teenage daughter back to his rural hometown, hoping for a fresh start. Directed by Lysandra Petersson, it was filmed primarily in the Shenandoah Valley with local actors.
11/9 at Virginia Tech (ALX) – The narrative “Kemba” by Howard University alum Kelley Kali is based on Kemba Smith, a Virginia woman who was sentenced in the 1980s to nearly 25 years in prison for a drug case after she was misled by prosecutors and her case mishandled by her own attorneys. Her ordeal became a national referendum on the unequal application of mandatory minimum sentencing that led to changes to the guidelines.
Chris Colligan, lead programmer and vice chair of the festival, said, “We are incredibly proud and excited to uplift and give a platform to the compelling stories that filmmakers across our region are producing. So spread the word that the Alexandria Film Festival is celebrating independents, especially those working and creating across the DMV!”
All films in the festival require admission tickets, except for the Salute to Service Members showcase/film block at The Alexandria History Museum at the Lyceum on November 9 which is free for active duty and retired service members and their guests. All-festival passes ($80) and showcase tickets ($15) are available for purchase online at afffilmsthatmatter2025.eventive.org/welcome.
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; Cheesetique; Franconia Family Medicine; Hadeed Rug Cleaning; Hotel Heron; Jet’s Pizza; Jim Connolly/Long & Foster Real Estate; Law Office of Deborah Matthews; Matt & Tony’s; Old Town Crier; St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub; Ted’s Montana Grill; Total Wine; Union Sandwich Co.; Virginia Tech; Wegmans; and The Zebra.
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