ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Alexandria Film Festival, now in its 19th year, has named officers to lead the all-volunteer, non-profit organization for three-year terms starting July 1. Incoming chair Jill Ray, a filmmaker herself, served the past three years as festival vice chair and has had several documentary films in past festivals. Chris Colligan, a non-profit executive, who also heads programming for the festival, will become festival vice chair. Roughly 20 committed volunteers comprise the organization, working year-round to make Alexandria’s premiere independent film festival a stand-out event.
Festival founder and Executive Director Patti North notes, “We’re very excited to see Jill transition to chair and Chris take on the vice chair leadership role as we lock in our 2025 festival schedule and head into a new era of operations at MetroStage starting in 2026 – our 20th anniversary year. We are also pleased Dara Sanders will continue to support the festival as chair emeritus.”
Back in March, MetroStage and the Alexandria Film Festival announced that MetroStage would become the permanent home of the festival beginning in 2026. The festival is the first “In Residence” arts organization to share physical and calendar space with the professional theater company in their newly constructed space soon to open in North Old Town.
“Our alliance with MetroStage is a wonderful model for future complementary programming partnerships,” says Ray. “As chair, I look forward to forging more partnerships within the community that will allow us to expand our offerings through workshops, for example, and discussion forums.”
The Alexandria Film Festival celebrates the wide diversity of independent film - fictional narrative features and documentaries, and live action and animated shorts like the Academy Award winning ‘In the Shadow of the Cypress,’ which had its Virginia premier at our festival this past November. Adds Colligan, incoming vice chair, “We feature local and regional films - including those from student filmmakers - as well as entries from around the country and across the globe. I am honored to take on a greater leadership role on the cusp of our 20th anniversary.”
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: Alexandria Gazette Packet and Connections Newspapers; Alexandria Hyundai; Alexandria Living Magazine; Alexandria TImes; Atlas Brew Works; Bad Ass Coffee; Burke & Herbert Bank; Cheesetique; Delia’s Mediterranean Grill; Glory Days; Goodwin Living; Hadeed Rug Cleaning; Jim Connolly/Long & Foster Real Estate; Law Office of Deborah Matthews; Old Town Crier; Pond Roofing; Ted’s Montana Grill; 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 beyond. The festival highlights the talents of local, national and international filmmakers in an acclaimed travel destination within eyesight of the nation’s capital.