Washington Life Magazine - March 2008

THE A LIST AND SPRING FASHION

THE

SPECIAL REPORT

WASHINGTON TAKES SUNDANCE

BY STORM

BEST WASHINGTON MOVIES EVER

WE HAVE YOUR ALL-ACCESS PASS

LIGHTS, CAMERA…

POLLYWOOD! MEET THE AREA’S TOP FILM INDUSTRY PLAYERS AND THE GENERATION FOLLOWING THEM

M A R C H 2 0 0 8 • $ 4.9 5

WASHINGTON LIFE

FILMMAKERS WADE DAVIS TED LEONSIS ANDREA NIX FINE AND SEAN FINE LEAD OUR POLLYWOOD PLAYERS LIST

PLUS REFLECTIONS ON FILM BY DANNY GLOVER PAT MITCHELL PATRICIA FINNERAN JOHN CECCHI SHEILA JOHNSON AND ARCH CAMPBELL

INA GINSBURG GRANDE DAME OF HOLLYWOOD ON THE POTOMAC

BY MARK GINSBURG

EXCLUSIVE

PARTIES! PARTIES! PARTIES!

KICKING IT IN PARK CITY WITH

COLIN FARRELL TED LEONSIS AND SUSAN KOCH

Saks loves knowing who to carry.

GET HEAD TO TOE COVERAGE WITH OUR DESIGNER MENSWEAR COLLECTIONS AT SAKS FIFTH AVENUE CHEVY CHASE

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ACNE JEANS BOSS ORANGE CONVERSE BY JOHN VARVATOS DIESEL HICKEY POLO RALPH LAUREN ROCK & REPUBLIC 7 FOR ALL MANKIND TRUE RELIGION VINCE AND MORE FINE DESIGNERS

C O N T E N T S M A R C H

2 0 0 8

SPECIAL FEATURE

WASHINGTON TAKES SUNDANCE

BY STORM

COVER STORY

MEET SOME OF WASHINGTON’S TOP FILM AND PRODUCTION PROS

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SOCIETY

THE A LIST TURNS HEADS

EDITOR’S LETTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CONTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

FYIDC WHO’S NEXT Philippa Hughes . . . . . . . . . . . .

SOCIETY POP Favorite Washington films . . . . . .

INSIDER’S GUIDE Be a filmmaker in four easy steps SOCIAL CALENDAR Save the date . . . . . . . . .

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. . # . . . . . .

POLLYWOOD

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SUNDANCE EXCLUSIVES Pollywood Salute to Washington Filmmaking Dinner . . . . ## Kicking It Premiere Screening and After Party . . . . . . . . #" Chefdance with Nicola Amroune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #

BEST WASHINGTON MOVIES EVER! Arch Campbell and our committee pick the top D.C. films . . .

WL PROFILES Mark Ginsburg pays tribute to his mother Ina . . . . . . . . . "

MEDIA SPOTLIGHT The press corps predicts; Miss America turns heads . . . . . .

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Washington Press Club Foundation’s Congressional Dinner . .

Tammy Haddad’s 50th Birthday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

DIPLOMATIC DANCE Diplomats do Disney; Sweden plays party host . . . . . . . .

LIFESTYLES TREND REPORT Bright ideas for spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

WL FASHION Spring fling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ON THE COVER Wade Davis, Andrea Nix Fine, Ted Leonsis , and Sean Fine.

Photographed at Interface Media Group studios by Tim Coburn; Hair and Make-up by James Cornwell and Markella Prather for PR @ Partners / Ted Leonsis and Colin Farrell at the Kicking It premiere at Sundance 2008 (Photo

by David Shechter) FROM TOP David Royle, Tim Kelly, Murray Horwitz, Dan Glickman, and Andrea Meditch. (Photo by Clay Blackmore) / Nicole Kidman (c) 2008 (Photo

by Annie Leibovitz from the documentary Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens) / HILDAGO blue and gold ring ($3,250). Pampillonia, Mazza Galleria,

5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-363-6305 / The Edge, Robert Redford, and Bono at Sundance. (Photo from Getty Images)

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LIFESTYLES *CONTINUED+ FASHION EVENTS Saks Jandel Fashion Brunch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Launch of Fibula Jewelry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Urban Chic Celebrates the YGL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

WEDDINGS The latest trends in bridal fashion . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Anna Post shares etiquette tips for wedded bliss . . . . . . .

THE DISH Tough-to-get tables at overbooked bistros . . .

PAINT THE TOWN Collectors come into their own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " LUXURY TRAVEL Historic hideaways within reach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

LIFE OF THE PARTY WL EXCLUSIVES The Young & The Guest List FĂŞte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . # Cartier for Care Dinner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Boys and Girls’ Club Icon Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Gourmet Gala . . . . .

De Beers’ Sparkling Dinner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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The Mayors’ Dinner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

U23D After Party at the IMAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " Fly Aspen Winter X Games Launch Party . . . . . . . . . .

The Mandarin Oriental’s Chinese New Year . . . . . . . . .

WL-SPONSORED EVENTS The Opera’s Mid-Winter Gala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Capitol Movement Project Fundraiser . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Rockville Porsche Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " Corcoran Leibovitz Dinner . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

JetĂŠ Society Dance Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

WASHINGTON SOCIAL DIARY WL INSIDER From Sundance to New York Fashion Week . .

THE YOUNG & THE GUEST LIST Creating a party from scratch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

NIGHTLIFE The VolĂŠr Group takes off . . . . . . . . . .

PARTIES! PARTIES! PARTIES! . . . . . . . . . . . .

AROUND TOWN Madder music and stronger wine . . .

EVENT SPOTLIGHT Malaria No More . . . . . . . . . " OVER THE MOON Animal farms . . . . . . . . . . .

THIS TOWN Forget the vote – who will rock this town? . .

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HOME LIFE

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ETIQUETTE Setting for sake in style . . . . . . . . . . .

REAL ESTATE SPOTLIGHT Charting the newest in luxury developments . . . . . . . . .

OPEN HOUSE On the market and ready to move . . . .

HISTORICAL LANDSCAPES Phillips’ museum . . .

RE NEWS Meet the new neighbors . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Rep. Mike Oxley and wife Patricia at the WNO Midwinter Gala (Photo by Kyle Samperton) / Union Row, in Real Estate Spotlight / Escada blouse ($690), and Akris “Saylor� trousers ($495), Saks Fifth Avenue; Adeler Jewelers 14k white gold hoop earrings with diamonds ($3,400) and twotone gold ring with Sapphire ($21,298); De Beers Neil Lane necklace ($65,000) / The lobby of The Homestead, featured in Travel Spotlight / Yves Saint Laurent canvas tote ($995), Yves Saint Laurent

The world is growing by more than 70 million people a year.

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The CHEVRON HALLMARK and HUMAN ENERGY are trademarks of Chevron Corporation. ©2007 Chevron Corporation. All rights reserved.

So is that a problem, or a solution?

crease, uing to in ping n ti n o c n populatio ons in the develo lso planet’s for milli ergy is a With our lity of life ur demand for en years from a u q e th and aily, o ds 25 proving d t everyone’s nee day. world im e we use to e n m a to th d y n rg A e . more en growing er we take 50% l and pow while now may e fu e th ping all ehicles, nd develo businesses and v Finding a , ne of the s e e ur hom ould b o ce. o c r t, n fo e d m e fa ne iron tion will g the env ur genera o protectin s e g n e chall e same greatest und in th fo is en s s e succ itself. Wh ensuring umanity h rish, to : u d o y e fl e e k n The d this owed to ll te a , a is re c s s t overcome posse place tha e on, and it we all k ir p ta , s e to e iv u y r y, d the uniq n its abilit , ingenuit has prove ard work nt. h e f o m it mankind it ir m ’s a sp of com It . re e u u s s a is e any mall m e planet. and no s ther, to th o courage h c a e ss, to To succe lution. es the so m o c e b … ed has lem to succe The prob s u s e it will iv r ing. And y that d n rg in e g n e e b n e a y since th rows to come.

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WASHINGTON

LIFE

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M A G A Z I N E

WA S H I N GTO N ’S P R E M I E R E LUXU RY L I F E ST Y L E M AGA Z I N E S I N C E 1 9 9 1

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Nancy Reynolds Bagley EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Michael M. Clements EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Katie Tarbox DEPUTY EDITOR

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Christina Wilkie

Beth Farnstrom COPY EDITOR

Claudia Krieger COLUMNISTS

Janet Donovan, Donna Evers, Ann Mah, Mary Mewborn, Vicky Moon, Gail Scott, Donna Shor, and Michael Strange CONTRIBUTING WRITERS & EDITORS

Rima Al-Sabah, Joslyn Barnes, Mary Bird, Arch Campbell, John Cecchi, Rep. John Conyers, Colin Farrell, Patricia Finneran, Mark Ginsburg, Danny Glover, Sheila Johnson, Carol Joynt, Susan Koch, Barbara Leibovitz,Ted Leonsis,Yona Park, and Anna Post CREATIVE DIRECTOR

J.C. Suarès ART DIRECTOR

Bridget Manifold CONTRIBUTING GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Anas Ruhman and Peter West PHOTO EDITOR

Paul Simkin CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Clay Blackmore,Tim Coburn, Janet Donovan, Jonah Koch,Tony Powell, Kyle Samperton, Gail Scott, David Shechter, and Jamie Windon STYLISTS

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James Cornwell, Bonnie Love, Carola Myers, and Lana Orloff ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Kelly Ginter ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Anaïs de Viel Castel LUXURY BRAND MANAGER

Krista Bullion SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Alexandra Misci ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Anna Croll, Sara Padob, and Theodore Wilhite BOOKKEEPER

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Washington Life magazine publishes ten times a year. Issues are distributed in February, March, April, May, June, July/August, September, October, November and December and are hand-delivered on a rotating basis to over 150,000 homes throughout D.C., Northern Virginia and Maryland. Additional copies are available at various upscale retailers, hotels, select newstands and Whole Foods stores in the area. For a complete listing, please-consult our website at www.washingtonlife.com. You can also subscribe online at www.washingtonlife.com or send a check for $49.99 (one year) to: Washington Life Magazine, 2301 Tracy Place NW, Washington D.C., 20008. BPA audited. Email us at info@washingtonlife.com with press releases, tips and editorial comments. Copyright ©2007 by Washington Life. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial content or photos in any manner without permission is strictly prohibited. Printed in the United States. We will not be responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.

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EDITOR’S LETTER

Ready for our Closeup Washington takes on the role of Hollywood dealmaker and earns the moniker “Pollywood”

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filmmaker using the city’s many movie-going resources; and we take a ’ve always been a film fan. Our CEO, Soroush Shehabi, and I have stab at listing some of the best Washington movies ever. attended the Sundance Film Festival for the past ten years. But Moving on from film, one can only imagine a photo shoot of the this time was different, and not just for me, but for everyone who “head-turners” on this month’s A List; we would have had to insure our was in Park City from Washington.You felt that this was the year photographer against whiplash! Tim Coburn photographs our breezy bright that people from our city became part of the fabric of Sundance – not Spring fashion shoot this month, coordinated by the always stylish trio just observers. We might be best known for politics, think-tanks, and of Anais de Viel Castel, James Embassy Row, but there is a Cornwell, and Lana Orloff. new voice in town, and its What’s Hot provides the name is “Pollywood.” It’s a latest on the chicest wedding catch phrase that WL coined whites; and in Home Life, before our first Pollywood Mary K. Mewborn discusses dinner at Sundance three luxury developments from years ago. It encompasses PN Hoffman, Forest City not only local film and Washington, Phillips Park, and production but also the the Murillo/Malnati Group. cause-related activities of On the social front, the celebrities as they roam and town is still buzzing about our lobby the nation’s Capital February The Young & The while mixing with our own Guest List soirée – take a look political, diplomatic and at the photos, and you’ll see media celebrities. It’s not Sundance Trustee Pat Mitchell, Rep. John Conyers, why.We’re also excited to bring unusual to see the Fentys Nancy Bagley, and Jackson Browne at the “Polllywood Salute to Washington Filmmaking” Dinner in Park City. you exclusive coverage of the chatting with Bono while Mayors’ Dinner, the Cartier BlackBerrying an RSVP to for Care Dinner, the Boys and Girls’ Club Icon Awards, the Mandarin dine with an ambassador – this marriage of power, politics, film and Oriental’s Chinese New Year celebration, and the St. Jude Gourmet Gala. celebrity is Pollywood. We’re proud to bring you our most extensive WL sponsored many events recently, including the WNO Mid-Winter Gala, Pollywood issue and to highlight some of the amazing work that is the Capitol Movement Project Fundraiser, and Audi’s Rockville opening. being done in film and production in the area.

We also bring you the launch of Fibula Jewelry, Saks Jandel’s Fashion Brunch, Our coverage begins at Sundance, where contributors Ted Leonsis, and an Urban Chic sale. Coming up in April, make sure to save the dates Susan Koch, Sheila Johnson, Danny Glover, and Rep. John Conyers, among for the following WL-sponsored events: the Children’s National Medical others, give us their personal take on the festival. Meanwhile, Executive Center “Children’s Ball” Benefit and Passion Food Golf Tournament; galas Editor Michael Clements, perhaps influenced by the documentary he from the March of Dimes, Narsad, and the Phillips Collection; and theVital saw on Hunter S. Thompson, goes Gonzo! Sundance. WL hosted four Voices awards, the Corcoran Ball, and the Washington Ballet gala. fabulous Sundance events, and we have all the exclusive photos inside.

Grab a box of popcorn and enjoy!

Back in Washington, we had our own film festival of sorts, as we gathered some of the top “Pollywood Players” together for a look at entertainment movers and shakers inside the Beltway. Kudos to Clay Blackmore for getting everyone to focus – a Herculean task, as these likeminded film and production pros had plenty to gab about once they were Nancy R. Bagley in one room. Keeping the focus on film, Patricia A. Finneran examines Editor in Chief why film festivals matter; Mark Ginsburg writes about his mother, petite Readers wishing to get in touch with Nancy can email: letters@washingtonlife.com Pollywood potentate Ina Ginsburg; we show you how to become a

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WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

CONTRIBUTORS

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Chairwoman of the Kuwait-American Foundation Gala and wife of the Kuwaiti Ambassador, RIMA AL-SABAH discusses her efforts to help stop malaria in Africa in our Event Spotlight.

2 Award-winning photographer CLAY

BLACKMORE captures noted Washington filmmakers, producers, and directors for our first annual Pollywood Players list.

3

Movie buff ARCH CAMPBELL reminisces about his favorite local movies in the 100 Best Washington Movies Ever! feature. A nine-time Emmy winning film critic, Campbell reports on theater and entertainment for WJLA ABC7 and 97.1 WASH-FM.

4

Real estate developer JOHN CECCHI discusses his work as an investor in two critically acclaimed films featured at Sundance.

5

TIM COBURN, an award-winning photographer, takes his lens to the “Spring Fling” fashion shoot, which highlights colorful looks of the season.

6

REP. JOHN CONYERS, JR. has

represented Michigan’s 14th Congressional District since 1964. In our Sundance feature, he addresses the topic of film as an agent of social change.

NP

JAMES CORNWELL is a resident

stories on its history. She makes frequent appearances on radio and television to report on the local real estate scene and pens “Historical Landscapes” for WL.

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PATRICIA FINNERAN, director of the SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival, discusses Washington film festivals in the Pollywood Players feature.

MARK GINSBURG has been a contributing editor of Vanity Fair and Interview magazines, and he is a frequent contributor to Architectural Digest. He writes about his mother, Ina, who has been a fixture on the Pollywood scene since the 1970’s.

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DANNY GLOVER, a veteran actor and executive producer, writes about his and producing partner JOSELYN BARNES’ experiences at the Sundance Film Festival.

10 Budding film producer SHEILA

VICKY MOON has chronicled the lives of the rich, the not-so-rich, the famous, and the notso-famous for more than 20 years. She covers the Middleburg beat in Over the Moon.

NP Personal shopper and image consultant LANA

ORLOFF styled the spring fashion feature. what’s “it and now” each issue in the Trend Report.

with the film Kicking It. Johnson is the CEO of Middleburg,VA-based Salamander Hospitality and a partner in Lincoln Holdings, LLC, whose interests include the Washington Wizards, Washington Mystics and Washington Capitols.

NP Emily Post’s great-great-granddaughter and

11 Noted documentary filmmaker and Emmy and Peabody Award recipient SUSAN KOCH discusses her most recent project, Kicking It.

NP

12

NP

JOHNSON writes about her trip to Sundance

discusses her latest film, Annie Leibovitz:Through a Lens, which examines her older sister’s life and career.

DONNA EVERS has spent as many years collecting

Media and Sundance trustee, PAT MITCHELL sheds light on the early days of the film festival..

NP Fashionably savvy YONA PARK highlights

LEIBOVITZ, an established documentary filmmaker,

NP With over 30 years of real estate experience,

ANN MAH is a freelance journalist whose articles about food, travel, fashion, style, and the arts have appeared in Condé Nast Traveler, the International Herald Tribune, and the South China Morning Post.

Formerly a dining editor for That’s Beijing, Mah now writes The Dish.

14 President and CEO of The Paley Center for

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hairstylist and makeup artist for PR @ Partners Salon and Tim Coburn Photography. Cornwell coifs our models for the fashion feature.

JANET DONOVAN, the founder and president of Creative Enterprises International, writes “Media Spotlight” in every issue.

NP

12 In Paint the Town, BARBARA

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TED LEONSIS recounts an emotional evening at the Sundance Film Festival. A passionate supporter of “filmanthropy,” he invests in movies which serve a greater cause.

modern etiquette expert ANNA POST shares wedding tips from her new book, Wedding Parties: Smart Ideas for Stylish Parties, excerpted in the Lifestyle section.

NP

GAIL SCOTT, author of Diplomatic Dance: The New Embassy Life in America, covers diplomats for WL, The Washington Times and The Washington Diplomat.

NP

DONNA SHOR has written widely for publications ranging from National Geographic to the Paris-based International Herald Tribune. She pens Around Town in each issue.

Corrections: In the February 2008, issueWL printed an incorrect version of Isabel Ernst’s contribution. Please visit our website, www.washingtonlife.com, to see her contribution in full.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

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FYIDC The Insider’s Guide to Washington | How to be a Filmmaker, Society Movie Favorites and Exclusive Save-the-Dates

Places you love to visit?

Playa Guiones in Costa Rica and Paris.

Favorite Artists?

Francisco de Goya, Sophie Calle, Jeff Koons, Iona Rozeal Brown, and Jeffrey Deitsch.

What do you do in your free time?

Play with my cat Ralphie and watch surf videos.

Three songs on your personal soundtrack?

Right Here, Right Now by Jesus Jones, Blackbird by the Beatles, and Don’t Stop Believing by Journey.

What surprises you most about your adult life?

That I haven’t lost my sense of wonder about the world.

What are you most proud of?

The Pink Line Project, which supports local artists.

What scares you?

Mediocrity, boredom, and being ordinary.

Something that’s been on my mind lately is...

A roller derby.

My life would be simpler if...

I could ride my scooter all year long.

What are things you can’t live without?

Moleskine notebook, passport, ideas, and optimism.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

Who’s Next Art activist and gallery favorite Philippa Hughes opens up P H OTO BY B E T H FA R N ST R O M

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FYIDC | SOCIETY POP

A LIST FLICKS WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE?

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ANDREA MITCHELL

PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH

Casablanca

Field of Dreams

SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE

SEN BARACK OBAMA

Casablanca

The Godfather I & The Godfather II

REP JOHN DINGELL

KATHERINE BRADLEY

BEN BRADLEE

THOMAS FRIEDMAN

Saving Private Ryan

Dr. Zhivago

The Best Years of Our Lives

Out of Africa

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

OPEN AND UNFORGETTABLE The St. Regis Washington, D.C. redefines elegance after a landmark restoration.

