Written by Wilson Morales of BlackFilmandTV.com
In its inaugural year in Washington, DC, and second year in its hybrid format, the 4th Annual LightReel Film Festival (formerly the Lakefront Film Festival) will run from June 8–10, 2023, LFF boasts a wide variety of national and international films, spotlighting a plethora of narrative and documentary features and shorts. Under its new name, LightReel Film Festival is excited to embody its new designation as a celebration of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) filmmaking, offering films that recognize diverse visual storytelling from across the globe.
This year, LFF features films from eight countries and five continents. While the streaming portion consists of more than 30 films including narrative features, documentaries, and shorts written, directed, or starring a person of color. From the comedy/drama, No No Girl, a tale of Japanese Americans dealing with a secret to the heart-wrenching Nigerian drama, Employee of the Month, the virtual portion of the festival amasses a wealth of deep and powerful insights into the human condition.
The festival will open with the Spotlight film, The Blackening, on Thursday, June 8, 2023. On Friday, June 9, 2023, LightReel will recognize the twentieth anniversary of the Brazilian masterpiece City of God as just one of its live events. In 2003, the independent film was a critical success receiving four Academy Award nominations for its true-life depiction of the gritty streets of the favelas in Rio de Janeiro.
Also on Friday, put on our headsets and plug in as LightReel opens its one-of-a-kind virtual reality (VR) lounge, The VR Experience, where patrons will enter a whole new world of interactive films through the lens of an Oculus headset! Curated by Adrian Rashad Driscoll, The VR Experience will welcome the return of Emmy Award-winning CNN host Van Jones with his The Messy Truth in VR series. This immersive digital lounge promises the most fully engaged film experience of any festival in the area.
“We are extremely excited that the vision of the LightReel Film Fest is coming to fruition in the Nation’s Capital. This year’s event continues our evolution, moving the festival experience forward with a great slate of BIPOC films and groundbreaking VR content,” stated Festival Director Tim Gordon. “We look forward to engaging audiences and ‘shining our light on attendees!”
The LightReel Film Festival is pleased to announce the Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market is its new home for live events. Because of its ease of accessibility, the Angelika is the ideal location for LFF live events, including the spotlight films and The VR Experience.
The entire slate, tickets, and passes for the can be found at: www.lightreelfilm.com. Tickets and passes for the LightReel Film Festival are on sale now. Individual tickets for online events are priced at $15 each. The Full Fest pass, which allows access to all the online films and the VR Experience, is only $75. The Festival Day Pass will be $25 and is required to see the Spotlight Film on Opening Night.
Follow the LightReel Film Festival on social media or the official site for more announcements, including the opening night film, the closing night film, secret events, and the annual talk series. Stay tuned!
About the LightReel Film Festival
The LightReel Film Festival is an annual showcase for cinematic talent hosted by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African Americans in Film (FAAAF). The festival serves as an opportunity to inform, collaborate, entertain, and educate its audience through the cinematic achievements of a wide and diverse collection of filmmakers from around the world. From 2019 to the present day, the LightReel Film Festival has been a unique and immersive cultural experience for its community, filmmakers, and stakeholders.
