Film Festival Celebrates Silver Spring, Takoma Park

Silver Spring and Takoma Park are the focus of the Community Stories Festival taking place Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 14 through 18, at venues in both communities. 

Filmmaking workshops, interactive storytelling sessions and two nights of screenings of films on local people and places are all part of the festival, which is produced by Silver Spring-based arts nonprofit Docs In Progress, according to a festival news release.

"The Community Stories Festival is aimed at celebrating both the local community and the works of the area's growing cadre of emerging documentary filmmakers. Formerly known as Silver Spring Stories, prior years' festivals were held on a single night and location, but this year's festival has expanded to five programs at four different locations," according to the news release.

Programs will take place at the AFI Silver Theatre, the Takoma Park Community Center, the Silver Spring Civic Building and the Docs In Progress Documentary House, also in Silver Spring.

"We are very excited to be expanding the festival," Docs In Progress Executive Director Erica Ginsberg said. 

"Every year the festival audience has grown and grown. With such a positive response from the community, we knew the festival had to grow as well," she added.

Festival attendance has grown steadily since the festival began in 2010, and the festival is expected to draw up to 300 attendees this year, the news release predicted.

The opening night of the festival will feature films about Takoma Park, while the closing night will feature films about Silver Spring. The films were produced by adults and youth in the Docs In Progress documentary production classes.

Topics covered by the films include: local artists, musicians, nonprofits, cafes, food trucks and markets. 

"From the Crossroads Market to the National Capital Trolley Museum, the films will take us on a journey through Silver Spring and Takoma Park," the news release stated. 

Reemberto Rodriguez, director of the Silver Spring Regional Center, is one of the festival's champions. "In Silver Spring, 'art is life' and 'life is art.' ... Our Arts and Entertainment District ... thrives when arts is not a passive or individual activity, but one which engages and involves the community."

"What Docs In Progress does by connecting filmmakers with our local stories is helping to create a model of what can happen when people from all walks of life are intentional about place-making in the same urban square," Rodriguez said in a statement.

Other highlights of this year's festival: a community storytelling session/interactive oral storytelling workshop, documentary filmmaking workshops and a documentary discussion salon.

All events are free and open to the public, although reserving a space is suggested or required for some events.

FULL SCHEDULE FOR COMMUNITY STORIES FESTIVAL

Thursday, Nov. 14: Opening Night Films in Takoma Park

• At the Takoma Park Community Center Auditorium (7500 Maple Ave., Takoma Park, MD).
• 7 p.m.: Community reception.
• 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.: Screening.
• Featuring short documentaries produced by adults and youth in Docs In Progress programs about people, places and events in and around Takoma Park. Followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers and the film subjects.
• More details at http://docsinprogress.org/events/142/takoma/.

Friday, Nov. 15: Documentary Appreciation Salon: Love Letters to Home Towns

• At Docs In Progress (8700 First Ave., Silver Spring, MD).
• 6:30 p.m.: Mix and mingle.
• 7 p.m.: Salon begins.
• This facilitated program uses documentary film clips to spur discussion about how documentaries reflect nostalgia and points of view about cities, towns, and other places. 
• More details at http://docsinprogress.org/events/148/salon/.

Saturday, Nov. 16: Mini-Workshops on Documentary Filmmaking

• At Docs In Progress (8700 First Ave., Silver Spring, MD).
• 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• A series of mini-workshops addressing what’s involved in making one's first documentary. (Due to limited space, advanced registration is highly recommended.) 
• More details at http://docsinprogress.org/events/149/workshops/.

Sunday, Nov. 17: Share Your Story

• At the Silver Spring Civic Building (1 Veterans Place, Silver Spring, MD).
• 2 to 5 p.m.
• An interactive story-telling workshop for longtime residents and newcomers to come together to share past and present Silver Spring stories. 
• More details at http://docsinprogress.org/events/151/storytelling/.

Monday, Nov. 18: Closing Night Films in Silver Spring

• At the AFI Silver Theatre II (8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, MD).
• 6:30 p.m.: Community reception.
• 7 p.m.: Screening begins.
• Featuring short documentaries produced by adults and youth in Docs In Progress programs about people, places and events in and around Silver Spring. Followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers and the film subjects.
• More details at http://docsinprogress.org/events/150/afi/.

The festival is open to the general public. The screenings on Opening and Closing Nights are appropriate for all ages. An RSVP is strongly suggested for the all events, especially the filmmaking workshops. 

All events are free thanks to support of The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, the Maryland Film Office, the Maryland State Arts Council, The Takoma Foundation, the William and Karen Tell Foundation, We Are Takoma, the Silver Spring Regional Center, Silver Spring Town Center, Inc., and individual donors. 

"Docs In Progress is a Silver Spring-based non-profit arts organization dedicated to empowering independent documentary filmmakers to make better films by giving them the tools to foster and improve their storytelling skills in all stages of the filmmaking process. Docs In Progress also works to engage the general public around documentary film through screenings, salons and other public programs," according to the organization's mission statement.