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FYIDC | THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO WASHINGTON

Be a Filmmaker ... in Four Easy Steps STEP :1DO A FILM FESTIVAL

FESTIVAL

EXPECT TO SEE

WL INSIDER TIP

D.C. Independent Film Festival March 6-16 www.dciff.org

The next generation of local filmmakers, as well as world-renowned, independent talent.

The opening night film is directed by Repo Man’s Alex Cox. Insiders report that the new Clash documentary, The Clash Live: Revolution Rock really rocks.

D.C. Environmental Film Festival March 11-22 www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org

Amazing wilderness footage, environmental studies post-docs, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and local explorer Wade Davis, who star in Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk.

Don’t miss the the WL-sponsored premiere of the MacGillivray Freeman’s IMAX film Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk on Thursday, March 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the National Museum of Natural History.

The Washington, D.C. International Film Festival April 24-May 4 www.filmfestdc.org

New films from all over the world. 2008’s focus is on Latin American film, politics in film, and global rhythms.

The lineup isTBD, but last year’s French theme included Paris, je t’aime, which featured directorial contributions by the Coen brothers and Gus Van Sant.

Silver Docs AFI/Discovery Channel International Film Festival June 16-22 www.silverdocs.com

World class documentaries, Oscar contenders and the industry players who make and buy them.

Besides award-winning documentaries, don’t miss the industry panel discussions. Topics last year ranged from socially responsible filmmaking to the future of digital distribution.

National Geographic All Roads Film Festival Oct. 4-7 www.nationalgeographic.org

IMAX and HD documentaries with an emphasis on indigenous cultures, as well as a photo exhibit, concert, and an art market.

Don’t miss Miss Navajo, by Billy Luther, or Enemies of Happiness, which documents an Iraqi woman’s struggle to attain political office.

AFI European Union Film Showcase Nov. 6-25 www.afi.com/silver

A first-class selection of films from EU member states, including Washington premieres, film festival award winners, and box-office hits.

The month-long showcase, founded by local art patron Ina Ginsburg (profiled in WL this month), includes major prizewinners from Cannes, Berlin, and Venice.

STEP :2CHOOSE AN ISSUE Tired of looking at all the political and election coverage?

Make a difference and film your own political statement by participating in the 4th Annual FYI – Film Your Issue Global Film Competition. Until April 14, you can submit a film to MTV,YouTube and AFI Screen Nation, and winning films will be promoted on MySpace TV. Register for the competition at www.filmyourissue.com.

STEP :3GO INDEPENDENT Forgo the studio system and immerse yourself in independent film at these local hot spots for classic, foreign, and art-house films.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden: Art, www.hirshhorn.si.edu

Gramophone’s architectural home theaters

3 The Goethe Institut: German flicks! www.goethe.de/washington 4 Napoleon Lounge: French champagne. www.napoleondc.com Films on the Hill; Edgy in a cool space www.filmsonthehill.com National Geographic Society: Eco-fun. www.nationalgeographic.org

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STEP :4BUILD A HOME THEATRE Let the pros at award-winning Gramophone plan, design, and install your state-of-the-art, custom theater. The company specializes in collaborating with architects and builders, so the end result feels like an integral part of your house. 8880 McGaw Road, Columbia, Md., 410-381-2100; www.gramophone.com

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

FYIDC | THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO WASHINGTON

NATIONAL CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL AT-A-GLANCE The annual festival brings thousands of visitors to Washington. Here are a few highlights – visit www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org for schedules.

Festival Opening Ceremony: Saturday, March 29, 4 p.m. at the National Building Museum Fireworks Show: Saturday, Apr il 5, 8:30 p.m. at the Southwest Waterfront Lantern Lighting Ceremony: Sunday, April 6, 2:30-4 p.m. at the Tidal Basin Cherry Blossom Parade: Saturday, April 12 at 10 a.m. on Constitution Ave. from 7th to 17th streets, NW. Chrome digital printing services can help you turn your vacation photos into a coffee-table book.

GO WHERE THE PROS GO Chrome Imaging, long the preferred photo lab of Washington’s professional photographers and artists, has launched a state-of-the-art, personalized printing division at its Georgetown shop. Take advantage of their famously well-informed staff to help create leather-bound photo books, invitations, greeting cards, and even playing cards. 3247 Q St. NW, 202-333-3270; www.chromeimaging.com

THE LAST FRONTIER Finally, after years of research (and sky-high demand), a new wave of gentler rejuvenation treatments promises to do for patients’ hands what cosmetic providers have long done for their faces. The Center for Laser Surgery has recently introduced a two-step hand rejuvenation treatment, where multiple laser systems are used to remove age spots and wrinkles; then, advanced dermal fillers restore volume.

No one will ever guess.

Price upon request; 3301 New Mexico Ave. NW, 202-966-7274; www.lasersurgery.com

Two-step laser hand rejuvenation treatments are finally here.

20

Ceviche’s new enomatic wine system means never having to wait for the bartender again.

SELF-SERVE SYRAH Stop trying to catch the bartender’s attention. The city’s first and only self-service wine bar opens this month at Ceviche in Glover Park, thanks to a high-tech Italian innovation called an enomatic. Guests can choose from over 20 wines, and the pre-paid cards mean that you can purchase by the ounce and try as many as you like. 2404 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-333-3877; www.latinconcepts.com/cevichegloverpark

UPTOWN LOCAL The First Lady’s colorist is going global. Georgetown’s Toka Salon, the hairdresser of choice for many of the heads that turn heads in Washington (including those of Laura, Jenna, and Barbara Bush), has opened a new salon in the heart of the Upper East Side. Vogue recently named Nuri Yurt one of the country’s best colorists for brunettes, so expect to see media personalities and ladies who lunch. Toka Salon Madison; 768 Madison Ave. (between East 65th St. & East 66th St.) New York, NY, 212-517-5133; www.tokasalonmadisonave.com

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

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FYIDC | SOCIAL CALENDAR

Visit Washingtonlife.comâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s online calendar for information about local benefits and galas. You can also post your event online to be considered for our print edition and annual Balls and Galas Directory.

MARCH THE JENNY WAELDER HALL CENTER FOR CHILDREN RECAP

05

The Katzen Center for the Arts; 6 p.m.; $250; Contact 202-298-8650.

AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE IRVING KRISTOL AWARDS DINNER

05

Washington Hilton; 6 p.m.; $1,000; black tie; Contact Jessica Browning at 202-862-5800.

LATINO STUDENT FUND GALA

06

Organization of American States (Hall of the Americas); 6 p.m.; business attire; $300; Contact Maria Fernanda Dorja at 202-244-3438.

McKithen at 202-312-1568.

available; Contact Kelly Kent at 703-960-1100.

AMERICAN MONTESSORI SOCIETY AMS 3 5 ANNUAL CONFERENCE

06 - 09

Four-day conference with speakers and silent auction; Marriot Wardman Park Hotel; business attire; Visit www.amshq.org/conference2008annual. htm for full schedule.

NIGHT OF VISION GALA

08

The Four Seasons Hotel; 6:30 p.m.; $275; black tie; Contact Michele Hartlove at 202-234-1010.

6TH ANNUAL NATIONAL AMERICAN IRELAND FUND GALA

12

The National Building Museum; 7:30 p.m.; $1,000; black tie; Contact Susan Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill at 301-229-0064.

PENN QUARTER ON THE BLOCK BENEFIT AUCTION Weschlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gallery; 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.; $40; business attire; Contact Margaret Waclawik at 202-628-1281.

13

APRIL MARCH OF DIMES GOURMET GALA

01

WL SPONSORED National Building Museum; 7 p.m.; $1,000; business attire; Contact 703-556-4245.

PHILLIPS COLLECTION GALA

04

WL SPONSORED The Phillips Collection; 6:30 p.m.; $1,000; black tie; Contact Alison Signorelli at 202-387-2151 ext. 315.

CHILDRENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER CHILDRENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BALL

05

WL SPONSORED National Building Museum; 6:30 p.m.; by invitation only; black tie; Contact Lisa Cantu at 301-565-4966.

VITAL VOICES GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AWARD

5TH ANNUAL RADIO AND TELEVISION NEWS DIRECTORS FOUNDATION FIRST AMENDMENT AWARDS DINNER

06

Ritz-Carlton D.C.; 6:30 p.m.; black tie; $350; Contact Allison Brown

THE LUKEMIA BALL

29

The Washington Convention Center; 6:30 p.m.; black tie; $1,000, tables start at $10,000, corporate sponsorships

Arlene Shapiro, Dominican Amb. Flavio Dario Espinal, Luis Alberto Moreno, Rosalia GH. Miller, and Dianela Urdaneta de Ratha at the 2007 Latino Student Fund Gala.

07

WL SPONSORED The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; 6:30 p.m.; business attire; $300; Contact Kalpana Simhan at kalpanasimhan@vitalvoices.org.

THE CORCORAN BALL

18

WL SPONSORED The Corcoran Gallery of Art; 7:00 p.m.; $500; Contact Marjorie Zimmerman at 202-639-1780.

SAVE THE DATE FOR THESE WL-SPONSORED EVENTS APRIL : THE CORCORAN BALL APRIL : THE NARSAD GALA APRIL #: THE WASHINGTON BALLET CINDERELLA BALL APRIL : PASSION FOOD GOLF TOURNAMENT FOR CHILDRENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

22

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

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LIFE OF THE PARTY WL-sponsored﹐ Hosted﹐ and exclusive events | The Young & The Guest List, MidWinter Opera Gala, and De Beers’ Sparkling Dinner

Miss United Kingdom 2005, Brooke Johnston, and John Cecchi at WL’s The Young & The Guest List party at Halcyon House. (Photo by Jonah Koch)

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

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25

LIFE

of the

PARTY | THE YOUNG & THE GUEST LIST

Chris Rothstein and Jenna Mills

Phillippe Cousteau

Rouzita Vahhabaghai and Bita Vahhabaghai

WL HOSTED

WL’S THE YOUNG & THE GUEST LIST Clara Brillembourg and Paul Wharton

St. Regis Hotel, Halcyon House, and Josephine Lounge PHOTOS BY JONAH KOCH7 TONY POWELL7 AND JAIME WINDON

THE EVENT WL’s annual salute to Washington’s under-40 social set.

THE SCENE A series of three parties, all carefully orchestrated by maestro event planner André Wells, drew 350 guests first to the newly renovated St. Regis Hotel for cocktail hour, which included mojitos, a tempura and wok bar, and lounge music spun by Adrian Loving. Guests were then shu led by Reston Limousine to a surprise location, Halcyon House, for a French-inspired carnival with theatrical performers, a magician, and a palm reader. Upstairs, guests nibbled on sushi, gazpacho shooters, ginger calamari, and other delicacies by Design Cuisine.

Downstairs, Ray and the Kool Kats and Eleganza pumped out dance favorites. At midnight, guests were whisked off to the newly-opened Josephine Lounge for revelry that lasted until 2 a.m.

Lisa Sun and Arash Shirazi

Nat Fogg, Darcey Jones, Tripp Donnelly, and Amy Angelo

Juleanna Glover and Becca Glover

26

Chris Glover and Katie Rost

Justin Fishkin and Alexandra Hershey

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Jared Cohen and Jill Keller

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

A White Star toast to the Y & GL

Becca Glover, Mark Ein, and magician David London

Rebecca Canan, Tom Snedeker, Caroline StouďŹ&#x20AC;er, and Lindsay Stroud

Jonathan Novak and Prescott Baier Novak

Philippe Lanier and Daveeda Shaheen

Michael Feldman and Jamal Simmons

Courtney Cohen and Sarah Baker

Yona Park and Julie Park

John JeďŹ&#x20AC;eries and Pamela Brown

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

Osmar Nunez

Jill Inbar with Brett and Jennifer Haber

27

LIFE

of the

PARTY | THE YOUNG & THE GUEST LIST

Eric Brewer

Coventry Burke and Davis Collins Berg

Calvin Fong

Joe Kildea and Brian Bissell

Joanna Block

George Chopivsky

Maya MacGuineas and Robin Brooks

Steuart Martens, Heather Guay, and Sam Farnum

Phillip Maman, Maggie Breed, Jodi Heyens, and Alexa Gardner with performers

28

Hockley Walsh and Sarah Meyer-Walsh

Lindsey Volckmann

Kristen Guiter and Devon MacWilliams with Jason and Megan Sharp

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

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=4 ABG:3 #! E7A1=<A7< /D3<C3 <E j E/A67<5B=< 21 # j 4@73<2A67> 63756BA @32 :7<3 AB=> j '$$ $ " EEE ;/HH/5/::3@73 1=;

LIFE

of the

PARTY | THE YOUNG & THE GUEST LIST

Bela Patel and Rachel Grinney

Kirsten Lodal and JeďŹ&#x20AC; Himmelman

Donna Lee and Ebong Eka

Colleen Leineweber and Andrea Rodgers

Flavius Mihaies and Morgan Ortagus

Francis Hoang and Megan McMillan

Ali Parent

Mary Barth and Will Thomas aboard the Reston Limousine shuttle

30

Adrian Perry and Anne Cortina

Shahram and Sarah Salemy

Eri Ogawa and Taro Fujii

Mary Beth Coleman and Roby Penn

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

your winter wardrobe

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LIFE

of the

PARTY | OPERA GALA

Lalitha Rajagopal, Smita Tewari, Singh Jassal, Raja Rajagopal, and Tara Naidu

The tables featured hammered silver elephants from India

WL SPONSORED

THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA MIDWINTER GALA Mandy Delk, Caroline Boutté, and Kim Nettles

The Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON AND RUSSELL HIRSHON

WNO Executive Director Mark Weinstein and Indian Amb. Ronen Sen

THE EVENT Chairwoman Caroline Bou)é’s recent trip to India inspired her to transform the Mellon Auditorium into the “Taj Mahal by Moonlight.”

It was an impressive effort by the Women’s Commi ee under the honorary patronage of Indian Amb. Ronen Sen and Kalpana Sen. With Gala vice-chair Kim Ne)les, they saw that no detail was overlooked while raising over $575,000 to support upcoming productions. THE SCENE As women arrived (mostly in saris), they were adorned with a bindi on their foreheads and greeted with bellinis, fruity martinis, and spicy amusebouches. WNO’s new executive director, Mark Weinstein, was on hand to welcome arriving guests. A<er a feast of naan, curried meats, and a mini-Taj Mahal coconut dessert, Dhoonya Dance performed for the 500 guests. The band Free Spirit, which surprisingly played Western music, called guests out onto the sparkling dance floor, a mirage of an Indian reflecting pool.

Joe Martyak and Betsy Warren Annie Totah, Natalia Luis, and Susan Mars

Cindy Jones

32

The Taj Mahal by Moonlight

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

LIFE

of the

PARTY | OPERA GALA

Ian Weyerhaeuser and Kelly Johnson

Mariano Fernandez and Dianne Bruce

Fariba Jahanbani

Dorothy and Ken Woodcock

Banks Boutté and Amanda Tunnell Sedi Flugelman

Frederica Valanos

Deedee and Christopher Lofft

Harvey Pitt, Tony Aeck, Ken Feinberg, and Terry Adamson

Calvin Cafritz and Aniko Gaal Schott

Chip Akridge, Mary Choksi, Sally Akridge, and Armeane Choksi

Hafizah and Ishaq Shayar with Nataia Luis and Antonio Monteiro Liz and Paul Dougherty

Krista Boutté, Robin Dunning, and Ann Kenkel

34

Heather and Tony Podesta

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

Saturday, April 5, 2008 THE NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM 440 G STREET, NW WASHINGTON, DC 20001

Thank You ... to our sponsors

FEATURING

KOOL & THE GANG AND K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND Title Sponsor: Dr. Bear’s Platinum Partners: AMGEN, INC. STEPHEN A. & DIANA L. GOLDBERG FOUNDATION, INC.

Dr. Bear’s Gold Circle:

MAI & JIM ABDO BB&T CAPMARK FINANCE, INC. CASTLETON HOLDINGS COLONIAL PARKING, INC. ALEX & CAULLEY DERINGER LIZ & PAUL DOUGHERTY KIM & JOE GESS HIRSCHEL, SAVITZ, PARKER & HOLLMAN, P.A. THE JBG COMPANIES KATHERINE VERNOT-JONAS & RICHARD JONAS KORN/FERRY INTERNATIONAL MACCUTCHEON FAMILY FOUNDATION PERSEUS REALTY PARTNERS & PERSEUS REALTY CAPITAL LIZ & DAVE ROBERTS SANDY MASUR & SCOTT SPECTOR UBS WASHINGTON REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST ASHLEY & ASHTON WILTSHIRE

Dr. Bear’s Exclusive Magazine Partner: WASHINGTON LIFE MAGAZINE

Dr. Bear’s Media Partner: WRQX MIX 107.3

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT LISA CANTU AT 301-565-4966 OR LCANTU@CNMC.ORG.

Benefiting the Kids Care Fund

LIFE

of the

PARTY

Stephanie Jojokian and Amber Yancey

Jessica Gibson and Camilla Loveid

Anabel Dela Cerna and Rebecca Mejia WL SPONSORED

THE CAPITOL MOVEMENT PROJECT FUNDRAISER Teatro Goldoni PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

THE EVENT In the VIP media room at Teatro, guests raised money to establish a fund for scholarships, youth outreach programs for underprivileged kids, and local schools in need of arts programs and activities. The night also supported the 3rd annual Capitol Movement Project performance, to be held on April 26th and 27th. THE SCENE CMP co-founder Stephanie Jojokian is the Director and Choreographer for the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders, so the beauty factor was high. THE GUESTS Pu ing their charitable feet forward were CMP co-founder Amber Yancey, Larry Michael, Jack Davies, Raul Fernandez, Jimmy Lynn, and Redskins SVP Dennis Greene.

Fidel Garcia and Talmesha Richards

John Cecchi and Amanda Carpenter

36

Jack Davies and Raul Fernandez

Jamilla Keene and Klohver Tynes

Jimmy Lynn, Klohver Tynes, and Kelly Owens

Dennis Greene

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

LIFE

of the

PARTY

Deborah Epstein, Sheila Johnson, and Fariba Jahanbani

Afghan Amb. Said Jawad and wife Shamim Jawad Masud Akbar and Ray Mahmood WL EXCLUSIVE

CARTIER CARE DINNER Cartier Chevy Chase PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

THE EVENT BET founder Sheila Johnson and CARE partnered with Cartier Chevy Chase for a dinner, catered

by Johnsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Market Salamander, and hosted by Fariba Jahanbani, regional director of Cartier. THE GUESTS Afghanistan Amb. Said and Shamim Jawad, Dale Mo), Ray and Shaista Mahmood, Masud Akbar, Deborah Epstein, Elaine Geisinger, Theresa Rhodes, Fariba Jahanbani, Sammy Samadi and Shahin Samadi.

A display at the Cartier boutique

Mary Jo Myers and Leslie Hayes

38

Marco Comazzi and Olivier Moingeon

Dr. Rubar Sandi with wife Emine Sandi

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

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LIFE

of the

PARTY

Julie Donatelli with Christopher and Karen Donatelli

Diane and Stephen Goldberg

The late Diane Wolf and Lynn Pace

WL EXCLUSIVE

BOYS & GIRLS CLUB ICON AWARDS Four Seasons Hotel PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Paul Cohn and Ernie Jarvis

THE EVENT An American Idol-like competition where local Boys & Girls Club members contend for top honors in song and dance numbers. Past winners have gone on to perform at the Apollo Theater, with the Philadelphia Philarmonic, and with pop star Hillary Duff.

