Alexandria Film Festival Kicks Off 20th Anniversary with April 11 World Premiere of“Becoming Wild, a meditation on beauty in the natural world”by Local Filmmaker Jane Pittman at The Lyceum

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(ALEXANDRIA, VA) – On Saturday, April 11 from 2-4 pm, the Alexandria Film Festival in partnership with Four Mile Run Conservancy will present the world premiere of “Becoming Wild, a meditation on beauty in the natural world” by local, award-winning filmmaker Jane Pittman. The feature documentary explores how Alexandria residents can deliberately and thoughtfully nurture and sustain the natural world even as the city increases residential density sometimes at the expense of green spaces. Tickets ($15) for the film’s world premiere at The Lyceum are available now at AlexFilmFest.com. Following the film, Pittman will participate in an audience Q&A. 

“What began as a short, personal film essay about beauty slowly grew into something much larger. Going wild in my own backyard didn’t just change the landscape. It changed me. It slowed me down and asked me to pay attention. I began to notice the small dramas unfolding every day — bees falling asleep on cone flowers, seed heads feeding finches long after the flowers had faded. Everything, it seemed, had a role. The more I learned, the more I understood that our ideas of order have come at a cost. In trying to control the land, we’ve stripped away much of what allows it to thrive. This film grew out of that tension — between the world I was taught to admire and the living world I was only beginning to see,” said Pittman. “I am deeply grateful to the Alexandria Film Festival and the Four Mile Run Conservancy for sponsoring the world premiere of this film and for helping bring awareness to a new understanding of beauty - one rooted in biodiversity and restoration.”

“‘Becoming Wild, a meditation on beauty in the natural world’ is the perfect film to kick off our 20th anniversary as the Alexandria Film Festival,” said Jill Ray, chair of the festival. “Jane's films have not only been featured in a number of our past festivals but have won our audience award two times! We are honored to premiere her latest work and explore its themes of growth and renewal as we celebrate 20 years of independent film." 

“The film emphasizes the value of engaging with nature personally, daily, and in our neighborhoods,” said Conservancy president Kurt Moser. “We all live happier connected to the world this way, and we’re better caretakers of the places and communities we share.”

Sustainable, native plants are prominently featured in the film and are an important focus of local organizations including Four Mile Run Conservancy, Bona Terra, Regional Master Naturalists, and Alexandria Tree Stewards. After the screening and Q&A, Jeremy Tidd, owner of Bona Terra, will host a native plant talk and sale just outside The Lyceum. Tidd has been designing, maintaining, growing, and installing native plant gardens in the DMV for more than 20 years. 

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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.

It's Oscar Time! The Festival Takes a Look Back at Academy Award-Winning and Nominated Filmmakers Who Have Been Part of Its History

"War Dance," directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine, profiles war-orphaned children living in a displacement camp in northern Uganda, who compete in and win their country’s national music and dance festival. Andrea attended the screening of the film and participated in a Q&A at the inaugural Alexandria Film Festival in 2007, accepting our first award for Best of Fest. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Feature Documentary in 2008. The couple’s later film "Innocente" won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short in 2012.

"Smile Pinki," directed by Megan Mylan, is about the journey of Pinki and Ghutaru, two children in rural India whose lives are forever changed by a simple surgery they never imagined possible. It screened at the 2008 Alexandria Film Festival, and went on to win the Oscar for Best Documentary Short in 2009.

"Beasts of the Southern Wild," directed by Benh Zeitlin, follows a 6-year-old girl who copes with a hot-tempered father in fading health as melting ice-caps destroy her impoverished bayou community. The film was nominated for four Oscars, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actress. Incredibly, at 9 years of age, Quvenzhand Wallis was and still is the youngest person ever nominated for Best Actress. The film screened at the 2013 Alexandria Film Festival and Benh participated in a Q&A via Skype.

Directors Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar, won the Best Documentary Feature Oscar in 2019 for their film "American Factory." Their next film "9to5: the Story of a Movement," documents the 9to5 organization, founded in Boston and which fought for workplace rights for women, won the Alexandria Film Festival's Joe Cantwell Award for Documentary Excellence in the 2020. Steve and Julia accepted the award at our virtual festival, during the pandemic, via Zoom.

Director Roko Belic, who won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2000 for his first film "Genghis Blues," screened two films at the Alexandria Film Festival: "Trust Me," which won the festival's Joe Cantwell Award for Documentary Excellence in 2020, and "Happy" in 2022. "Trust Me" made a prescient case about peoples’ need for media literacy to build trust, resilience, lessen polarization, support credible journalism, and preserve democracy -- and how easy it can be to fool us! Screening "Trust Me" when the festival was virtual, Roko participated in a Q&A via Zoom, and attended the screening of "Happy" in person, along with Executive Producer Joe Phelps.

Director Paula van der Oest's film "Zus and Zo" was nominated for an Oscar in 2001 for Best Foreign Language Film for her film. Her later film "Love in a Bottle" won the Alexandria Film Festival's Special Jury Award in 2021. The film focuses on how two people in two different countries, both in quarantine, have a love affair through FaceTime. The director participated in a Zoom Q&A when the festival was virtual. 

"In the Shadow of the Cypress," directed by Iranian filmmakers Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani, screened at the 2024 Alexandria Film Festival. The film tells the story of a Persian man, who struggles with PTSD, and his daughter who tries to help him cope, but loses hope. It won the Oscar for Best Animated Short in 2025.