3rd Annual DC Underground Film Festival
September 30th - October 1st at the Goethe-Institute


Planting a seed of rebellion in the nations capital, the 3rd annual DC Underground Film Festival (DCUFF) will continue to revolutionize the Washington, DC movie-going experience on Friday, September 30th from 6PM to 12AM and Saturday, October 1st from 3PM to 12AM at the Goethe-Institute -- 812 7th Street, NW near the Gallery Place metro station. Tickets are $6 per program and can be purchased at the box office starting September 30th at 5:30PM. Opening the festival is the critically acclaimed documentary Kings of the Sky by Deborah Stratman. The film follows renowned tightrope artist Adil Hoxur as he and his troupe tour western China, a territory whose Muslim people are seeking religious and political autonomy.

DCUFF is the most popular local, underground festival for viewing the very best in high concept/low budget films. The 2005 season will screen over 45 films including shorts, documentaries, animation, experimental films, and videos selected from over 400 entries submitted from the U.S. and the global independent film community. In addition DCUFF will present the annual Women in the Directors Chair series curated by the District of Ladies collective and the new animated shorts program Animation Underground curated by Rebecca Barker.

Tickets are less than a night out at the corporate multiplex and the range of styles, subjects, genres and approaches to making movies is unlike anything else DC has to offer. The films cover subjects as diverse as: POPaganda: The Art and Crimes of Ron English by Pedro Carvajal-documents culture jammer Ron English, billboard bandit, counterculture cartoonist, and an activist, in whose world everything is subverted and there's always room for a little good-natured fun; Battleground: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge by Stephen Marshall-a journey through post-Saddam Iraq that gives viewers a side of the conflict that most news stations have ignored: the Iraqi citizen's side; Born in a Barn by Elizabeth Elson-An intimate and occasionally humorous look into the extraordinary lives of people who engage in the world of Pony Play, a fetish whose enthusiasts role-play as human ponies and handlers; Burn to Shine by Brendan Canty and Christoph Green -a doomed house is transformed into a recording studio for a day by Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty. The live performances by Chicago bands Shellac, Wilco, and Tortoise give the viewer a beautiful and intimate portrait of this incredibly unique Chicago music scene; and Jem Cohen's latest film Chain, a stunningly original montage that portrays the vast American wasteland of chain retailers and consumer culture.

In addition to these programs, DCUFF will be presenting the Women in the Directors Chair program that showcases and celebrates the art and voice of the wide range of women making indie films. The Women in the Directors Chair program will be on Friday, September 30th at 9:30 PM. The program will feature films such as OPERATION INVERT where filmmaker Tara Mateik compares the different regulations mediating Botox-related plastic surgery and gender reassignment (sex change), Eat My Makeup! by Marie Losier, Exercise with Chin Yung by Wenhwa Ts'ao, Andy Warhol Diary by Jennifer Stefanisko, 1 by Shelly Silver, Kristy by Stephanie Gray, Red Wagon by Alison Marek, Double Dummy by Jennet Thomas, and Dark Fare by Carly Ptak and Chiara Giovando.

A new addition to DCUFF is Animation Underground, a shorts program that showcases recent work by some of the most talented American animators. Films include: Tales of Mere Existence by Lev, Take It on the Run by Lew Baldwin, Melter 2 by Takeshi Murata, Madame Winger Makes a Film by Helen Hill, Magda by Chel White, The Velvet Tigress by Jen Sachs, Cone Eater by Takeshi Murata, and Monster Movie by Takeshi Murata.

Please visit www.dcuff.org for a film schedule.