THE SCENE A<er a seated dinner, the competition heated up with dance, storytelling, and vocal performances. The winning acts won an opportunity to perform on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.

THE GUESTS Chairwoman Julie Donatelli, Vicki Sant, Christine Brooks-Cooper, Jim Graham, Meryl Chertoff, Rebecca Fishman, and Jaylee Mead.

Alissa and James Brawner

DC Krumpers

Christine Warnke, Debby Rales, and Leslie Taylor

40

MaryAnn Forward, Tracey Ellis, and Peggy Ledvina

Paul Stern and Will Gunn

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

LIFE

of the

PARTY

Christophe Marque, Nicolas Legret, and Jacques Poulain of Cafe du Parc

Ed and Debbie Heller WL EXCLUSIVE

ST. JUDE GOURMET GALA

St. Jude’s Hero Award Winner Asia Claus, and sister Della Claus

The National Building Museum PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Erin Kilday, Vida Alimi, and Sherrelle Osborne Chefs and eager diners from Peacock Café

THE EVENT More than 35 of Washington’s bestknown chefs fired up their signature dishes at the 10th annual Gourmet Gala to benefit the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. THE SCENE Event host Ted Leonsis presided over a dazzling array of tables, prep-counters, and auction items, and the Mardi Gras theme added to the festivity. Guests enjoyed salad at their tables and then were invited to taste their way from booth to booth. Chocolate and down-home dishes reigned!

THE GUESTS Tom Liljenquist, Ralph Nader, Doug Gansler, Rep. John Tanner and Be)y Ann Tanner, and Guatemalan Amb. Guillermo Castillo and Flor Castillo.

Steven DeLonga, Tom Liljenquist, and Marie Bodman

Ted Leonsis, Paxton Baker, and Doug Gansler

42

Jeff Gontarek, Tara Boone, and Mary and Rich Amons

Michael Olding with Theresa and Roger Emory

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

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[I WMQTP] PSZI [LEX [I HS

WWW.DAVIDMICHELE.COM 240.601.2115

LIFE

of the

PARTY

Guy Leymarie and Hamida Belkadi

David Lawson, Page Evans, Katherine Bradley, John Firestone, and Marsha Wilson

Russian Amb. Yuri and Svetlana Ushakov

WL EXCLUSIVE

DE BEERS’ SPARKLING DINNER The Lindens PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON

THE EVENT A dinner in honor of The Washington Ballet’s spring gala, chairmen Jean-Marie and Raul Fernandez, and the opening of De Beers’s first Washington store at Tysons Galleria. THE SCENE A<er a champagne reception, guests had the opportunity to adorn themselves with over $8 million worth of De Beers’

Mario Morino, Camille Cooper, and Jim Kimsey

DeBeers Spring Collection

Jack Evans, Kay Kendall, and Septime Webre

Stacey Miller and Tom Sheedy

spring collection, including pieces “Ice on Fire,” “Secrets of the Rose,” “Talisman,” and “Radiance.” The new diamond Talisman watch was presented to the ballet for auction at their Spring Gala. Guy Leymarie, CEO of De Beers, made a special trip from London for the five-course dinner, which ended with a chocolate-wrapped De Beers truffle cake. A performance from the Ballet’s new performance, “Genius,” was the perfect encore. THE GUESTS Septime Webre, John and April Delaney, Jim Kimsey, Bri)y Cudlip, and Cindy Jones.

Jean-Marie Fernandez with Susan Harreld

“The Lindens,” the oldest house in Washington

John Damgard and Britty Cudlip Philip Schmidt and Laura DiSerio

Carl Colby with Hilda and Arturo Brillembourg

44

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

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center for MBTFS TVSHFSZ t XBTIJOHUPO E D The Center for Laser Surgery offers comprehensive Laser, Aesthetic, and Vein Solutions.

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LIFE

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PARTY

The party continues...

WL has just launched a new feature which allows you to purchase pictures from events (even if they don’t get published into the magazine)

Please visit www.washingtonlife.com to view pictures.

Mayor Adrian Fenty, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, and Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez.

WL EXCLUSIVE

THE MAYORS’ DINNER The Residence of Bob and Sarah Nixon PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

THE EVENT A private dinner in honor of mayors from across the United States a ending their annual winter meeting in Washington. Over 250 mayors addressed a series of issues, including the economy, housing foreclosures, and the environment. Mayor Fenty led a panel discussion earlier in the day about Washington’s “green-collar” jobs.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey, and Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Ryback

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter

Bob and Sarah Nixon

All photographs will beprinted

by Chrome Imaging

Providence Mayor David Cicilline

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Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper

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DC's Best Wedding Entertainment

Mark Del Rosso and Steven Heller

Jim Evans and David Koehler

WL EXCLUSIVE

ROCKVILLE AUDI OPENING Rockville Audi

Big Ray & The Kool Kats

PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Modern Bride's Top 100 Wedding Bands 2005, 2006, 2007 THE EVENT The term “luxury vehicle” is epitomized in the Porsche-Audi brand; now, Washingtonians have a new location to buy these speedy supercars. At the opening – hosted by Audi executive VP Johan Denysschen – guests took a look at the 2008 line and watched a ribbon-cu ing ceremony conducted by Rockville Mayor Susan Hoffmann. THE GUESTS Mark del Rosso, Jim Evans, Reinhardt Fisher, Joseph Folz, David Koehler, David Cosper, Jeff Johnson, David Geanacopoulos, Donald Stephenson, Pete Hamilton, Mark Balmer, Giselle Sejas, James and Stephanie Maxwell, Jennifer Hunt, Robert Rosen, Randy Klarin, Rachel Grayson and Joe Bellosi.

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The new Audi R8

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Johan Denysschen, Jim Evans, David Cosper, and Jeff Johnson

Elegance Featured at “The Young & The Guest List" Event

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Atam Ozykayan, Pat Whalen, Barbara Portalea, Steven Heller, Ron Evanish, Steve Prescott, and Andy Sandler

800.277.6874 x226 or 202.537.0227 jshannon@eastcoastentertainment.com

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| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

POLLYWOOD Where Politics﹐ Hollywood and Media Meet | Sundance 2008, Pollywood Players, and 100 Best Washington Movies

WASHINGTON TAKES SUNDANCE BY STORM PARK CITY POLLYWOOD GONZO! NIGHTLIFE ARTISTS AS AGENTS OF CHANGE AND VARIOUS OTHER INSIGHTS INTO THE UNDERBELLY OF THE WORLD’S MOST GREGARIOUS INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL

BY MICHAEL M. CLEMENTS

Clockwise from top left: a film slide from the documentary, American Teen; inside The Greenhouse Lounge @ Ciseros; champagne at the WL hosted Pollywood dinner; filmmaker Morgan Spurlock; Ted Leonsis, Colin Farrell, Susan Koch and Soroush Shehabi at the Kicking It premiere; illustrations from Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson; Paris Hilton and Erick Huey backstage at Harry O’s; Rep. John Conyers and Danny Glover at the WL hosted Pollywood Dinner; Washington-born Hollywood actress Olivia Wilde; Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Raul Fernandez; and David “the edge” Evans, Robert Redford, and Bono.

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| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

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SPECIAL FEATURE | SUNDANCE

Park City is home to 8,000 residents, but during The Sundance Film Festival, Park City’s main throughfare (Main Street) transforms into Utah’s version of Sunset Boulevard..

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he champagne started to kick in somewhere around 3 a.m. between the Velvet Revolver cover of Guns N’ Roses’ classic Patience and Led Zeppelin’s epic anthem Rock & Roll. The second level VIP suite of venerable Sundance nightlife haunt Harry O’s is an industry cauldron of sweat, blood, cheers, and jeers. Nightly during The Sundance Film Festival, independent film notables and hopefuls congregate here like predators and prey at an oasis in the Kalahari Dessert. Producers with cachet, billionaires restless after waiting in line, actors promoting films (and themselves) and press mix with

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bleary-eyed film junkies movie-stoned from 12 hours of back-to-back screenings.This is sensory overload. This is Sundance after dark. And this is as good a place as any to jump headlong into the world’s premiere independent film festival.

THE GONZO! MOMENT Nightlife venues are to Sundance what the Great Pyramids were to ancient Egypt – temples of celestial access. Getting in confers heavenly status, and each industry deity is followed by an entourage of hipster pharaohs claiming divine right to be beyond the velvet rope of VIP afterlife. Tonight, locals Mark Ein and Christopher Tavlarides have secured a slice of VIP heaven for an entourage of 50 fellow

Washingtonians. It wasn’t easy. Whether selling a film or securing a table, nothing at Sundance comes without negotiation.

The stage below explodes in a cataclysm of sound.Velvet Revolver (minus lead singer Scott Weiland) is in the middle of an inspired set. Paris Hilton slinks backstage like a bleached blonde shade. Later, she’ll be photographed lip-locked with Jared Leto. The image will disseminate globally with such avidity that teenage girls in obscure Baltic states will be using it as a mobile screensaver before Paris even wakes up. The only things that stay behind closed doors during Sundance are film rights negotiations and skiers relaxing at home after a long day on the powdery slopes. Snowboarders still go out.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

“AS AGENTS OF CHANGE [artists] are the first responders.They document change as it is occurring in the world around us, and they are the ones who will ultimately set the tone for the festival.” - Robert Redford KICKING HOMELESSNESS That’s when it happened – the Gonzo!

Sundance moment. As if tinted by the hand of an overzealous USC film student, colors became saturated, the music faded, and time stood still. It might have been the mélange of independent films, thought-provoking panels, celebrity sightings, snowboard runs, and four Washington Life-hosted events. Or, it could have been the Gonzo:The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson screening earlier that day. It’s hard to tell at 3 a.m. Either way, the epiphany hit me like a mescaline-induced sweat lodge vision.Washington was everywhere.To my left, Washington Life CEO and Kicking It executive producer Soroush Shehabi together with fellow executive producers Jack Davies, Sheila Johnson, Raul Fernandez, Doug Smith, Nigel Morris, Rick Allen, and Mark Ein. Next to them, Teatro Goldoni owners Michael Kosmides and Jose Garcia savored Chef Nicola Amroune’s acceptance to “Chefdance” (more on that later) and mixed with John Cecchi, Kay Kendall, Erik Huey, James Woodyard, Kimball Stroud, Patricia Finneran, Jody Arlington, Bruce Keiloch, Brandon Lane, and MC Antil, among others, while Representative Rahm Emanuel and others chatted away nearby.

How did this happen? How did Washington come to reign at Sundance?

POLLYWOOD SERVES UP THE POWER When acclaim for the city’s film and production industry is on par with New York and Los Angeles, those at the forefront of the movement will look to Sundance 2008 as a defining moment. Ready or not (and with no disrespect to the city’s music and art scenes) the convergence of Hollywood, politics, documentary film, and philanthropy is slated to become the Capital’s creative calling card. Substance meet style. Cause meet celebrity.World meet Pollywood.

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The buzz started with an intimate Washington Life hosted dinner at Club Lespri in the private back dining room of Cellars Prime Steak House. The night was the unofficial kickoff for Kicking It, a locally produced documentary about seven homeless persons who transform their lives and represent their countries at the 2006 Homeless World Cup in South Africa.

The guests included Washington-based director Susan Koch, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning filmmaker, whose work with husband Chris Koch has been broadcast on HBO, NBC, ABC, Discovery, MTV, National Geographic, PBS, and others; Kicking It cinematographer Neil Barrett, the film’s producer, Ted Leonsis along with his wife Lynn and daughter Elle; the aforementioned Washington-based executive producers of Kicking It; plus a few friends and special guests including former Virginia Governor Mark Warner and producers Michael Mailer and Burton Goldberg.

The main event however was the “Pollywood: Salute to Washington Filmmaking” dinner hosted by Washington Life, The Paley Center for Media, ESPN Films and Celebrity Service International. The gourmet soirée, featured Bon Appétit Executive “Iron” Chef Cat Cora, and was held at the exclusive Bon Appétit supper club and generously sponsored by Veuve Clicquot, Pama, Stella Artois, Roberto Coin, Loews Hotels and the Dominican Republic Department of Tourism on the first Sunday of the festival. The event epitomized Pollywood.

An exclusive 100-person guest list included former PBS and current Paley Center for Media President and Sundance trustee Pat Mitchell (who celebrated her birthday with Shehabi – as they have at past Pollywood dinners at Sundance).

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

COLIN FARRELL ON WHY HE GOT INVOLVED IN THE FILM KICKING IT

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hen I saw the original documentary version of Kicking It, I found it undeniably moving.Anyone open enough will see elements of themselves in each of the seven players.The film evokes every human emotion – hope, fear, love, strength, and generosity.

I think it’s an important story that needs to be told. The words on the opening screen alone – “one billion people are homeless without access to a basic human need” – are shocking.That’s a sixth of the population.

I actually played football myself until I was fifeteen; I wasn’t as good as I thought I was, though. (Luckily for – and perhaps for Irish football – I discovered girls, and going out and the like, soon after that, and a new hobby took its place). Still, if you chucked me a football right now, I’d get giddy. It puts me back to a time in life when everything was simple, and when there was a sense of community.

Football is a universal language and potentially a cause of great change. The film makes real a world where many of society’s lost children can find themselves through sport. A roof over one’s head, a place to call home, a sense of belonging and community – are these too much to ask for? These basic human rights are a mere dream to over one billion homeless men and women.Too many live on the fringes of acceptance and exist beyond the boundaries of societal respect.

They are not without hope, but sadly, they are often without help.

Kicking It is a call to action. I am humbly honored to be part of this project and to be a conduit for its message.

From an interview with Kat Byles, Communications Director, Homeless World Cup.

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SPECIAL FEATURE | SUNDANCE

Other Sundance Trustees in attendance included Participant Films founder Jeff Skoll and CEO Jim Berk, investors Suhail Rizvi and Omar Amanat, Adobe founder John Warnock, actor Glenn Close, and Redford producing partner Jake Eberts. WL Editorin-Chief Nancy Bagley led the Washington contingent together with Leonsis, Koch, and the Kicking It executive producers. Prominent Washingtonians included MPAA chief Dan and Rhoda Glickman, Rep. John Conyers, Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty with wife Michelle Fenty, Celebrity Service International COO Nicole Bagley, George and Georgia Stamos, Peter and Adrienne Barris, JeanMarie Fernandez, Lori Morris, and Norma and Russ Ramsey (who, together with former Charles Schwab CEO David Pottruck, decided to invest and join the executive producer team after attending the premiere).

Additional entertainment notables included actors Danny Glover and Tim Daly, musical

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here are many reasons why people make the pilgrimage to Park City, Utah for the Sundance Film Festival every year: 16 screens showing the best independent features from morning till midnight; meeting the people who make them and hearing behind-the-scenes stories that are often as compelling as those on the screen; and of course, the ‘scenes’ outside the screenings: opportunities to schmooze, exchange business cards (or autographs), and pick up swag bags the ambush marketers give out in an attempt to build their brands off the Sundance brand.There’s always a lot to celebrate, too, and this year was no exception.

At the dinner party of the festival we celebrated Ted Leonsis, Susan Koch, and the generous team of friends and supporters who got the documentary Kicking It made and to Sundance.

The food, from Iron Chef Cat Cara, was one of the most memorable meals of my life, and the crowd was aVIP gathering of creative types, execs, philanthropists and political leaders. It was a typical guest list for a Washington Life event, and typical of the fans and supporters who love Sundance, even if they only know part of the story.

FIFTEEN 2007 Sundance selections were honored in some way at the 2008 Academy Awards. legend Jackson Browne, ESPN Films Keith Clinkscales and John Skipper, publishing maestro Gerry Byrne, media personality Lawrence O’Donnell, UTA star agent Keya Khayatian, Warner Brothers’ Rossanna Wang, celeb yoga master Baron Baptiste, producer Mailer, singer Sasha Lazard, authors Terrence Ward, Idanna Pucci and Evelyn Weber, and artist Diana Cohen.

Skoll, like Leonsis, is a champion of documentary film’s power to affect change.

Later in the week he hosted his Skoll Social Entrepreneurs Presentation breakfast. It was part of the new “Stories of Change” program, which

WE’VE COME A LONG WAY

BY PAT MITCHELL

Sundance Institute Trustee Pat Mitchell

As a longtime trustee of the Sundance Institute, I never lose an opportunity, even at a festival party, to reflect on how different the independent film world is today than it was when Robert Redford started the Sundance Institute. For the first time, Redford offered emerging directors, screenwriters, and playwrights a place to come and be mentored by the best in the business, and to develop

was created by the Sundance Documentary Film Program in partnership with the Skoll Foundation to encourage collaboration between entrepreneurs and documentary filmmakers and fund film projects that result from those connections.

As the evening was billed as a salute to Washington filmmaking, it was fitting that Kicking It producer Leonsis and director Koch were honored. “Yes, I am a Washington filmmaker,” said Koch as she addressed the crowd, “there is such a thing.” She added, “Los Angeles and New York have the established markets for production, but Washington has what they both want: substance.” At the end of her speech, Koch presented Shehabi with a Sundance director’s jacket. Each film accepted to Sundance receives only one.

The night showed that meaningful ideas, cause-related activities and movies about issues that matter from a city where issues turn into legislation are Washington’s currency.

Pollywood means change.

their scripts and films away from the pressure of the commercial marketplace.Those labs are still the epicenter of the Institute’s work, even though we’re best known these days for the popularity of the film festival. But it wasn’t always so popular. When Redford started the festival in order to give independent films a means to be seen and appreciated, there wasn’t exactly a huge crowd rushing from the ski slopes to the theatres. He tells of standing on the streets in the snow trying to entice people on their way to ski or to a local Park City bar to come inside a theater and watch an independent film.

Today, there’s fierce competition for every seat in the house. But it’s worth the price of admission, which goes to support the Institute’s programs, and provides critical support to independent filmmakers like the ones we celebrated at the Washington Life Pollywood dinner. Sundance is fortunate to have friends like WL and the charming Nancy Bagley and Soroush Shehabi ... and so am I. Thanks for another memorable birthday!

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

Ted Leonsis at WL’s “Pollywood: Salute to Washington Filmmaking” dinner. (Photo David Shechter)

FILMANTHROPY MEETS POLLYWOOD

BY TED LEONSIS Sundance promos such as this play before each screening. This year’s theme was “Film Takes Place.” (Photo David Shechter)

MR. SMITH GOES TO PARK CITY When a 21-term member of Congress like John Conyers takes an interest in a film – as he did with Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North – Washington’s power to affect change is put into motion. Conyers has re-introduced the bill H.R. 40 (Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act) every Congress since 1989, and he claims he will continue to do so until it passes. He came to Park City as part of the panel “An MLK Day Discussion: The Legacy of the Slave Trade 200 Years After its Abolition,” in conjunction with the screening of Traces of the Trade.

Producer/director Katrina Browne’s documentary explores the hot-button issue of slavery from the perspective of her ancestors, the De Wolf family, whose wealth (e.g., in 1837, James De Wolf died the second-richest man in America) was built in the slave trade The film follows eight De Wolf descendants coming to grips with their family’s history as they retrace the Triangle Trade’s route from Western Africa to Cuba and back to Rhode Island.

The film blows a hole in the fallacy that the North was home only to the “do-good abolitionists” by highlighting its complicity in fueling the economic engine of slavery. Browne’s work is also a socio-cultural exploration of white privilege and responsibility. Both Browne and Conyers hope the film will add to the national debate on America’s slave history and the movement towards a possible truth commission and reparations …. Finding Nemo 2 this is not.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Sundance patriarch Robert Redford, always keen to get political, latched on to the theme of change during his opening night remarks before the screening of the Colin Farrell dramatic feature In Bruges. “The word ‘change’ has been thrown around a lot recently,” he joked in reference to Barack Obama’s presidential catch phrase. “What I’d like to do,” he continued, “is focus on the word change as it relates to art. Because I feel strongly that artists are really agents for change.

