BlackRock Hosts On Screen/In Person Film Series

The BlackRock Center for the Arts brings On Screen/In Person independent film series to the DC metro area. The series is a new initiative bringing some of the best new independent American films and their respective filmmakers to communities across the mid-Atlantic region. On Screen/In Person, a program funded by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, will tour to six different venues in five states during fall 2013 and spring 2014. Germantown-based BlackRock Center for the Arts has been selected as the exclusive host in Maryland. The first film, Shored Up will air on Sept. 29 at 4 p.m. Tickets are $8 and may be purchased at the box office by calling 240.912.1058 or online at www.blackrockcenter.org BlackRock is located at 12901 Town Commons Drive in Germantown.

This year’s films cover a variety of dynamic topics, ranging from the experiences of a first time Congressman to the environmental implications of shorefront development. Filmmakers explore the history of the AIDS activist organization ACT UP, the burgeoning pet memorial business and the grief that accompanies loss, and popular culture’s representation of powerful women in society as personified through the legacy of comic book heroine Wonder Woman. And one director takes us on a wild ride that pieces together multiple scripts from different sources to make a film version of the old parlour game Exquisite Corpse.

The filmmakers will not only tour with their films to BlackRock, but also work with BlackRock Executive Director, Krista Bradley, to develop community roundtables that provide audiences context and greater appreciation for their respective work and the art of film. “Nationally-recognized filmmakers, along with community leaders and issue experts will unpick critical topics addressed in each film – that’s what makes this program so satisfying,” says
Bradley. “Rather than just leaving once the theater goes dark, audience members will have the opportunity to listen and learn from experts, so they can walk away with a real sense of the impact the film has on our community and their own lives.”

Schedule of Films:

• Sept. 29 at 4 p.m.: Shored Up, directed by Ben Kalina
• Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m.: Furever, directed by Amy Finkel
• Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m.: Mr. Cao Goes to Washington, directed by S. Leo Chiang
• Feb. 16 at 4 p.m.: The Exquisite Corpse Project, directed by Ben Popik
• Mar. 21 at 7:30 p.m.: WONDER WOMEN! The Untold Story of American Superheroines, directed by Kristy Guevara-Flanagan
• Apr. 10 at 7:30 p.m.: United in Anger: A History of ACT UP, directed by Jim Hubbard

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