The 19th annual Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital opens this week, bringing 150 films to 60 area venues. The festival was launched in 1993 to provide a forum for different perspectives from across the globe and to promote better understanding of environmental issues. This year’s selections draw on issues such as the BP oil spill (Stories From the Gulf Coast: Living With the BP Oil Disaster), alternative energy, and sustainable farming. For a full list of screenings and locations, click here.
Also on screens this week: documentaries about a revolutionary and an artist, a new adaptation of a bookshelf standard, and a film made by nuclear-power magnate Mr. Burns. Well, kind of.
Tuesday, March 15
SNL alum and Simpsons voice actor Harry Shearer is at the AFI Silver Theatre today to present his new movie, The Big Uneasy. The documentary looks at New Orleans post-Katrina, questioning the decisions made to rebuild the levees with the same flawed engineering used before. Buy tickets ($11) at AFI Silver Theatre’s Web site.
Wednesday, March 16
Douglas Duarte and Adriana Marino’s 2007 documentary, Personal Che, looks at the multiple legends inspired by revolutionary Che Guavara and the way his influence is still felt around the world. The movie is tonight at Artisphere’s Dome Theatre; tickets ($6) available at the door. For more information, see Artisphere’s Web site.
Thursday, March 17
Ski season might be coming to an end, but you can experience the thrill of the slopes in HD at West End Cinema tonight with a one-off screening of The Story, Ski Channel CEO Steve Bellamy’s movie about the sport and the fearless people who pursue it. Lindsey Vonn, Bode Miller, Bobby Brown, and more are featured. Get tickets ($11) at West End’s Web site.
Friday, March 18
Director Dana Adam Shapiro followed his 2005 debut, Murderball, with Monogamy, a movie exploring the relationship between a wedding photographer, Theo (Chris Messina), and his fiancée, Nat (Rashida Jones), after Theo develops a sideline taking voyeuristic snaps of anonymous clients. The movie opens at West End Cinema today; buy tickets ($11) at West End’s Web site.
Saturday, March 19
Mia Wasikowska was one of last year’s biggest-grossing stars after her performances in Alice in Wonderland and The Kids Are All Right. You can catch her interpretation of literary heroine Jane Eyre in Cary Joji Fukunaga’s new adaptation of the Charlotte Brontë classic, opening Friday at Landmark E Street. Get tickets ($10) at Landmark’s Web site.
Sunday, March 20
The lines between film and art are blurred in the documentary Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, directed by Sophie Fiennes (sister of actors Ralph and Joseph). The 2010 film looks at German artist Anselm Kiefer and the vast studio/installation he created at home in Barjac, France. The movie has a free screening today at the National Gallery of Art; for more information, visit the NGA’s Web site or dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org.
Monday, March 21
Poetry, Korean director Lee Chang-dong’s film about a 66-year-old woman who takes a poetry class, was called “2011’s best film so far” by Salon and “a tour de force of emotional complexity” by the New York Times. The movie opens Friday at the Avalon Theatre; buy tickets ($11) at Avalon’s Web site.
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