I’d like to look at the role of artists, because as agents of change, they are the first responders.

They document change as it is occurring in the world around us, and they are the ones who will ultimately set the tone for the festival.”

KICKING IT, PARK CITY STYLE Farrell is one such agent. His mere presence as an executive producer and narrator of Kicking It added important industry cachet to a project he felt deeply about.With his participation, the film will raise awareness for the plight of the homeless and how the street soccer leagues in which they participate leading up to the Homeless World Cup help to transform lives.

Kicking It showcased that Washington can be an agent of change when it pools its collective resources. Koch partnered with local cinematographer Barrett (who is engaged to Julia Cohen, daughter of trailblazing ’50s and ’60s documentary filmmaker Robert Carl Cohen) to travel around the world to document homeless world cup players from war-torn Afghanistan, the slums of Kenya, the drug rehab clinics of

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

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here is something magical about the medium of film; about getting people to watch a work of art with a positive underlying message on a 40-foot screen. While working on films I began to develop a concept I call “filmanthropy;” a new way of making movies that matter; of shining a light on a tough subject and activating volunteerism around an issue. In these kinds of films it isn’t box office revenues that matter; it’s helping people and causes, righting a wrong, and effecting a lasting change.

At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, I was honored at Washington Life’s Pollywood dinner, in recognition of Kicking It, which premiered at the festival. As I looked around the room that night, I saw the result of a lifetime of work and experience. There were friends from Hollywood, business partners, my family, and politicians like Rep. John Conyers, Mark Warner, and Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty. There were people from non-profit organizations we had supported, people from the media who can partner with us on our future endeavors, and truly talented artists, all under one roof.

As I spoke to the group about filmanthropy and happiness, I was as comfortable as I have ever been in my life. I felt like everyone in the room was on a similar journey; trying to change the world for the good of mankind; trying to leave more behind than we take; and ready to partner with one another to do so. For me this dinner was the culmination of all that I believe and all I have worked for during the past 30 years.

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EVERYONE HAS AN OPINION about film here.That’s the beauty of Sundance – it’s for movie junkies.

Rep. John Conyers speaking at the panel “An MILK Day Discussion: The Legacy of the Slave Trade 200 Years After its Abolition.”

FOLLOWING TRACES OF THE TRADE

BY REPRESENTATIVE JOHN CONYERS JR!

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he screening of Katrina Browne’s Traces of the Trade on the Martin Luther King holiday at the Sundance Film Festival reached an audience that usually does not participate in the national debate on civil rights. Browne bravely examines her family’s history in a manner free of myth and false sentiment. I congratulate her for this honest examination of her Rhode Island family’s role in the transatlantic slave trade.

Revisionist films and studies of slavery and reconstruction, like Traces of the Trade, help modern society grapple with the continuing legacy of that period.The most enduring myth of American history is that the Civil War was fought to free the slaves and that the ensuing bloodshed cleansed the taint of slavery from this nation.We have ignored the North’s culpability, the injustices of Jim Crow and the lingering effects of slavery.

For over 19 years, I have introduced the Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act (H.R. 40) to further a national dialogue on the plight of African Americans in the context of slavery, Jim Crow, and other legally sanctioned forms of discrimination. H.R. 40 is a straightforward study bill; it does not mandate monetary or any other kind of reparations. It simply creates a commission to examine slavery and its modern day implications.

Slavery will continue to tarnish the American national story until we confront this part of our history, just as Ms. Browne does in Traces of the Trade.While a Commission will not erase the past, it can bring us closer to racial reconciliation and advancement as a 21st century multicultural society.

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Dublin, Ireland, the streets of Charlotte, N.C., the overflowing public shelters of Madrid, and the streets of St. Petersburg.

But that’s just half the narrative. In need of funds to complete the film, Koch turned to Washington Life magazine CEO Soroush Shehabi for help.

What transpired next was the blueprint for how Washington’s philanthropic, political, and creative communities can come together for good.

Shehabi contacted his friend, AOL Vice Chairman emeritus and Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, who, having brought Nanking to Sundance in 2007 in his initial foray into producing, was convinced (literally over lunch and after viewing the trailer) to become the producer of the project.

ESPN picked up worldwide TV rights during the festival (which might explain why Leonsis and executive producers Davies and Fernandez were spotted watching the AFC and NFC championship games in ESPN’s private tent at the festival). Indie distributor Liberation purchased North and Central American theatrical, DVD, and ancillary rights to the film, while Red Envelope secured domestic home video rights for Netflix, making this one of the only films to sell nearly all distribution rights at Sundance this year.

Kicking It is also the first “filmanthopy” project for Leonsis and his team of executive producers.

Leonisis coined the term last year after producing Nanking based on the notion that films are vehicles for more than mere entertainment and profit – they are also opportunities to raise funds and awareness for an issue or cause.

But, as he is quick to point out, Leonsis is just part of the equation. In addition to Shehabi and Johnson, the executive producers of Kicking It are the leaders of Virginia’s high-techturned-venture-philanthropy movement. Once considered “new money” by infamously insular Washington society, this group of millionaires and billionaires is putting its money where its causes are. Executive producers Davies, Ein, Morris, Fernandez, Smith, and Ramsey all

belong to Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP), a philanthropic investment organization that helps build high performing nonprofit institutions by concentrating money, management expertise, and personal contacts to improve the lives and boost the opportunities of children and youth of lowincome families in the National Capital Region (see WL’s May 2006 Issue for the full story).

These aren’t the typical business stars, who jumped into the film business for the glamour, parties and hobnobbing (although those perks don’t hurt). This group combines altruism and film, and is playing a key role in branding the Washington filmmaking community as one that values substance over flash.

NETWORKING AND NON-STOP MOVIES It’s Saturday night on the first weekend of Sundance, and Main Street is buzzing with filmmakers and film lovers, journalists, industry heavyweights, buyers, distributors, publicists, writers, celebrities, and the people who just came to watch it all come together like a fastpaced Michael Bay action sequence.

To put it in Pollywood terms, this small Utah town with a population nearing 8,000 transforms each year from a sleepy mid-term

SUNDANCE

BY THE NUMBERS 57;4

Total films submitted in 2008

3 ;

Films screened

76 4

International films feature films submitted

;

International films feature films selected

7 ;4

Documentary features submitted

4

Documentary features selected

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| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

SPECIAL FEATURE | SUNDANCE

Adrian Fenty, Mark Ein, Ted Leonsis, Raul Fernandez, and Dan Glickman

Pat Mitchell, Glenn Close, and Cat Cora WL HOSTED

POLLYWOOD SALUTE TO WASHINGTON FILMMAKING Bon Appétit Supper Club, Park City PHOTOS BY DAVID SHECHTER

Baron Baptiste

Doug Smith, Patricia Finneran, and Andrea Meditch

Rossanna Wang and Brandon Lane

Jackson Browne

THE EVENT New York and Los Angles met Washington at this exclusive dinner for 100 hosted by Washington Life, Celebrity Service International and the Paley Center for Media at the Bon Appétit supper club. Pat Mitchell and Soroush Shehabi celebrated their joint birthdays again this year with an amalgamation of Washington filmmakers and politicians including Rep. John Conyers, Governor Mark Warner, Mayor Adrian Fenty together with actors, film industry heavyweights, and Sundance trustees Glenn Close, John Warnock, Jeff Skoll and Jake Eberts, among others.

Tim Daly Cat Cora presents Pat Mitchell and Soroush Shehabi with a birthday cake.

Rep. John Conyers and Danny Glover

Neil Barrett and Jeff Werner

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| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

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Actor and Louverture Films producer Danny Glover

WORLD CINEMA BEGINS AT HOME

BY DANNY GLOVER

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hadn’t been to Sundance since 2004 when I was on the jury, so it was with pleasure that I attended again this year with my producing partner Joslyn Barnes.

Braving plunging temperatures and massive snowfall, as well as the now notorious “Sundance Flu of ’08,” we trekked out for opening night.

Robert Redford opened the festival by placing emphasis on what he termed “the true agents of change” – meaning filmmakers.

This notion provided some of the subtext at one of the many interesting panels, “Black in America,” organized by Cara Mertes. The event was standingroom-only. Provocative questions were raised by the panelists and the audience: Were conditions better for black filmmakers now than in the early ’90s? Were black filmmakers any more in control of the means of production than before? And the Elvis Mitchell zinger: “A lot of black filmmakers don’t think of coming [to Park City] because they don’t believe they have a shot. Does Sundance have a responsibility to reach out to them?”

We all have a responsibility to reach out to one another and in so doing dig deeper than the idea of diversity to practice genuine inclusiveness. As I stated on the panel, quoting the great Paul Robeson, “It’s not enough for an artist to create the reality he sees, it is incumbent upon him to create the reality he can imagine.” Doesn’t the power of art really lie in cultivating understanding, empathy and connection among us all?

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Congressional election into a vibrant Presidential race with après-ski chic replacing back-room power suits, door negotiations worse than bipartisan wrangling over immigration, and the fervor of celebrity spotting more intense than grandstanding at a Clinton/Obama debate.

When the clock chimes eleven, Farrell and the crowd from the Kicking It premiere makes their way to the Washington Life and Celebrity Service hosted after party at Ciseros, which has been transformed by LIVEstyle Entertainment event maestros David Manning and Ryan Heil into the hopping nightlife venue “Greenhouse at Top of Main,” sponsored by Belvedere Vodka and Lexus.

The entrance to Ciseros is a madhouse.

Everyone of the afore-listed persons – filmmakers, film lovers, etc. – seem to be standing on the opposite side of a metal crowd control barrier trying to gain the attention of someone with a list. On this night, that would be Nicole Bagley and me. Playing door person at the “it spot,” at the “it time,” on the “it night” at Sundance is no laughing matter. To borrow an analogy from Sundance-award-winning documentary American Teen (Nanette Burstein won the directing award) – working the door here is akin to being the lone ticket seller at a Hannah Montana concert, but instead of getting assaulted by overcaffeinated suburban commandos and ’tween daughters dolled up in Juicy sweatpants, the rush comes in the form of well-tanned producers; actors you’ve heard of (and a whole lot more who think you should have heard of them); friends of friends of friends, who want in +10; and 20-something publicists from New York

who threaten to deny us access to their celebrity clients forever, then leave in a huff mumbling something about Chelsea and Bungalow 8.

Colin Farrell arrives with the Washington team from Kicking It.They get in. Problem now is that everyone who wanted to get in before, now really wants to get in. Adding fuel to the fire, the DJ spinning inside is internationally renowned mixologist Paul Oakenfold. After the first wave of people enter, Lindsey Levine and Arman Shehabi thankfully rescue us from door duties – this is a family operation after all – and we head inside.

It could be Saturday night at Café Milano – the place is filled with Washingtonians. There is a great energy and civic pride emanating from the room. Everyone is excited to see Washington doing such high-caliber work. Or, it could be because the party directly after ours happens to be the after party for U2 3D – and yes, the boys from Dublin showed up.

Again, Pollywood is front and center. U2 3D was produced by National Geographic Entertainment and National Geographic Ventures.When I head from the lower level into the second floor VIP lounge where the band is holding court, I spot National Geographic Ventures President and CEO Tim Kelly basking in the spotlight with Bono, David “The Edge” Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. In the vernacular of Sundance’s fast lane, Kelly is cruising on the Autobahn.

As the Washington Life/Kicking It party melds into the U2 3D after party, word spreads that U2 is planning to give an impromptu live performance. It certainly looks like it. While

Sundance has become a second home for filmmakers and guerrilla marketers. (Photo by David Shechter)

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

SPECIAL FEATURE | SUNDANCE Brendan Gleeson speaks with Ted Leonsis as a friend looks on.

Doug Smith, Raul Fernandez, Colin Farrell, Rick Allen, and Mark Ein WL HOSTED

KICKING IT PREMIERE AND AFTER PARTY Library Center Theatre and Greenhouse at the Top of Main, Park City PHOTOS BY DAVID SHECHTER

THE EVENT The theater was packed with top

Michelle Fenty and Nigel Morris Khadeja Salley and James Woodyard

industry players, festival goers and Washingtonians ready to view the premiere of the documentary Kicking It. The film was met with hardy applause a<er it finished.

The group then headed up Main Street to enjoy their success at one of the festival’s ho est events DJ’ed by Paul Okenfold. THE GUESTS: Colin Farrell, Ted and Lynn Leonsis, Jack Davies, Kay Kendall, Mark Ein, Nigel Morris, Sheila Johnson, Raul and wife JeanMarie Fernandez, Doug Smith, Russ and Norma Ramsey, Mayor Adrian Fenty and wife Michelle.

Michael Mailer and Sasha Lazard

DJ Paul Oakenfold

Russ Ramsey

Chris Koch

Lawerence Cann and Noviani Rosner

Kimball Stroud and Julia Cohen

David Pottruck

Vicki Bagley and Nancy Conrad

Sheila Johnson

Lawrence Cann and Natja Noviani Rosner W A S H I N G T O N L I F E | M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

Kay Kendall and Jack Davies

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Kicking It Director Susan Koch

KICKING IT! NEW SCHOOL

BY SUSAN KOCH

I

n February 2001, I was reading a blog from the annual World Economic Forum in Davos. I was intrigued by a brief mention of the Homeless World Cup. As a documentary filmmaker, I’m always on the lookout for entertaining, important stories that are off the beaten track.

An international street soccer competition for homeless people may sound like a crazy idea. But many of the world’s best soccer players come from the streets. Neil Barrett, my frequent film partner and director of photography, and I headed out, filming players training for the 4th Annual Homeless World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa. Our filming took us to war-torn Afghanistan, the drug clinics of Dublin, the slums of Nairobi, the public shelters of Madrid, the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina, and the unforgiving city of St. Petersburg, Russia.

We saw first-hand the tremendous power of sport to change lives by fostering teamwork, building self-confidence, and creating a sense of community.

The week-long competition in Cape Town was a phenomenal sporting event. We headed home with over 200 hours of footage. Codirector and editor Jeff Werner spent six months editing what would become a 98-minute film.

We put the final touches on less than two weeks before it premiered at Sundance.

Seeing Kicking It on the big screen with a live audience (which included executive producer and narrator Colin Farrell) was fantastic.They laughed, cried, and rooted for our players. It was very much a hometown project – led by producer Ted Leonsis and Washington Life Magazine CEO Soroush Shehabi who helped bring in Ted and his amazing group of D.C. “filmanthropists” who are committed to making movies that matter.

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In the kitchen at Chefdance where Teatro Goldoni head chef Nicola Amroune and team served 350 celebrity guests in two hours.

Oakenfold dishes up the tasty tunes, roadies are busy setting up drum kits, guitars are being brought out, and a sound technician is feverishly checking cords and wire. The room is pumped to see one of the world’s best rock bands play in a basement in Park City.

It doesn’t happen. Word comes down that the lads have been enjoying themselves a bit too much and they’re concerned that the performance might find its way to YouTube faster than U2 3D hits the theaters nationwide. How far have we come, I wonder, when rock bands forgo late night jam sessions in favor of better branding? Some of the best music ever was recorded this way. But, alas, no Rattle and Hum tonight.

SEEING RED AND CHEFDANCING

Alongside the Kicking It contingent, local producers Norman Dreyfuss, Cecchi and Pat Rhodes saw their film Red accepted to Sundance this year. It’s not the first time the production trio has scaled the snowy peaks of independent cinema. Last year, the team cut their Sundance teeth after Fox Searchlight and The Weinstein Company snatched up their dramatic feature La Misma Luna (Under the Same Moon) in an intense bidding war.The film opens March 19 at AMC theaters nationwide Washington Life will sponsor a special premiere screening of the film at AMC Georgetown followed by an after party at Maté Lounge on March 11 (any producer who has had films accepted to Sundance in consecutive years deserves a few mango maritnis!)

This year’s project, Red, is a quirky and dark story about Avery (Brian Cox), a middle-aged

man whose 14-year-old dog, Red, falls victim to the mindless pranks of a few locals. In a DieHard-meets-OldYeller mash-up, Avery sets out to exact an apology, but the situation soon escalates to something far worse.

Producer Cecchi was one of the lucky Washingtonians invited to the Chefdance debut of Teatro Goldoni head chef Nicola Amroune.

The annual culinary feast, founded by Harry O’s owner Kenny Griswold, runs nightly throughout the ten days of the festival. Each evening at Chefdance, in the cozy confines of Harry O’s brick-lined cellar space, chefs from around the globe stake their claim to be world’s best. This year, as last, celebrity natural food personality Bethenny Frankel was the hostess given the enviable task of selecting ten world-famous chefs to prepare private, exclusive, signature dinners for 350 celebrities, socialites, entertainment industry giants, musicians, and major media outlets. Previous celebrity chefs included Rocco DiSpirito and Tyler Florence.

It was an important night for Amourne and Teatro Goldoni owners Michael Kosmides and Jose Garcia, who seemed right at home posing for photo-ops with actors Esai Morales, Armand Assante and Amy Brenneman – who came together with her husband, Lemony Snicket’s director Brad Silberling. Brenneman co-stared in the feature Downloading Nancy, which competed in the dramatic competition this year. Silberling is currently in pre-production for the feature adaptation of the ’80s Sunday morning television classic Land of the Lost. Get your super groovy Sleestack costume pre-ordered now for the film’s 2009 release – one cannot live on independent film alone!

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

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SPECIAL FEATURE | SUNDANCE

3 5 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS WINNERS *PARTIAL LIST+ French artist Philippe Petit’s daring dance on a wire suspended between New York’s Twin Towers and his subsequent arrest for what would become known as “the artistic crime of the century.”

THE WORLD CINEMA JURY PRIZE

Trouble the Water won the Grand Jury Prize for documentary.

Dramatic: KING OF PING PONG (PING PONGKINGEN) Sweden, directed by Jens Jonsson.

An ostracized and bullied teenager who excels only in ping pong descends into an acrimonious struggle with his younger, more popular brother when the truth about their family history and father surfaces over the course of a spring break.

THE GRAND JURY PRIZE Documentary: TROUBLE THE WATER, directed

by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal. Armed with a video camera, an aspiring rap artist and her streetwise husband show what survival means when they are trapped in New Orleans by deadly floodwaters, then seize a chance for a new beginning.

Dramatic: FROZEN RIVER, directed by Courtney Hunt. A desperate trailer mom and a Mohawk Indian girl who team up to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States from Canada.

Documentary: MAN ON WIRE/United Kingdom, directed by James Marsh. The film chronicles

THE WORLD CINEMA AUDIENCE AWARD Documentary: MAN ON WIRE/United Kingdom, directed by James Marsh. See previous description.

Dramatic: CAPTAIN ABU RAED/Jordan, directed Amin Matalqa. The first feature film to come out of Jordan in 50 years, tells the story of an aging airport janitor who is mistaken for an airline pilot by a group of poor neighborhood children. His fantastical stories offer hope for a sad, sometimes unchangeable, reality.

THE DIRECTING AWARD

Fields of Fuel won the Audience Award for documentary.

THE AUDIENCE AWARD

THE WORLD CINEMA JURY PRIZE

is a man with a plan and a Veggie Van, who is taking on big oil, big government, and big soy to find solutions in places few people have looked.

Dramatic: THE WACKNESS, directed by Jonathan Levine. During a sweltering New York summer, a troubled teenage drug dealer trades pot for therapy sessions with a drug-addled psychiatrist, and in the process falls for the doctor’s daughter.

