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A Film Festival That Clearly Shares the Wealth
A Film Festival That Clearly Shares the Wealth
By Leonard Shapiro
Brad Russell, pastor of the Dulles Church, was sitting in traffic one day about 15 years ago and thinking about ways to both “connect with the community” and also how “to bring people together and make a difference.”
A long-time film aficionado who often uses short movie clips to enhance his sermons, his mind also was wandering in the direction of Hollywood that day.
All of those thoughts, and later discussions with some business people he knew, eventually coalesced into a decision to launch a Northern Virginia-based film festival that definitely has made a difference. The Washington West Film Festival began in Reston in 2011 and has grown exponentially into a popular October event.
Russell, a Northern Virginia native who lives in South Riding, is particularly proud of its unique status as the only American festival that donates all box office receipts to benefit at-risk children impacted by food security, illness and abject poverty.
The festival’s tagline is “Story Can Change the World” and the festival, running from Oct. 10-13 at Reston and Tysons Corner venues, features countless inspiring films attempting to capture the human condition.
In a story he penned for the Huffington Post ten years ago, Russell wrote, “Our festival is a small but important step forward in shaping the region as a world class film hub by helping draw great film premieres, provide programs to develop artists and technicians in the film industry, create jobs, and use storytelling as a powerful engine for change and charity.”
Washington West now attracts a wide variety of world-class films—feature, animation, shorts and documentaries—not to mention equally prominent actors, directors and producers who attend and discuss their work. Julia LouisDreyfus, Robert Duvall, Ed Asner and Bob Woodward all have been involved, among many other bold-faced names, including Common, a Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe winning singer, actor and producer.
Washington West also has screened films produced by Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Madonna, HBO, Universal Pictures, and Walt Disney Studios.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus got involved in its very early days. She was in the audience in 2012 watching a movie her husband, Brad Hall, had directed. Before each film is aired, there’s a one-minute clip showing what cause the previous year’s box office profit had helped fund.
Not long after the 2012 festival ended, Russell got an email from the couple saying they had been particularly impressed by that one-minute clip. They told him the next time he was in Los Angeles, they wanted to speak with him.
“A month later, Brad Hall and I had breakfast out there, and he said he wanted to get involved,” Russell said. “He joined our advisory board, and he’s been with us ever since.”
Washington West has also has started a high school film program in Loudoun County. Any Loudoun student can submit a five-minute or less short film, and a team of theater, drama, and film studies teachers around the county will select the top twelve films. They’ll be official selections in the 2024 festival, with a student showcase screening at Lightridge High in Aldie.
Russell hopes to expand Washington West to other Loudoun venues and also emphasized the festival is “totally separate” from the non-denominational church he founded in 1999.
“We don’t focus on religious issues and we’re not interested in political opinions,” he said. “The whole idea is to use stories that inspire connection. It’s such a divisive culture right now. Our mantra is to unify and inspire.”
