Festival to focus on political films

The inaugural Politics on Film, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, bipartisan film festival showcasing political and policy-oriented films, will take place May 7-10, organizers announced this week.

Politics on Film is the nation’s first juried film festival with a mission to highlight political films broadly, providing a platform for filmmakers who focus on government, the electoral process or pressing public policy issues, and establishing an entertaining and educational opportunity for the community. The festival will award prizes in four categories: feature film, documentary film, international film and political advertising. Festival programming will include panel discussions relevant to film topics, special screenings and events, and will conclude with an award program.

Politics on Film is a project of the Washington Political Film Foundation and is funded by an alliance with the Bipartisan Policy Center, a nonprofit that tries to promote policy discussions that cross party lines.

Politics on Film and the Washington Political Film Foundation were founded and are managed by Lee Johnson of the Congressional Media Group, Gayle Osterberg of 133 Public Affairs and Philip Dufour of Dufour & Co. Productions, with support from McDermott Will & Emery and Paras Productions. More than 100 volunteers are lending professional expertise.

The festival’s honorary chairwoman is Mary Margaret Valenti, widow of longtime Motion Picture Assn. of American leader Jack Valenti. “The intersection between Washington and Hollywood has always been a fascinating one,” she said. “The movies tell our nation’s political stories so well, and frequently provide some of the best educational moments for the public. It is only natural that a festival celebrating these important films be held in the nation’s capital.”

The policy center is dedicated to finding bipartisan solutions to the country’s most difficult public policy challenges. Currently, it conducts projects that focus on energy, healthcare, transportation, national security, homeland security and science policy.

Politics on Film Chairman and Chief Executive Johnson said, “As the new Congress assembles here in Washington and a new president prepares to take the oath of office, Politics on Film has arrived at just the right time and at just the right place. We are joined in this effort by many friends and colleagues who are excited to participate in what everyone hopes and believes will become one of the great film festivals. We are particularly excited about working with the Bipartisan Policy Center to build an event that will provide a fascinating new opportunity for important political themes and issues to be explored.”

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