Documentary: FIELDS OF FUEL, directed by Josh Tickell. A look at America ‘s addiction to oil. Tickell

Documentary: Nanette Burstein won the Director’s award for her film AMERICAN TEEN, a documentary on seniors at a high school in a small Indiana town and their various cliques.

Dramatic: Lance Hammer won for BALLAST, a film set in the Mississippi Delta, which details how one man’s suicide affects three people’s lives.

WL HOSTED

Nicola Amourne

CHEFDANCE Harry O’s, Park City PHOTOS BY DAVID SHECHTER

THE EVENT Teatro Goldoni head chef Nicola Amroune was one of only ten chefs from across the world to take part in this nightly Sundance culinary experience created by Kenny Griswold and hosted by Bethenny Frankel.

Esai Morales, Armand Assante, and Teatro Goldoni co-owner Michael Kosmides

Bethenny Frankel, Amy Brenneman, and Brad Silberling

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Teresa Foss and Teatro Goldoni co-owner Jose Garcia

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

Lynn and Elle Leonsis

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John Cecchi with Norman Dreyfuss and Pat Rhodes, fellow Washington area-based producers for Sundance selected films, Under the Same Moon and Red.

FROM “MOONS” TO SEEING “RED”

BY JOHN CECCHI

I

’ve always been interested in Hollywood and film, but I didn’t know in what capacity I could get involved. Several years ago, the C.O.O of the company I work for, Norman Dreyfuss invested in a movie, Brick.

Seeing that, I realized being an investor was a great way into the film business. When he showed me the script for the Mexican film, La Misma Luna, I jumped at the chance. The thought of working on a Latin film was very intriguing (a little known fact is that I am half Uruguayan). La Misma Luna was released at Sundance 2007 and subsequently bought by The Weinstein Company. This March, the movie will be released under the American title Under the Same Moon and play at the AMC Georgetown.

We were eager for another movie when we learned of Red. I read the script in one sitting and decided to give it a go along with Dreyfuss and producing partner Pat Rhodes. Red is an American drama/action thriller and the director’s previous works included The Grudge.

I love the work of Brian Cox and thought he would be perfect for the the lead and we were all excited to have Tom Sizemore on board as the villain. After a few hurdles, the film was completed and sent to Norway for editing.

Before Thanksgiving we got word that the film was accepted into Sundance. It was thrill to hear our second film in as many years was headed to Park City.We weren’t the only ones excited about the honor – a historic number of Washingtonians made the westward pilgrimage in support of the film. It was rewarding to see everyone there and to see Red on the big screen ... and it certainly didn’t hurt that we received a positive review in Variety.

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It’s no secret Park City is awash with studio money and influence during the festival. The reasons are simple – there are profits to be made from independent film and the stories are too good to not distribute. The Sundance Film Festival has been the launching pad for several surprise box office hits recently, including Little Miss Sunshine and Juno.

While film purists focus on film, buyers and distributors focus on return on investment. This year, films such as Jack Black’s Be Kind and Rewind and Mischa Barton and Bruce Willis’Assassination of a High School President were all vying for studio attention and the title of “next indie breakout.”

As a snowball gains momentum barreling downhill so does interest surrounding a good film. Hits are culled from duds over coffees in the filmmaker lounge, lunches FOCUS ON FILM AND at the ski lodge, and dinners PROFITS at Chefdance. When the trades (Variety and Hollywood The buzz surrounding Reporter), wires, and countless Washington’s presence film blogs catch wind and – the films selected chime in with positive reviews, and WL hosted events it’s not uncommon for a film’s – eventually reached producers to find themselves the Grand Poobah suddenly negotiating domestic of Sundance himself, “Red” follows the story of man seeking and international rights late into Robert Redford. After redemption for the death of is dog. the evening with a gaggle of hearing from a number of fellow Sundance Trustees who attended the entertainment lawyers and agents at their side.

A good example is American Teen. Buzz Pollywood dinner, Redford said he was sorry to have missed it. No doubt, this was the year surrounding the documentary, which follows a Washington resoundingly threw its hat into the group of four seniors in Indiana through their international entertainment ring. But at its core, final year of high school, spread like wildfire, Sundance is not about buzz, VIP lounges, and culminating in Paramount Vantage Films’ $1 splashy events; and Redford has been diligent million bid for worldwide rights.

Everyone has an opinion about film here.That’s in reminding people of this.

This year’s festival theme was “Film Takes the beauty of Sundance – it’s for movie junkies.

Place,” (catchy) but “Focus on Film” is the Everywhere you go people are discussing which mantra here. Know it, learn it, live it. The films are good (Hamlet 2, Roman Polanski:Wanted manifesto galvanizes this annual Petri dish of and Desired, American Teen, Up, and Sunshine creative minds, deep pockets, celebrities, and Cleaning); which bombed (The Year of Getting to stargazers. Films such as Morgan Spurlock’s Know Us and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh); which latest, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden, were the riskiest (The Greatest Silence: Rape in or Up The Yangtze, Man on a Wire, and Yasukuni, the Congo); and which were the most thoughtchallenge and educate viewers in a way that provoking (Fields of Fuel, Flow: For the Love of Water, more formulaic studio-produced fare can not. and Traces of the Trade:A Story from the Deep North).

Chefdance also served as the official wrap party for Kicking It. Kosmides and Garcia proudly held court in the exclusive back room as the film’s executive producers and top Pollywood players, including Dan and Rhoda Glickman sampled Amroune’s sumptuous marine divers sea scallops, mint love-letter-filled crescenza cheese pasta, and pistachio-crusted venison chops. Lawrence Cann, manager of the U.S. Homeless World Cup Team, moved by the support the film has garnered for The Homeless World Cup, gave an impassioned thank-you speech standing on his chair. Ted and Lynn Leonsis along with their daughter Elle, director Susan Koch, and Sheila Johnson presided at the head table, relieved that the gantlet of screenings and events had subsided so they could finally enjoy a relaxed meal with close friends and family.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

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SPECIAL FEATURE | SUNDANCE

Above, from left to right: Scenes from American Teen, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, Up the Yangtze, and CSNY Déjà Vu. Below, from left to right: Scenes from Traces of the Trade, Under the Bombs, Patti Smith: Dream of Life, and American Son.

FILMS FOR THE DISCERNING POLLYWOOD MOVIE-GOER AN AMERICAN SOLDIER THE RECRUITER The documentary follows one of the most successful army recruiters, Sergeant First Class Clay Usie, and four of the high-schoolers he mentors, trains, and prepares to enter the United States Army.

AMERICAN TEEN Director Nanette Burstein shadows four small-town Indiana high school students through their senior year, showing their insecurities, experimentations, and response to social pressures.

FLOW FOR LOVE OF WATER An inspired yet disturbing wake-up call, focusing on pollution, human rights, politics, and corruption.

FIELDS OF FUEL Tracks the rising domination of the petrochemical industry — from the Rockefellers’ strategy to halt ethanol use in Ford’s first cars to our government’s choice to declare war after 9/11 rather than wean the country from fossil fuel.

ROMAN POLANSKI WANTED AND DESIRED In this reopening of this controversial and, as it turns out, very complex case, filmmaker Marina Zenovich fashions a perceptive and intelligent exploration of the infamous sex charge and casts a new light on Polanski’s decisions as well as the U.S. legal system.

TRACES OF THE TRADE A STORY FROM THE DEEP NORTH The story of the director’s Katrina Browne forebears, the De Wolfs, the largest slave-trading family in United States history. The film makes a potent statement about privilege and responsibility.

TROUBLE THE WATER A powerful, partly autobiographical survival story that reflects many of the lives of the people of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

AMERICAN SON Framed by the parameters of a young man’s 96-hour leave before being shipped off to Iraq.

GONZO THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR HUNTER S THOMPSON Director Alex Gibney interviews a broad spectrum of Thompson’s peers and paints a three-dimensional portrait to reveal a larger-than-life icon.

MAN ON WIRE August 7, 1974, A young Frenchman named Philippe Petit steps out on a wire suspended 1,350 feet above ground between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

PATTI SMITH DREAM OF LIFE A punk pioneer and spiritual child of Rimbaud, Blake, and Burroughs, Patti Smith’s fierce poetry and rock music shook up New York’s 1970s underground scene, and her work continues to be stirred organically by her rigorous mind, beloved artistic touchstones, and world events.

UP THE YANGTZE Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River will be the largest hydroelectric power station in the world.

Progress, though, comes at a price. Director Yung Chang shows the tenuous balance between China’s rich cultural past and its modernized future.

UNDER THE BOMBS In the summer of 2006, Lebanon was relentlessly bombed for 34 days in a row. Amid the smoke and turmoil, the beautiful, wealthy Zeina returns from abroad and meets Tony, an oddly endearing driver who risks the perilous drive to the heavily affected southern region to search for her missing sister and son.

CSNY DÉJÀ VU A look back at the politics and anti–Vietnam War sentiment of the late ’60s, featuring music from Neil Young’s controversial Living with War CD. U D An electrifying collage of South American stadium concerts during U2’s 2006 tour in 3D. WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN Director Morgan Spurlock sets out to locate the Al Qaeda leader in a manhunt that takes him to Egypt, Morocco, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and finally Pakistan (where most fingers point).

GREATEST SILENCE RAPE IN CONGO Director Lisa F. Jackson shares her own tale of gangrape in Georgetown while using her compassionate camera to help break the silence surrounding the sexual torture of hundreds of thousands of women in the Congo.

DINNER WITH THE PRESIDENT A NATION’S JOURNEY Directors Sabiha Sumar, Sachithanandam Sathananthan request a dinner with their country’s leader, and to their surprise, the request is granted.

Sheila Johnson at the premiere of Kicking It

REFLECTIONS OF A SUNDANCE KID

BY SHEILA C! JOHNSON

I

recently began producing feature-length documentaries, and was fortunate enough to be an executive producer on Kicking It. It was my first-ever trip to the legendary festival, and it was unforgettable. The people I met in Park City were, without question, some of the most energetic, creative and lifeaffirming people that I had ever encountered.

As I spoke with them, it became clear that as documentary filmmakers they are playing a critical role by focusing the world’s attention on small but vitally important stories that no one else is bothering to tell; stories that speak to larger truths.

One of the highlights of the week for me was a breakfast hosted by Ken Brecher, executive director of the Sundance Institute.

Ken, who I should note, is white – told us that, since this year Martin Luther King, Jr. Day fell during the festival, he wasn’t able to host his annual MLK Day breakfast, so he asked us if we would help him carry on his tradition of reading aloud from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. As an African American whose life has been deeply affected by the good that Dr. King once dreamed, I was reduced to tears.When it was my turn to read, I looked around the table and found myself shaking with emotion.

That’s the spirit that I took away with me from Sundance; the spirit that emanated from the breakfast table – that of the free thinker; the independent filmmaker; the kind of storyteller who, if only given a camera and a few dollars, can move mountains.

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Industry experts had projected that the (winner of Best Supporting Actress); and numbers of films that would get picked up several documentary, animated and live action would increase this year because of the writers’ shorts (which are all film mediums that deserve strike. The wisdom was grounded in simple much more coverage.)

Interestingly, of this year’s best-picture nominees, supply and demand economics – with the Hollywood writers still on strike, studios had only Juno took in more than $100 million in U.S. less content to work with, and the Sundance ticket sales, according to researcher Box Office 2008 slate offered a full menu of ready-made Mojo LLC. This “Focus on Film” is what carries one past product. In the end, the strike didn’t ignite additional buying beyond what was previously the Los-Angelization (read, commercialization) expected. It was a good year – not as strong of the film festival and allows Sundance to as some of the festival’s more exceptional maintain its street cred as the guardian saint years. In stock market terms, the bulls weren’t of independent film. Sideways star Sandra Oh, running but there were gains to be made, who presided as a Dramatic Competition juror especially in the bear market of the “quirky this year, said it best when asked if judges had a bias against mainstream films. Replied Oh, indie comedy.”

The “Little Miss Sunshine effect” was in full force “We want to promote the best film possible. I as three comedies landed the best deals: Hamlet think that’s a given here; but, I mean, come on; 2 sold to Focus Features for $10 million (the do we really need to support the next Mission same price as Little Miss Sunshine); Choke inked Impossible 6? No.” Along those lines, what other festival a $5 million dollar deal with Fox Searchlight for would accept Johnny worldwide rights; Depp being in a film and Henry Poole where all he does is is Here somehow read excerpts from a managed to coerce book, which is exactly Overture into what he did for the dishing out $3.5 documentary Gonzo: million for its U.S. The Life and Work of rights. I found both Dr. Hunter S.Thompson.

Choke and Henry An interesting side Poole is Here (which I note on the film: walked out of before the feature was it ended) to be subproduced by Vanity par; but, again, all is The Irish Homeless World Cup squad featured in Kicking It. Fair Editor in subjective.

Attempting to rate the overall success of the Chief Graydon Carter along with executive festival is political punditry for film. We won’t producers Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner know the true success of the 2008 slate until (whose production company, Cruise/Wagner “the election” is over.That means next year after films, Redskins owner Daniel Snyder invested box office receipts are in and the Oscars, Golden in 2006).

In the end, the transformative nature of film, Globes and BAFTA, SAG, and WGA awards have like the transformative nature of a soccer ball for been doled out.

Using this formula, we could classify last homeless persons competing in the Homeless year’s class as extremely successful. Fifteen 2007 World Cup, is ultimately what draws audiences Sundance selections were honored in some to independent features, documentaries, and way by the 2008 Academy Awards, including shorts. Pretension and frosted sunglasses aside, War/Dance and No End in Sight (Documentary you can’t help but meet incredible, like-minded Feature); The Savages (Original Screenplay); artists at Sundance and be influenced by their Juno (Directing); Julie Christie in Away from work. These agents of change, as Redford calls Her and Laura Linney in The Savages (Lead them, retain the passion and belief that film Actress); Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton means something more than profits.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

THE 100 BEST

WASHINGTON MOVIES EVER! LET THE DEBATE BEGIN…

INTRODUCTION BY ARCH CAMPBELL MOVIES RANKED BY THE WL FILM COMMIT TEE

I

groan when I hear about yet another “Washington” movie because few of them reflect the way we Washingtonians really live. For instance, in No Way Out, some bad guys chase Kevin Costner – so he jumps over the K Street expressway and runs down the entrance of a (non-existent) Georgetown Metro stop, where he boards the Baltimore subway. By the way, that subway is subbing for our Metro, which – wisely – won’t allow scenes with weapons or chases.

But there’s more. How many Washington movies have you seen where somebody drives from Bethesda to downtown by way of Arlington Cemetery with a swing by the Jefferson Memorial? Or makes it from the Lincoln Memorial to Capitol Hill in five minutes during rush hour? Too many.

Oh, I’ve got my list of winners and losers. I hated Arlington Road because weirdo Tim Robbins blows up the FBI Building. That’s crossing the line in my book. I loved the original Manchurian Candidate – the one where they brainwash Laurence Harvey – because they included a television press conference with gigantic 1962 cameras from WRC-TV. I have a very fond spot in my heart for Earth Versus the Flying Saucers, which I saw at the Big Chief Drive-In in San Antonio with my dad. Even though the flying saucers slice through the Washington monument, I forgive them, because as a kid, that movie thrilled me – and I never dreamed I’d actually live here. Speaking of thrills, I still try to walk up and down the Exorcist steps on M Street every few years in tribute.

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One of my favorite Washington films is Being There, in which Peter Sellers plays an idiot gardener who only knows the world through television.Thrown into the real world, our town’s most powerful people take his utterances as pure wisdom. Being There also has great scenes of D.C. in the late ’70s, and I think it’s the first movie to use Biltmore in Ashville, North Carolina as a location. Rent the movie if you haven’t seen it, and then go see Biltmore.

I also love Broadcast News, which holds up pretty well. James L. Brooks spent several days at NBC before he shot it. He includes a hilarious scene of a news aide running with a tape to the control room. She jumps over people, knocks things over, and makes it in the nick of time. Brooks put this in because back then, Channel 4 edited videotapes in the basement and played them back in master control on the other side of the building.

Somebody made that hall run every night – it was part of the rush of working in TV. Now, I work at WJLA ABC7, where they have state-ofthe-art equipment. The editors put our tape into a computer, hit enter, and it’s done. Still, I’m glad I worked in TV in the hall runner days, and I’m glad Broadcast News immortalized them.

Most of all, I’m glad I live in Washington, because it’s beautiful and exciting, and it looks great on screen and off. As one actor told me in front of the Lincoln Monument, “No back lot in Hollywood can compare to this.”

Nine-time Emmy-award-winning film critic Arch Campbell reports on theater and entertainment for WJLA ABC7 and 97.1 WASH-FM.

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POLLYWOOD | BEST WASHINGTON MOVIES EVER

MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939) An idealistic Boy Rangers leader triumphs over corruption.

3 APOCALYPSE NOW (1979) TheVietnam nightmare, along with the Iraq quagmire, shadow today’s politics.

3 ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (1976) Hollywood’s take on Watergate

4 NIXON (1995) The troubled President behind Watergate.

4 WAG THE DOG (1997) A Hollywood producer fakes a war to boost the President’s ratings.

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (2006) Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary on the threat of global warming.

ST ELMOS FIRE (1985) The Brat Pack moves to Georgetown.

TRAFFIC (2000) A conservative Drug Czar sees his daughter battle addiction.

CITIZEN KANE (1941) A media mogul dabbles in politics.

6 THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT (1995) The President romances a lobbyist.

6 THE GODFATHER7 PART II (1974) A Senate committee tries (and fails) to indict the Corleone clan.

; THANK YOU FOR SMOKING (2005) A lobbyist spins for Big Tobacco.

; JFK (1991) A New Orleans district attorney uncovers a massive conspiracy behind JFK’s assassination.

5 CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR (2007) Playboy Congressman Charlie Wilson covertly funds anti-Russian rebellion in Afghanistan.

5 ADVISE AND CONSENT (1962) A controversial candidate for Secretary of State

THE EXORCIST (1973) Demonic possession on M Street.

ABSOLUTE POWER (1997) During a break-in, a thief sees the President cover up his mistress’ s murder.

DR STRANGELOVE OR HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (1964) An insane General jump starts a nuclear holocaust.

FAHRENHEIT / (2004) Someone regrets giving Michael Moore that My Pet Goat footage.

3 BROADCAST NEWS (1987) This romantic comedy plays journalists’ egos for laughs.

3 THE PELICAN BRIEF (1993) Two Supreme Court Justices are murdered.

In Wag the Dog, the political talk show at the end of the film lists its phone number as 1-800-555-0199. This number is also Lester Burnham’s office number in American Beauty (1999) as well as Lowell Bergman’s fax number in The Insider (1999).

In Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Jimmy Stewart dried out his throat with baking soda to make it hoarse for the big “filibuster scene.”

33 THE INSIDER (1999) Blowing the whistle on Big Tobacco.

34 BEING THERE (1979) Politicians confuse a gardner’s plant-lore with profound economic insight.

3 THE WAR OF THE ROSES (1989) An estranged power-couple plots against each other.

3 THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962) Communists conspire to put a brainwashed soldier in the White House.

36 THE CONTENDER (2000) A female Senator is the Vice Presidential nominee.

3; ARLINGTON ROAD (1999) A Terrorism Studies professor suspects his neighbors.

35 THE GOOD SHEPHERD (2006) The film follows the development of the C.I.A. 3 BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE (2002) Michael Moore connects the Columbine massacre to American gun culture.

4 THE MAN WITH ONE RED SHOE (1985) The CIA wrongfully targets a man wearing mismatched shoes.

4 WEDDING CRASHERS (2005) Two buddies crashWashington-area weddings.

43 ENRON THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM (2005) A look at an infamous corporate crime and the company led by Kenneth Lay.

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44 PRIMARY COLORS (1998) A thinly fictionalized look at Bill Clinton’s first White House campaign.

4 BOB ROBERTS (1992) A conservative folk singer-turned-politician and his corrupt election tactics.

4 DAVE (1993) A Presidental lookalike enters the White House for real.

AIR FORCE ONE (1997) A strong female VP leads the nation.

GLORY (1989) The story of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first all-black unit in the U.S.Army.

3 THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915) This politically-incorrect silent film depicts a Southern clan during and after the Civil War.

GARDENS OF STONE (1987) A Vietnam veteran guards Arlington National Cemetery.

6 GUARDING TESS (1994) A difficult former First Lady torments the head of her security team.

6 INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996) Extraterrestrials in the White House

46 NO END IN SIGHT (2007) An exploration of the U.S. - Iraq quagmire.

4 THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1970) New York City cops chase a shipment of “Freedom” heroin to Washington.

63 LIONS FOR LAMBS (2007) A reporter talks Middle Eastern foreign policy with a Republican senator.

4; EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS (1956) Hollywood agrees:Washington’s monuments were not built to repel Martian weaponry.

BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE (2007) Senator Henry Dawes strips the Sioux of their sacred lands.

64 FAIL SAFE (1964) American pilots bomb Moscow.

45 FORREST GUMP (1994) Movie magic lets Forrest Gump and Tricky Dick share the screen.

CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER (1994) When a Colombian drug cartel murders the President’s friend, Harrison Ford acts.

4 THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (1990) Sean Connery is riveting as a Russian nuclearsubmarine commander trying to defect.

6 ARMAGEDDON (1998) NASA recruits oil-drillers to destroy an asteroid.

LEGALLY BLONDE 3 (2003) Elle Woods takes on Washington and Bruiser comes out of the closet.

THE WAR ROOM (1994) A documentary look at the hard-ball tactics of Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign.

; MARS ATTACKS! (1996) Martians come to Earth to vaporize the President’s dog (along with the rest of the planet).

5 BULWORTH (1998) A Senator running for reelection arranges a hit on himself.

3 BREACH (2007) The F.B.I. uncovers a damaging leak.

6 THE PEOPLE VS LARRY FLINT (1996) The players behind the U.S. Supreme Court Case, Hustler Magazine v. Falwell.

6 THE FOG OF WAR (2005) Former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara reflects on Vietnam and the state of modern warfare.

66 BOBBY (2006) A recreation of the day when RFKwas assassinated.

6; MINORITY REPORT (2002) In 2054, a D.C. cop must stop himself from committing a future crime.

In Thank You For Smoking, no one is shown smoking (except in archival footage) throughout the entire movie. Aaron Eckhart holds an empty packet and Robert Duvall holds an unlit cigar.

4 ENEMY OF THE STATE (1998) The N.S.A. pursues a Georgetown lawyer who uncovers a murder conspiracy.

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951) Murder, socialites and trains: Hitchcock.

SYRIANA (2005) Power brokers make deals with Big Oil. 6 THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) Aliens Klaatu and Gort visit the Lincoln Memorial and threaten to destroy Earth. ; NO WAY OUT (1987) A murder, a political cover-up, and a chase through the “Georgetown Metro stop” – what more could you want?

5 TRUE LIES (1994) An undercover agent uses his career to boost his marriage.

A FEW GOOD MEN (1992) A novice Navy lawyer defends two Marines.

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POLLYWOOD | BEST WASHINGTON MOVIES EVER

DROP ZONE (1994) Drug smugglers plan to parachute onto the National Mall on July Fourth.

HEAD OF STATE (2003) A black alderman runs for and wins the Presidency.

3 WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN? (2008) Morgan Spurlock decides to capture bin Laden.

4 HEARTBURN (1986) A New Yorker moves to Washington with her less-than-faithful husband.

MAN OF THE YEAR (2006) When voting machines malfunction, a T.V. comedian becomes President.

THE WALKER (2007) A society escort gets involved with murder.

6 SCORPIO (1973) An assassin takes down a veteran agent. ; U S VS JOHN LENNON (2006) Nixon attempts to silence Lennon.

In Charlie Wilson’s War, a vintage Miss Texas photo of Mary Nell Hubbard was used for a scene in the movie (Julia Roberts plays a former beauty queen). Hubbard wouldn’t take payment for the photo she provided. She privately joked, “I’ve gone from a headline to an archive to an artifact.”

65 MURDER AT 6 (1997) That would be 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

; DICK (1999) Think Legally Blonde meets Watergate.

6 G I JANE (1997) A ripped Demi Moore joins the U.S. Navy SEALS.

5 THE CONVERSATION (1974) A paranoid surveillance expert gets bugged.

; GET ON THE BUS (1996) D.C.’s Million Man March comes alive.

5 REDACTED (2007) Real-life American brutality in Iraq.

; TRUE COLORS (1991) A Department of Justice employee’s investigation leads him to entrap his corrupt best friend.

53 SHOOTER (2007) The President risks being assassinated.

;3 DAMN YANKEES! (1958) A baseball fan bargains with Satan. ;4 QUIZ SHOW (1994) Congressional investigation of a rigged game show. ; THE AVIATOR (2004) A corrupt Senator Brewster tries to destroy aviator Howard Hughes. ; CANADIAN BACON (1995) Michael Moore’s farce about a war with Canada. ;6 MEDIUM COOL (1969) Political turbulence in the late 1960s. ;; RENDITION (2007) A wife and her husband’s detention in Egypt. ;5 THIRTEEN DAYS (2000) The Kennedy White House during the Cuban missile crisis.

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5 WATCH ON THE RHINE (1941) A Nazi sympathizer infiltrates a D.C. home.

RED DRAGON (2002) The F.B.I. captures a tattooed Ralph Fiennes.

THE SIMPSONS MOVIE(2007) Al Gore’s cameo almost beats Spider Pig’s.

In Apocolypse Now, Martin Sheen was intoxicated in the hotel room scene. He punched a mirror, cutting his hand. While drunk, Sheen also began sobbing and tried to attack Francis Ford Coppola.

54 SLAM (1998) An inside look into a D.C. jail 5 STATE OF THE UNION (1948) A Presidential nominee speaks against corruption.

5 BORN YESTERDAY (1950) A tycoon hires a journalist to teach his mistress about Washington society.

56 IN THE LINE OF FIRE (1993) A Secret Service agent needs to stop an assassin.

5; PROTOCOL (1984) A cocktail waitress prevents an Emir’s assassination.

55 OUTFOXED RUPERT MURDOCH’S WAR ON JOURNALISM (2004) The documentary makes a case for FOX News’ biased political coverage.

5 CHANCES ARE (1989) A Georgetown D.A. is killed and reincarnated.

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P h ot o b y C r i s M o l i n a fo r T h e P h ot o g r a p h e r s G a l l e r y

Glover Park s 3ILVER 3PRING

Glover Park: 2404 Wisconsin Avenue NW • Washington DC 20007 Silver Spring: 921-J Ellsworth Drive • Silver Spring, MD 20910

www.latinconcepts.com

Back row, from left to right: Patricia Finneran, Norman Dreyfuss, Carroll Moore, Murray Horwitz, Chris Koch, Noel “Sonny” Izon, Carol Bidault de L’isle,Tom Hardart, Dan Glickman, Francene Blythe, Chris Palmer, Tim Kelly, Susan Koch and Sky Sitney. Front row: Flo Stone, Matt Katzive, Andrea Meditch, David Beal, Jody Arlington, Greg McGruder, Lisa Truitt, David Royle and Margaret Parsons.

WELCOME TO

POLLYWOOD

THE WASHINGTON AREA’S FILMMAKING AND PRODUCTION COMMUNITY HAS ELBOWED ITS WAY INTO THE FABRIC OF A TOWN BETTER KNOWN FOR POLITICAL HISTRIONICS THAN BIG-SCREEN DRAMA – THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE LEADING THE CHARGE GROUP AND PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY BY CLAY BLACKMORE PHOTOGRAPHED AT TEATRO GOLDONI HAIR AND MAKEUP BY CAROLA MYERS

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Patricia Harrison

Lisa Truitt

Ray Barry

Wade Davis

Dan Glickman

Arch Campbell

W

e know: a mention of the District of Columbia doesn’t exactly conjure up movie sets. But those who live here know differently. We’ve seen the film renaissance Washington has experienced in the past decade.

In addition to the political and diplomatic scene, the character of the city has been changed by a thriving high-tech and real estate industry. But the next wave of growth comes in more creative areas: a thriving filmmaking and production industry.

National Geographic, PBS, and the Motion Picture Association of American (MPAA) have been industry stalwarts for years. AFI SILVER and Discovery Networks have added their cachet in recent years. The city is now known internationally as a leading producer of documentaries. But it’s not just these major producers who are getting into the act. The Oscar-nominated documentary War/Dance was produced by two local residents, Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine. Former AOL chairman Ted Leonsis has had two films at Sundance in the past two years, Nanking and Kicking It. The film Under the Same Moon, which is showing at Georgetown AMC this March, was produced

by Washingtonians John Cecchi and Norman Dreyfuss. The film was picked up at Sundance last year by the The Weinstein Company. They also partnered on the 2008 Sundance film Red. And let’s not forget Daniel Snyder’s splashy 2006 investment in Cruise/Wagner Productions.

Dig even deeper, and you see a budding next generation of filmmakers in the area, such as director Karim Chrobog, whose film War Child blitzed the Berlin Film Festival this February.

Throw the area’s numerous film festivals into the mix; add the Smithsonian Network’s association with Showtime entertainment; include the National Gallery of Art, and the Freer, Sackler, and Hirshhorn galleries, and think-tanks such as the Center for American Progress, which hold screenings and produce films, and we begin to realize that we are witnessing the debut of what Washington Life likes to call “Pollywood.”

At its center, Pollywood incorporates three main ingredients: First, network, production and filmmaking professionals – including actors, directors, writers, crew, and film festival founders and staff. Then add the politicians, media personalities, lawyers, and lobbyists who all play a role in advancing the industry (e.g., Rep. John Conyers flying to Sundance to speak on a panel for the film Traces of the Trade:A Story from the Deep North). Lastly, mix in the industry professionals and stars who come to town for cause-related activities (think Bono for the One Campaign or George Clooney and his work in behalf of Darfur).

Our most extensive Pollywood issue to date includes many individuals who call Washington home and fit within these categories. This is Flo Stone not our Social List (although, you’ll find may of those individuals on the scene). This is not our Power List (although, many do exert power via the influence that film and entertainment wield.)

This is not our Wealth List (although many of the names of the area’s top executive producers can be found here). We’ve gathered many of the top Pollywood Players in one place in order to provide a broader understanding of one of the capital region’s most vibrant, successful, and exciting industries.

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEES ANDREA NIX FINE and SEAN FINE for

War/Dance, 2008.

TED LEONSIS’s Nanking was on the 2008 Oscar shortlist

EMMY NOMINEES SUSAN KOCH won for Barbra Streisand Presents: Reel Models - First Women of Film NINA GILDEN SEAVEY7 nominated for The Ballad of Bering Strait GEORGE PELECANOS7 nominated

for The Wire David Royle

Ted Leonsis

George Pelecanos

Catherine Wyler

Chris Palmer

Ina Ginsburg

Sheila Johnson

Caroll Moore

George Stevens Jr.

Grace Guggenheim

Greg McGruder

Dan Snyder

Susan Koch

Neil Barrett

Tim Kelly

Sean Fine

Jody Arlington

Flo Stone

Tony Gittens

Andrea Nix Fine

FEATURE | WELCOME TO POLLYWOOD

POLLYWOOD PLAYERS THE REGION’S FILM AND PRODUCTION INDUSTRY LEADERS JODY ARLINGTON Director, Georgetown Entertainment & Media Alliance and Head of Entertainment Practice,Weber Merritt NEIL BARRETT Cinematographer, Kicking It RAY BARRY Deputy Director and CEO, AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center DAVID BEAL President, National Geographic Entertainment CAROL BIDAULT DE L’ISLE Executive Director and Founder, DC Independent Film Festival

TOM HARDART Producer, Adirondack Pictures

TED and JIM PEDAS Producers, Raising Arizona

PATRICIA HARRISON CEO, Corporation for Public Broadcasting

GEORGE PELECANOS Author and Producer, The Wire, HBO

JOHN HENDRICKS Founder and Chairman, Discovery Communicationss

DAVID ROYLE Executive VP of Programming and Production, Smithsonian Networks

MURRAY HORWITZ Director and COO, AFI Silver ANNIE HOWELL Senior VP, Communications & Public Affairs, Planet Green at Discovery Communications

FRANCENE BLYTHE Director, All Roads Film Project

TIM KELLY President, Global Media Group and President and CEO, National Geographic Ventures

CLARK BUNTING President, Discovery Emerging Networks

AVIVA KEMPNER Filmmaker, director and writer

ARCH CAMPBELL Film Impressario and Entertainment Editor, WJLA

SUSAN and CHRIS KOCH Filmmakers, Kicking It

WADE DAVIS Filmmaker, producer, anthropologist and botanical explorer; author of The Serpent and the Rainbow and Grand Canyon: River at Risk

TED LEONSIS Executive Producer, Nanking and Kicking It

NORMAN DREYFUSS Producer, Red and La Misma Luna MAYOR ADRIAN FENTY Film Industry Advocate SEAN FINE and ANDREA NIX FINE Producers, War Dance PATRICIA FINNERAN Festival Director, SILVERDOCS INA GINSBURG Founder, EU Film Showcase; AFI Trustee TONY GITTENS Director, FilmFest D.C. DAN GLICKMAN Chairman and CEO, Motion Picture Association of America GRACE GUGGENHEIM Executive Producer, Guggenheim Productions

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GREG MCGRUDER VP, National Geographic Live and Museum ANDREA MEDITCH Vice President, Discovery Films CARROLL MOORE Film and video producer, National Gallery of Art SHEILA JOHNSON NEWMAN Co-founder, Black Entertainment Television (BET) and Executive Producer, Kicking It CHRIS PALMER Distinguished Film Producer in Residence and Director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking, American University CRYSTAL PALMER Head, The Office of Motion Picture and Television Development and member, D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities MARGARET PARSONS Curator of the Department of Film Programs, National Gallery of Art

NINA GILDEN SEAVEY Director, The Documentary Center at The George Washington University and Founding Director, SILVERDOCS. JAMIE SHORE President,Venture Communications DANIEL SNYDER Investor in Cruise/Wagner Productions GEORGE STEVENS7 JR Author and Producer, Kennedy Center Honors FLO STONE Director and Founder, D.C. Environmental Film Festival CAROLE TOMOKO President, Discovery Studios and General Manager, Discovery Health, Discovery Kids, and Fit TV LISA TRUITT President, National Geographic Cinema Ventures JEFF WEINGARTEN President/CEO, Interface Media Group JED WOLFINGTON Filmmaker, Walkumentary Productions CATHERINE WYLER Producer, filmmaker and Artistic Director, The High Falls Film Festival DAVID ZASLAV President and CEO, Discovery Communications

KICKING IT MORE? These Venture Philanthropy Partners came together in 2007 to invest in the documentary Kicking It. Expect to see more “filmanthropy” from the group: RANDY BOE, JACK DAVIES, DOUG SMITH7 JOE EDELMAN, MARK EIN, RAUL FERNANDEZ, RICK ALLEN, SHEILA JOHNSON and NIGEL MORRIS

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THE NEXT GENERATION KEEP YOUR EYE ON THESE RISING POLLYWOOD PLAYERS

ROSHANAK AMELI-TEHRANI7 Producer

JEFF KRULIK. Filmmaker

PARIS BUSTILLOS7 Filmmaker

KALI MCIVER7 Producer

KEITH CARTER7 Animator

JASON MOJICA7 Filmmaker

JOHN CECCHI7 Producer

NICK PANAGAPOULOUS7 President, Brainbox Productions

KARIM CHROBOG7 Founder, Tangier Pictures and 18th Street Films

ALEX PACHECO7 Filmmaker

KIRK FRASER7 Director

TODD ROHAL7 Writer/director

HAILE GERIMA7 Filmmaker

ANDY SHALLAL7 Bus Boys and Poets Owner and film activist

Jason Mojica

Keith Carter

John Cecchi

JOHN HENSHAW7 Founder, Gorilla Film Festival ERIK HUEY7 Entertainment lawyer and writer/producer

SKY SITNEY Director of Programming, SILVERDOCS SAMMY STEWART7 Producer

NOEL “SONNY” IZON7 Filmmaker OLIVIA WILDE7 Washington born, L.A.-based actress MATT KATZIVE7 VP, Communications, Discovery Studios

TIM WILSON Owner and Creative Visual Diretor, Cyberstorm

Olivia Wilde

John Henshaw

WAR CHILD UNDER THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF BERLIN

BY K A R I M CH R O B O G A N D A FS H I N M O L AVI

A

On February 10, the red carpet couple of months ago, an email was rolled out. Dozens of friends and trickled through the web to our family from Washington and around film company, 18th Street Films, that the world had flown in. Cameras said “...your film has been selected for flashed. The 600-seat Babylon Theater the Berlin International Film Festival.” was packed; people sat in the aisles.

We were delighted. After all, the Berlinale The lights dimmed. The movie played.

– which takes place from February 7 People laughed, cried, and cheered.

17 – is one of the leading festivals on Ninety-four minutes later, the film the international film festival calendar. received a standing ovation.

It was a tremendous vote of confidence Once the bright lights had gone for War Child, a documentary about the down, it was time to get down to tumultuous and ultimately hopeful life From left: Director Karim Chrobog, Emmanuel Jal, Rick Boden, Afshin Molavi and business. We worked the booths at the of Emmanuel Jal, a former Sudanese Nels Bangerter at the premiere of “War Child” at 2008 Berlin Film Festiva.l There was little time for celebration, European Film Market, the gathering point child soldier turned hip-hop star with a message of peace.The film was three years in the making however, because we were deep in the middle of buyers, sellers, distributors and agents. This and was shot all over South Sudan (including of a final edit. Over the next two months, we is the less glamorous side of film-making but its oil fields), the Nairobi slums, and the refugee crashed until we had a final cut, movie posters, nevertheless a key ingredient of the festival. camps on the Kenya/Sudan border as well as in and flyers. A few days before the festival, we More festivals are to follow this year and hopefully one will come near you. flew to Berlin, high-definition tapes in hand.

New York, New Orleans, and Washington.

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FEATURE | WELCOME TO POLLYWOOD

DO INDEPENDENT FILMS MATTER? INDIE FILMS OFFER FRESH PERSPECTIVES BUT THE INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO REDEFINE WHAT “SUCCESS” MEANS

BY PATR I CIA A . FI N N ER AN

I

n today’s always-on media world, do you ever feel surrounded by choices that you don’t have time to make? The democratization of media creation brought on by the digital revolution – affordable cameras, laptop editing systems – means that anyone can be a filmmaker. Film (and its digital progeny) is fast becoming the most powerful medium in shaping human understanding of the world; but what of the literally endless content?

There is value in all that content chaos: freedom of expression is a pillar of our democracy.

It supports what former Vice President Al Gore has called the ‘marketplace of ideas’; the civic dialogue ensures the health of our democratic institutions. (One could also argue that the value of independent media grows in importance with vertical integration of media conglomerates.)

The very vastness of the Internet presents this challenge: what’s worth paying attention to?

Yo u r time is limited and valuable, yet you need something to help you separate the wheat from the chaff. Just as quality journalism makes sense of the news, film festivals separate the silver from the dross of independent film. Film festivals provide a curatorial function that helps you, the audience, make efficient choices about your media consumption.

Last year’s War/Dance, (which screened at SILVERDOCS) won numerous Festival awards, an Academy Award nomination, and has helped raise awareness about the plight

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Above: The author, Patricia Finneran. (Photo

by Clay Blakemore) Left: Poster from the movie War/Dance. (Photo by Tony Powell)

of the Acholi children affected by the war in Uganda. Unfortunately it has not broken any records at the box-office for Washington area filmmakers Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine. If measured by on-going impact and affect on raising awareness for the children of Uganda, this film could be classified as a blockbuster. The new challenge is to measure social return on investment.

Documentary film in particular has become an accepted forum to raise awareness about social issues and tell stories that the mainstream media neglects.

Of course, independent films aren’t all about social change. Many engage, and entertain, audiences without addressing politics. Al

Maysles’ The Gates traces the development of the artist Christo’s plan to install hundreds of orange gates in central park. It is about the power of an artist’s vision to bring people together.

These days, independent filmmakers must be as creative with outreach as they are with their filmmaking; their distribution vision must extend far beyond the hoped-for theatrical release and sale to U.S. television. Distributors can no longer rely on a newspaper ad and movie listing to drive traffic to the local cinema. Now, festival screenings, a savvy Internet campaign that includes a social networking strategy, and even partnerships with non-profits organizations are necessary to finding and engaging audiences.

For each of these films, film festival play provided press attention that has helped support theatrical releases and raised public awareness for the ideas explored in the films. A film can literally change the world by telling a story that matters in such a compelling way that an audience is inspired to take action.

Film festivals remain the first, and often the primary, public presentation of independent films. There, audiences can find films that capture complex human stories that are eminently worthy of their time.

And you, the audience, can experience them together – in a community setting where discussions and live interactions are welcome, a 21st century version of the ancient Greek agora.

Here in Washington, SILVERDOCS, FilmFest DC, and the Environmental Film Festival, among others, offer a panoply of choices of films from around the globe. (The AFI Silver offers these kind of choices yearround). In a town where politics dominate, festivals offer you an instant opportunity to exert your inner independent.

Patricia A. Finneran is Festival Director of SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival.

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POLLYWOOD | WL PROFILES

BEING!!!

INA

LONG BEFORE TED LEONSIS DID SUNDANCE AND AFI SILVER AND DISCOVERY MOVED TO SILVER SPRING, THERE WAS A TRIFECTA OF POLLYWOOD PLAYERS: GEORGE STEVENS, JR., JACK VALENTI AND INA GINSBURG. INA’S SON, MARK, RECOUNTS HOW THIS STYLISH AND SHARP-MINDED VIENNESE HELPED LAY THE FOUNDATION FOR WASHINGTON’S FILM CULTURE

BY MARK GINSBURG

B

Ina and Harrison Ford at Morton’s in Beverly Hills.

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y the mid-’70s, George Stevens, Jr., director of the American Film Institute (AFI), had enlisted my mother Ina as a full-time volunteer and christened her “Godmother of Moviegoing at the Kennedy Center.”

Her subscription-based “Film Club” benefiting the AFI was in full swing, with film premieres attended by their stars, parties at embassies for foreign films, and valuable press coverage the next morning. Forty-two countries participated over the years.

As budgets were tight, stars who came to Washington in support of AFI programs were often entertained privately at our home; I was enlisted as chauffeur. Jimmy Stewart, Charlton Heston, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Taylor, Jeanne Moreau, Catherine Deneuve, Andy Warhol, Alain Delon, Christopher Walken, Marisa Berenson, and many more sat at her dining table over the last three decades.

Mixed in would be a powerful assortment of film buffs, including senators, a few ambassadors, perhaps a Supreme Court justice or the Secretary of State. Meanwhile, at the AFI’s Kennedy Center base, small lunches were held for visiting Hollywood royalty such as Cary Grant. The diplomacy effectively woke up members of Congress, whose largesse the AFI was somewhat dependent upon, to the vital mission of film preservation and education.The glamour quotient was unusually high, and so was the coverage – so much so that Jack Valenti, then head of the MPAA, Hollywood’s commercial lobbying arm in Washington, summoned Stevens’ successor, Jean Firstenberg, and asked her to tone it down. It was as if the MPAA’s presence was going to be eclipsed.

In the mid-80’s, Ina created a film festival for the members of the European Community after an exploratory meeting in Brussels; to this day, this showcase is the only major cultural event involving all 27 EU nations in the U.S.“They didn’t just want to be perceived as a commercial entity, so I proposed the festival,” Ina recalled. InWashington recently, the EU awarded her a citation during the festival’s anniversary.

For the AFI, Ina also created a groundbreaking New Arab Cinema showcase, following a trip to seven middle-eastern countries.

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In 2005, she celebrated her twin passions of opera and film by organizing “Opera Goes to the Movies;” great movies of great operas screened at the AFI Silver Theatre with receptions at the embassies of Germany, France, Spain and Italy. “My dream has always been to bring Europe and the U.S. closer together.

Billions are spent on public diplomacy but sometimes the small ways can be very effective,” she remarked.

In Los Angeles for the 40th anniversary of the AFI, I asked Ina, an AFI trustee, if the odd mix of stars and political power ever led to any unusual confrontations...

A surprise visit from Liv Ullman hours before an AFI screening and party for her latest film, came to mind. “Liv demanded to know if Henry Kissinger, then Secretary of State, was coming. When I hesitated she told me she absolutely wouldn’t appear unless he came,” Ina recalled. “I had read they’d gone out together so I took her seriously,” she continued. “Henry was a friend and would come to the screening room alone, with his big dog, and watch a film privately when he needed time off. So I phoned the State Department, pleaded gently, and he agreed to attend. This was four o’clock in the afternoon! He was very human and approachable, and quite generous. That evening when he walked in, he looked at me sternly and said, ‘You’ve got nerve, Ina!’”

Left: Ina and Andy Warhol at the Factory circa 1984. Right: Not one to shy away from playing hostess, Ina and her guests from Thailand, pose with her portrait by Andy Warhol.

Then there was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first entrance on the Washington stage. Ina was asked to do a private VIP screening for Pumping Iron, long before anyone really knew who Arnold was. At first she demurred.

“Bobby Zarem, the famous PR honcho representing the film, sort of reproached me by saying that, as a fellow Austrian, I should help Arnold; but I insisted on meeting him first,” she recalled. Arnold flew in from California to have lunch with Ina at Sans Souci, the Washington restaurant at the time where one went to see and be seen.

“I arrived a couple of minutes early and saw him walk in,” she recounted. All eyes followed Schwarzenegger to her table. “After ten minutes I decided he was more than

okay; his manners were very good, and he was bright,” she added. “We spoke openly, in German, as two Austrians. He said to me very directly, ‘My plan is to become a major film star, and I will.’”

He stayed for three days, and Ina introduced him to a number of people. “We became friends, and some time later I took him to the AFI Life Achievement Awards in Los Angeles; he still wasn’t a major star – the foreign press reacted when we walked down the red carpet, but not so much the U.S. press. When he decided to run for governor, I was convinced he’d win. He will not allow himself to fail – which is proving to be true now. He’s very competent.” Mr. Schwarzenegger may well have eyes on Washington once again.

Left: Contributor Mark Ginsburg with his mother Ina at a reception at the French Embassy for the C’est Chic French Film festival last fall. Right: Ina with actress Marisa Berenson at the EU Film Festival in 1988.

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POLLYWOOD | WL PROFILES

George Lucas, Clint Eastwood, Kirk Douglas, Rob Reiner, Angela Lansbury, Billy Crystal, Jack Nicholson, and Warren Beatty all have films honored at the AFI’s 40 year celebration.

HAPPY TH AFI!

C

elebrating its 40th anniversary in Los Angeles at the packed ArcLight theater complex, the American Film Institute screened ten classic films simultaneously. An extraordinary bonus was the in-person introduction by each film’s star or director: on hand were Julie Andrews, Warren Beatty, Kirk Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, Clint Eastwood, Jack Nicholson, George Lucas, and more.

The event, planned by new AFI chief, Bob Gazzale and funded by Target, sold out its 4,000 seats in 36 hours.

No other organization in the world could have pulled it off. A reception for stars and trustees followed at Eat on Sunset, and a lunch at the Beverly Wilshire attended by Warren Beatty; Kirk Douglas – in extraordinary form; Sir Howard Stringer of Sony, who is the AFI chairman; and numerous other Hollywood power brokers closed the festivities.

In 1967, the National Council of the Arts, concluding that film is an important American art form, provided a directive to establish the AFI. At the time, countless classic American films on nitrate film stock were rotting in studio vaults, and serious film students and scholars had limited choices when looking for an institutional advocate. Few fought harder than AFI’s founding

director, George Stevens, Jr., and his successor, the formidable Jean Picker Firstenberg, to preserve film’s role as a major component of American cultural identity. In the last 40 years, the AFI has become a major center of film preservation, education (the Conservatory, and the AFI Directing Workshop for Women), and presentation. In 1995, the AFI became a non-profit with no further governmental assistance. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles; and its Washington, D.C., area post, the state-of-the-art AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center.

The AFI’s Washington presence has been unique. As government arts subsidies dwindled, visibility in the capital became critical for the AFI. For years, its offices in the Kennedy Center functioned as a kind of nerve center for actors and directors on missions to raise awareness for organizations in Washington – and to promote their latest films or testify on the Hill.

Evenings were built around stars and directors to highlight their work, and of course, the AFI; and attended by an influential mix from Capitol Hill, the White House, the diplomatic corps, and the press. It was the flowering of “Pollywood” when the two scenes mixed in a serious way.

– Mark Ginsburg

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WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

WASHING TON S O C I A L D I A R Y

NIGHTLIFE Michael Allen and Grace Koh

Trae Byrd, Liz Curtis-Bey, and Kelechi Okere

Mike Feldman and David Modell

U2 3D AFTER PARTY Sequoia PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

THE EVENT The Washington premiere of U2 3D hosted by the One Campaign at the Smithsonian IMAX theater and a<er party at Sequoia. THE SCENE Guests removed their geeky 3D glasses, then enjoyed cocktails and “new American” finger food.

Julia Cohen, Alison Byrne-Fields, and Jim Bernstein

Kimball Stroud and Marc Adelman

Michael Warren, David Lane, Lynn Taliento, and Jeff Shesol

Susan Kelly, Sarah and Bob Nixon, Tim Kelly, and Katie Kelly

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Julia Ehrgood, Bob Ghafouri, Rich Lopez, and Kristen Haggerty

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POLLYWOOD | MEDIA SPOTLIGHT

And the Winner Is… The press corps handicapped the race and Miss America turned heads

BY JAN ET D O N OVAN

20/20 hindsight?

Juleanna Glover Weiss was headed to the New Hampshire primaries with the McCain contingent the morning after her book party for Garrett Graff’s The First Campaign. Good choice in retrospect. “He will be the nominee, inevitably,” she quipped confidently.

The night was all about politics and predictions. So, how did insiders stack up against professional pollsters who, in retrospect, got it all wrong? Here are some off-the-cuff remarks: “The next president will be Obama and Mark Warner will be the vice president,” said John Arundel, editor of The Alexandria Times.

“Huckabee will be the Republican nominee.”

“I think Michelle Obama will be the best first lady we’ve ever; She’s young, charming, beautiful and smart. Obama’s going to win,” claimed Stephanie Mansfield. What about Obama’s lack of foreign policy expertise?

“People say he has no experience which means he’s not corrupt. He’s a rock star.”

Veteran Democrat Tom Quinn weighed in, “Obama is proving to be a formidable candidate.

He has great delivery and a great voice.”

“Iowa was not a shocker for me,” declared Washingtonian’s Harry Jaffe. “I think that Iowans are authentic people and Obama was an authentic candidate. Hillary Clinton ran a polldriven campaign. I think Obama will continue and McCain will be the Republican nominee.”

Beth Solomon giving her take on Iowa:

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“Unfortunately I think it showed their isolation by picking two candidates that should be going nowhere. Obama lacks experience and Huckabee is out of his league. If Obama gets the nomination, I’ll support McCain.”

“Obama and McCain,” prophesied Newshour’s Mike Mosettig. ABC’s Ann

she was Miss America. It was fun to watch who accidentally positioned themselves for a photo op, most notably Hardball’s Chris Matthews, who just happened by her table, where she was a guest of Congressional Quarterly.

Guests were astonished at how amusing the program speakers were; generally not the case at such functions.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel can definitely lose his day job.

The former Clinton senior advisor was on a roll. “I’m a man who has learned a lot since my days in the Clinton White House.

Back then, the words stimulus and package had a whole different meaning.

Let’s be honest, back then when we would talk about a surge, a lightening quick thrust and a phased withdrawal, it was damage control.” He was joined at the podium by Sen. John Sam Zarifi, Cathy Merrill, and Karen Zarifi at Garrett Graff’s book party Cornyn, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Compton was headed home early to pack her Senator Mitch McConnell. bags for the Middle East. “Iowa kind of turned Actor Ted Danson was in the house and wants everything on its head. It’s a reporter’s dream.” to make it perfectly clear that he actually does not “Watching this campaign has been claim rights to an environmental brew named like watching the Soviets trying to leave after him called “Danson’s Best.” He might follow Afghanistan, it’s taking so long,” said WMAL’s up on the idea though and contribute profits to Chris Berry. Amen. his environmental group Oceana. The dinner was followed by a CQ after party featuring Doc Scantlin with Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday There she is No one could believe the young lady in the look a-likes wandering about. Seen: Clintonite red dress was actually Miss America. After all, Lanny Davis, Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff, David the Washington Press Club Foundation’s Annual Bass, Bill Press and Dan Glickman (seated with Congressional Dinner was about hard core Miss America). journalism. But yes, it was and there she was. Readers wishing to get in touch with Janet can Even Kirsten Haglund herself couldn’t believe email: columns@washingtonlife.com.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

POLLYWOOD | MEDIA SPOTLIGHT

THE WASHINGTON PRESS CLUB FOUNDATION’S CONGRESSIONAL DINNER The Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C. PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Judy Holland, Ted Danson, and Kathy Kemper

Juliet Eilperin and Rep. Nancy Pelosi

Miss America Kirsten Haglund and Rita Cosby

Rep. Rahm Emanuel and Sen. John Cornyn

Ed Henry and Edith Chapin

Clark Johnson

POLLYWOOD | LIFE OF THE PARTY David Bradley and David Adler

Tammy Haddad with her daughter Rachel

Anita McBride, Ed Henry, and Hilary Rosen WL EXCLUSIVE

TAMMY HADDAD’S 50TH BIRTHDAY The Rosen Residence PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

THE EVENT An “over the hill” cocktail celebration hosted by Lynne Wasserman, David Adler, Hilary Rosen and Ted Greenberg for everyone’s favorite

Rep. Steve Cohen and Andrea Mitchell

television producer complete with a large mocked up cover of AARP magazine announcing the birthday.

THE SCENE Politicos and journalists came with special birthday tributes including an episode of Meet the Press, moderated by Tim Russert and executive produced by Betsey Fisher with messages from Willard Sco), George Stephanopoulos, David Gregory, Elizabeth Vargas and Claire Shipman, among others.

Tucker Carlson, Quinn Bradlee, Sally Quinn, and George Stephanopoulos

Taylor Griffin and Marc Adelman with Hillary and Jake Perry

John Coale and Greta Van Susteren

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Susie Carlson

Aimee Violette, Sarah Feinberg, Morgan Hillenbrand, and Jennifer Tapper

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POLLYWOOD | DIPLOMATIC DANCE

New Frontiers Ambassadors and embassies push boundaries, expand horizons

BY GAIL SCOTT

Diplomats Do Disney Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center was the first stop in late January for more than 60 diplomats and spouses from 45 nations, as Chief of Protocol Nancy Brinker quietly inaugurated her “Experience America” tours.

“This is a result of a survey we did when I first came into office,” Brinker said. “The ambassadors said they wanted to see American life outside Washington and learn more about global trade, corporate governance, security, and sustainable energy.”

On this Florida trip, they also visited the Kennedy Space Center, Florida Sustainable Energy Center outside Orlando, and the Port of Miami; met with former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and the founders of Art Basel Miami Beach; and enjoyed a typical Cuban dinner.

“Nancy Brinker deserves great praise for this wonderful initiative,” said Liechtenstein’s Claudia Fritsche. Ellen Noghès, the American-born wife of the Ambassador of Monaco added, “It was a fascinating trip of discovery for all the members of the Diplomatic Corps.” Irish Ambassador Michael Collins felt this kind of guided exploration gives ambassadors “a wider perspective.”

Malaysian Ambassador Rajmah Hussain felt a direct connection to her homeland. “If Florida is the sunshine state, then we are the sunshine country” she said, adding that her country is studying multiple sources of alternative energy, trying to determine which methods are most efficient and cost effective.

Major construction and a few face lifts Look for China’s giant, I.M. Pei-designed embassy on International Drive to open just in time for the Beijing Olympics in August.

Directly behind the Chinese, Morocco hopes to break ground later this year on their new home. According to Moroccan Ambassador Aziz

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Astronaut Al Warden, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Chargé d’Affaires Lacelia Prince, Chief of Protocol Nancy Brinker, Trinidad and Tobagan Ambassador Marina Annette Valere, and Jamaican Chargé d’Affaires Sharon Joyce Miller at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on a recent diplomatic trip.

Mekouar, “The design will be contemporary yet still have reminders of Moroccan traditional architecture.” Nearby, Jordan has been going through “face-lifts” for both its sand-colored chancery and for the Jordanian Residence in McLean. Villa Firenze, the handsome 22-acre Italian residence, is closed for renovations and the Castellanetas have evacuated Polly Guggenheim Logan’s former estate for the duration.

Sweden’s “party guy” When Swedish Consul General Pontus Jarborg wanted to reach out to Washington’s young professionals, he admits he didn’t expect such an overwhelming result. Thousands came to the House of Sweden’s first open house, co-sponsored by Svedka Vodka and Starbucks, resulting in an unending line and an hour and a half wait. “Facebook and the $10 donation (open bar) made us the place to be.”

The party, originally planned for 500, snowballed into an event with over 3,000 RSVPs. Jarborg, now the embassy’s “Party Guy,” remains undaunted and plans to do it again (“with a bit more control”) for “Discover

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

Sweden,” their next big exhibit in April. He quips, “Don’t all the best places always have a line?”

Readers wishing to get in touch with Gail can email: columns@washingtonlife.com.

DO YOU KNOW EMBASSY ROW? Slovenia • Slovenia, which is only 17 years old, is the first post-Iron Curtain EU member to hold the presidency of the prestigious 27 member European Union.

• Slovenia’s smart new promotional campaign: The only country with “love” in its name.

• Slovenia lays claim to the world’s oldest vineyards, originally planted by the Romans.

• Slovenian Ambassador Samuel Zbogar ran the Marine Corps Marathon to raise funds for six young landmine survivors from Bosnia-Herzegovina. He finished marathon in 3.31.07.

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SPECIAL FEATURE | THE A-LIST

THE

A Head-Turners and Power Players

I

t’s hard to elicit a physical response from a Washington crowd; that is, to “turn” a head. Although we’ve produced this list for sixteen years, 2008’s A List seems to have evolved into a roster of national names rather than one merely dedicated to the stars in our local firmament. After all, this year’s elections have brought bona fide “rock stars” to town. All eyes have been on Ben Bernanke to solve our financial woes, and we’ve all been waiting with baited breath to find out whether Christopher Hitchens will finally quit smoking (maybe it would help if he had God on his side).We said goodbye to longtime favorites Joe Gibbs, as well as British Ambassador Sir David Manning and Lady Manning. While farewells are always sad, there are always new faces such as financial heavyweight David Rubenstein and Robert Zoellick. Over the years, we’ve found that A List status is less about the job and rank than one might think; it’s also about having a personality that electrifies a room. We’re grateful that they’re here to liven up the scene.

LIST

Top from left to right: Steve and Jean Case, Vernon and Ann Jordan, James Kimsey, Jacqueline Mars. Bottom from left to right:Paul and Nancy Pelosi, Roger and Victoria Sant, and Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn.

The President of the United States GEORGE W BUSH and First Lady LAURA BUSH

The Vice President of the United States and Mrs. RICHARD B CHENEY (Lynne) His Excellency the Ambassador of Kuwait Sheikh SALEM ABDULLAH AL-JABER AL-SABAH and Sheika AL-SABAH (Rima) The Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board and Mrs. BEN S BERNANKE (Anna) The Honorable and Mrs. JAMES H BILLINGTON (Marjorie) Mr. and Mrs. BENJAMIN C BRADLEE (Sally Quinn) Mr. JOSHUA B BOLTEN Mr. and Mrs. DAVID G BRADLEY (Katherine) Justice and Mrs. STEPHEN G BREYER (Joanna) Senator ROBERT C BYRD Mr. and Mrs. CALVIN CAFRITZ (Jane) Mr. and Mrs. WILLIAM N CAFRITZ (Buffy) Mr. and Mrs. STEVEN B CASE (Jean) Mrs. EUGENE B CASEY (Betty) His Excellency the Ambassador of Italy and Mrs. GIOVANNI CASTELLANETA (Leila)

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The Secretary of Labor ELAINE L CHAO and Senator A MITCHELL MCCONELL The Secretary of Homeland Security and Mrs. MICHAEL CHERTOFF (Meryl) The Honorable WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON and Senator HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON Representative and Mrs. JOHN D DINGELL (Debbie) Mr. and Mrs. PLACIDO DOMINGO (Marta) Mr. and Mrs. ROBERT S DUVALL (Luciana Pedraza) Representative and Mrs. RAHM EMANUEL (Amy) The Honorable ADRIAN M FENTY, Mayor of Washington, D.C., and Mrs. FENTY (Michelle) Mr. and Mrs. THOMAS FRIEDMAN (Ann) The Secretary of Defense and Mrs. ROBERT M GATES (Becky) The Honorable and Mrs. DANIEL R GLICKMAN (Rhoda) Mr. DONALD GRAHAM Mr. and Mrs. CHRISTOPHER E HITCHENS (Carol Blue) Mr. and Mrs. JAMES HOAGLAND (Jane Stanton Hitchcock) Mr. ROBERT L JOHNSON Mr. and Mrs. VERNON E JORDAN7 JR (Ann) Senator and Mrs. EDWARD M KENNEDY (Vicky)

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SPECIAL FEATURE | THE A- LIST

Mrs. ROBERT F KENNEDY (Ethel) Senator and Mrs. JOHN F KERRY (Teresa Heinz) Mr. JAMES V KIMSEY Mr. and Mrs. JAMES C LEHRER (Kate) Mr. and Mrs. THEODORE J LEONSIS (Lynn) Mr. and Mrs. THEODORE N LERNER (Annette) The Secretary of the Treasury and Mrs. HENRY M PAULSON7 JR (Wendy) Mr. and Mrs. J WILLARD MARRIOTT7 JR (Donna) Ms. JACQUELINE BADGER MARS

Mr. JOSEPH E ROBERT7 JR Chief Justice and Mrs. JOHN G ROBERTS7 JR (Jane) The Secretary of State CONDOLEEZZA RICE Senator and Mrs. JOHN D ROCKEFELLER7 IV (Sharon Percy) Mr. and Mrs. KARL C ROVE (Darby) Mr. and Mrs. DAVID RUBENSTEIN (Alice Rogoff) Mr. and Mrs. TIMOTHY J RUSSERT7 JR (Maureen Orth) Mr. and Mrs. ROGER SANT (Victoria) Mr. and Mrs. B FRANCIS SAUL7 II (Tricia)

Mr. JOHN F MARS Senator and Mrs. JOHN S MCCAIN7 III (Cindy) Admiral MICHAEL G MULLEN7 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and MRS MULLEN (Deborah) The Honorable and Mrs. JOHN D NEGROPONTE (Diana) The Honorable and Mrs. WILLIAM T NEWMAN7 JR (Sheila Johnson) Her Majesty Queen NOOR AL-HUSSEIN of Jordan Senator and Mrs. BARACK H OBAMA (Michelle) The Honorable MARY M OURISMAN and Mr. MANDELL J OURISMAN The Speaker of the House Representative NANCY PELOSI and Mr. PAUL PELOSI The Honorable and Mrs. COLIN L POWELL (Alma) Mr. and Mrs. EARL A POWELL7 III (Nancy) Representative and Mrs. CHARLES RANGEL (Alma) Senator and Mrs. HARRY M REID (Landra)

Justice and Mrs. ANTONIN SCALIA (Maureen) His Excellency the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland SIR NIGEL SHEINWALD and LADY SHEINWALD (Julia) The Honorable and Mrs. R SARGENT SHRIVER7 JR (Eunice Kennedy) Mr. and Mrs. DANIEL M SNYDER (Tanya) Mr. and Mrs. GEORGE R STEPHANOPOULOS (Alexandra Wentworth) Mr. and Mrs. GEORGE C STEVENS7 JR (Liz) His Excellency the Ambassador of Russia and Mrs. YURI USHAKOV (Svetlana) His Excellency the Ambassador of France PIERRE VIMONT The Honorable and Mrs. MARK R WARNER (Lisa Collis) Ms. KATHARINE WEYMOUTH Mr. and Mrs. ROBERT WOODWARD (Elsa Walsh) The Honorable ROBERT B ZOELLICK

Top from left to right: Charles Rangel, Katharine Weymouth, Antonin Scalia, Luciana Pedraza and Robert Duvall, Tanya and Dan Snyder. Bottom from left to right: Alma and Colin Powell, Bob Johnson and Joe Robert, Rhoda and Dan Glickman, and Alexandra Wentworth and George Stephanopoulos.

love, actually

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FLOWERS

Professional Man Prima Moda Fine Italian Men's Wear 1619 K Street NW, Washington, DC 202-466-6255 On the corner of 16th and K Street One block from the White House

LIFESTYLES Fashion﹐ Art﹐ Collectibles﹐ Dining﹐ and Travel | Spring Fling Fashion, Wedding Wearables, and Presidential Hotels

ADIA KIBUR enamel cocktail rings in turquoise, orange, black and fuchsia ($36). South Moon Under, 10247 Old Georgetown Rd., Bethesda, Md., 301564-0995 and South Moon Under, 2700 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington,Va., 703-807-4083.

NAHUI OLLIN new clutch in purple ($98).

Salon Roi, 2602 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-234-2668.

bright C

RADLEY tibet handbag ($335). Bloomingdales, 8100 Tysons Corner Center, McLean,Va. 703-556-4600.

HIDALGO enamel bamboo bangles ($150 each). Pampillonia, Mazza Gallerie, 5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-363-6305.

IDEA

oco Chanel said “The best color in the whole world is the one that looks good on you!” Play up hues that pop – fuschia, emerald, sunny yellow and tangerine – and let your true colors show. – Yona Park

J. CREW city ballet flats ($128).

Select styles available at J.Crew, 3222 M St. NW, 202-965-4090.

REISS RACHEL ROY

PINK TARTAN

spring fling It’s time to put away the wool coats and black sweaters. Spring fashion is all about light fabrics and bright colors Photography TIM COBURN Styling LANA ORLOFF Make-up, Hair, and Styling JAMES CORNWELL with Bonnie Love from PR@Partners/Pretty Makeup Hair: NEAT SOTHY SULLIVAN with PR@Partners Photographer’s Assistant: Nicholas Jbara Shoot Assistants: Shani Buckner and Jaymee Soojian Talent courtesy of THE ARTIST AGENCY

RALPH LAUREN BLACK LABEL Kendra dress in ice pink ($1,298); Ralph Lauren stores, www.ralphlauren.com. JJ SINGH “Mist” earrings ($118), tear drop necklace ($160), and flower ring ($125); www.jjsinghjewelry.com.

CHRISTIAN DIOR pink shoes ($590); Saks Fifth Avenue, Tysons Galleria, McLean, Va., 703-7610700. PRADA pink and violet multi color wave print leather bag ($1,150); Select Prada boutiques, 888-977-1900, www.prada.com.

LEFT: MNG BY MANGO Farrah dress ($189); MNG by Mango,Tysons Corner, McLean,Va., 703-506-2646. PILGRIM cuff bracelet ($55) and multi-strand necklace ($149); Pilgrim, 3225 M St. NW, 202-298-8006. RIGHT: MNG BY MANGO Stampita dress ($189); MNG by Mango, Tysons Corner, McLean,Va., 703506-2646. JJ SINGH waterfall earrings ($78) and large oval ring ($120); www.jjsinghjewelry.com.

MOSCHINO tan striped jacket with multi-colored buttons ($1,495) and light green skirt ($450); Saks Fifth Avenue, Tysons Galleria, McLean, Va., 703-7610700. GUCCI yellow embossed top handle bag ($2,250); Gucci stores nationwide, www.gucci. com, 800-456-7663. PRADA raspberry and black multi color t-strap shoes ($690); select Prada boutiques, 888-977-1900, www. prada.com. PILGRIM multicolored earrings ($48); Pilgrim, 3225 M St. NW, 202-278-8006.

GEREN FORD yellow short dress ($294) and RACHEL PALLEY purple belt ($92); Urban Chic, 1626 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-338-5398.

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN Eventa patent-leather mary janes ($645); Saks Fifth Avenue, Tysons Galleria, McLean, Va., 703-7610700. ADELER JEWELERS 14k white gold and diamonds earrings (dia. 1.08ct tw) ($3,400) and custom design 14k white gold ring featuring Australian bolder opal and diamonds (.46ct) ($3,974); Adeler Jewelers, 772 Walker Rd., Great Falls, Va., 703759-4076, www.adelerjewelers.com.

GUCCI printed silk back pleat top in black and white ($995), cotton coat with print lining in rose ($2,555), and stretch cotton loop detail pant in black ($895); Gucci stores nationwide, www.gucci.com, 800456-7663. ADELER JEWELERS 18k and platinum ring with pink tourmaline (5.36ct) and diamond (2.6ct) ($7,390); Adeler Jewelers, 772 Walker Rd., Great Falls, Va., 703-7594076, www.adelerjewelers.com.

WEEKEND BY MAXMARA green belted dress ($445); Max Mara, 5471 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, Md., 301-986-8785.

GUCCI orange leather bow clutch with metal crest detail ($685) and orange satin flats with crystal horsebit detail ($475); Gucci stores nationwide, www.gucci. com, 800-456-7663. DE BEERS yellow gold cuff bracelet (3.86ctw) ($8,500), yellow gold Babylon talisman medal (8.32ctw) ($20,000), and yellow gold Signet earrings (1.06ctw) ($3,700); DeBeers, Tysons Galleria, McLean, Va., 703-821-1422.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

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MNG BY MANGO orange pleated dress ($135); MNG by Mango, Tysons Corner, McLean, Va., 703-506-2646. PRADA purple bag ($1,150); Saks Fifth Avenue, Tysons Galleria, McLean, Va., 703-761-0700. ADELER JEWELERS amethyst cabochon ring (16.57ct) ($1,600), yellow gold bangles (from $650 to $1,500), and briolette amethyst and diamond earrings (14.10ct amethyst and .66ct diamond) ($3,890); Adeler Jewelers, 772 Walker Rd., Great Falls,Va., 703-759-4076, www.adelerjewelerscom.

P RODU C ED BY AN AĂ?S DE V IE L CASTE L A ND M ICH A EL CL EM EN TS

LEFT: JULIETTE LONGUET printed ruffle top ($250); Juliette Longuet, 917-518-6557, www. juliettelonguet.com. HUDSON wide-leg denim pants ($176); Urban Chic, 1626 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-338-5398. MNG

BY MANGO white belt with leather buckle ($19); MNG by Mango, Tysons Corner, McLean, Va., 703-506-2646. ADELER JEWELERS 18k white gold ring featuring a south sea pearl and multi-color sapphires ($7,700) and 14k white gold earrings with .50ct diamond ($2,700); Adeler Jewelers, 772 Walker Rd., Great Falls, Va., 703759-4076, www.adelerjewelers.com.

RIGHT: ESCADA yellow wrap blouse ($690); Saks Fifth Avenue; Tysons Galleria, McLean, Va., 703761-0700. MNG BY MANGO seersucker cropped pants ($69); MNG by Mango; Tysons Corner, McLean, Va., 703-506-2646.

LIFESTYLES | FASHION EVENT

Peter Marx and Ann Jordan

Nancy Brinker

Laurie Monahan, Susan Monahan, and Bob Monahan

Charles and Roselyn Epps with Buffy Cafritz

SAKS JANDEL BRUNCH Saks Jandel PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

THE EVENT Champagne, mimosas, brunch and a runway show with Valentino designs hosted by Buffy and Bill Cafritz and Cindy and Evan Jones. The annual show brings out fashionistas and socialites all for a good cause with ten percent of sales benefiting the Foundation for NIH. THE GUESTS Cynthia Steel Vance, Mary Ha<, Debbie Dingell, Gwen Russell, Esther Coopersmith, Grace Bender and Debra Lee.

Sharon Bradley and Katherine Bradley

Models in Valentino’s Spring 2008 collection.

Cindy Jones, Amanda Polk, and Maura Shannon

Jan Fenty and Claudine Sorel

LIFESTYLES | FASHION EVENT

Francesca Krieg, Silvia Carlorosi, and Chiara Melucci

Mert Bakan and Alev Ertek

Danielle May, Britt Szpesy, Ezra Dvong-Van, and Maria Tracocchi

Mary Ellen and Peter Stefanov

FIBULA JEWELRY U.S. LAUNCH Halcyon House PHOTOS BY JONAH KOCH

THE EVENT European fine jeweler Fibula hosted local fashion and style mavens at a private cocktail reception and runway show to mark their U.S. debut and an exclusive charity partnership with The Creative Coalition. THE SCENE Stylists, models, retailers, artists, and shoppers mingled in the dramatic mansion, dining (fashionably lightly) on heavy hors d’oeuvres and cocktails as two guitarists took charge of the music. The downstairs was transformed into a runway worthy of Bryant Park, and MaxMara models hit the catwalk in the Spring 2008 collection, accented by Fibula diamonds, of course. The final spectacle was a theatrical march by models covered in white chalk and dressed as Grecian muses.

Model in MaxMara Spring 2008 collection and Fibula jewels at Halcyon House.

Iraklis Karabassis, Robin Bronk, and Yasmine Karabassis

WA S H I N G T O N 99

LIFE

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Mark Dillingham and Tara Papanicolas

Model in MaxMara and Fibula jewels.

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LIFESTYLES | LIFE OF THE PARTY Kaylee Hartung

Bethany and Adam Smith Katie Curtin, Erin Ward, Jill Tyler, and Megan Hood

Suzanne Humphries WL EXCLUSIVE

DRINKS AND DRESSES FOR THE Y&GL Urban Chic & Ceviche PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

THE EVENT A kick-off for the annual Young & Guest List soirée and a chance to buy dresses at 25 percent off. In the middle of a January snow storm, shoppers came out for Snow Queen Vodka cocktails and nibbles followed by an a<er-party at the newly opened Ceviche in Glover Park.

Jessica Gibson

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Nina Daniels and Chrstina Dyck

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LIFESTYLES | WHAT’S HOT WEDDINGS

TEMPLE ST. CLAIR flower, cesare and olive gold granulated bracelets ($7,500 each). Tiny Jewel Box, 1147 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-393-2747.

STUART WEITZMAN Fifi in pale gold specchio calf ($450). Stuart Weitzman, Tysons Galleria, McLean,Va., 703-827-9898.

something haute something new W

hether she’s walking down M Street or the matrimonial aisle, the Haute Bride is a consummate trendsetter. She is sophisticated and posesses a style that complements rather than defines her. Classic bridal beauty with an edge of high fashion is the trend for this year’s nuptial style. Choose a gown made of the finest bridal silk with an avant-garde twist. – Yona Park

ANNE BARGE wedding gown (Price upon request).

Harriet Kassman, 5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-363-1870.

LAZARO

VERA WANG christiane ballgown with swirling bands ($15,900). Saks Jandel, 5514 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, Md., 301-652-2250.

DIOR metallic orchid hair band ($2,680). Available by special order at Christian Dior Boutique, 5471 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, Md., 301-986-8715.

HILDAGO interchangeable pink diamond ($5,545) and yellow diamond ($5,610) rings with white diamond jackets.

Pampillonia, Mazza Galleria, 5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-363-6305.

something modern something blue T

BOB MACKIE FOR PEDRE, Swarovski crystal dress watch ($105). The Cottage Monet, 36H Maryland Ave., Rockville, Md. 20850, 301-279-2422.

he modern bride wants to balance simplicity and femininity. On her big day, she is content knowing that the focus is on her and on her marriage, not the wedding accoutrements.

She chooses gowns with long wispy lines and jewelry that sparkles with elegant subtlety. But note, frill-less hems and non-adorned gowns underscore her true commitment to tradition.

Look closely and you’ll find traces of the old, the new, and the treasured-yet-nuanced-blue.

– Yona Park

DEVI KROELL peony in gray satin ($590). Hu’s Shoes, 3005 M St. NW, 202-342-0202.

DAVID YURMAN albion blue topaz earrings ($1,490). Saks Fifth Avenue, 5555 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, Md., 301-657-9000.

JENNY YOO DIOR JOAILLERIE “Oui” white gold and diamond ring (Price upon request). Christian Dior Boutique, 5471 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, Md., 301-986-8715.

TARA KEELY

LIFESTYLES | ANNA POST

Wedded Bliss Anna Post shares a few tips from her new etiquette book

G

ood etiquette, like good taste, is a funny thing. Everybody thinks they have it. But only one family in America can claim to be the definitive authority on the subject.

Descendants of the iconic mistress of etiquette Emily Post, they carry on her literary tradition with the recently released Wedding Parties, written by Emily’s great-great-granddaughter, Anna Post. Harriet Kassman hosted an intimate reception and book party for Anna Post at her bridal salon in Mazza Gallerie, and WL sat down for a chat about the perfect wedding.

WL What are some

the choices?

ANNA POST I would suggest starting with your own budget. Once you get that established, before you do anything else, find a friend somebody you trust who knows your style and will give you the gentle truth when necessary.

You don’t need a $10,000 or $20,000 dress.

Some brides worry that if they don’t have enough money they won’t get their dream dress…

HARRIET KASSMAN But they will!

any suggestions on how to make a wedding reception feel unique?

ANNA POST One of the best ways is to have ottomans, chairs, or benches around the edge of the dance floor, a little ways away so that there are no incidents! It’s a way for people not to get stuck at their table if they don’t want to dance. It’s a great way to have a great wedding.

of your favorite ways to make a wedding unique?

ANNA POST One of the best ways is through the invitation. It’s the guests’ first sense of your wedding, so that’s a wonderful place to start. Color and style say so Harriet Kassman and Anna Post much. The things at Kassman’s bridal salon. people can do these days are endless. After that, the party you throw WL Any other tips? will set a tone and show your style. Are you a ANNA POST When people arrive at the wine and cheese party kind of couple, or are wedding, immediately have something ready you cosmopolitans who enjoy nights out on for them to eat and drink. I went to an outdoor the town? Your wedding should reflect who wedding two years ago and it was going to be you and your fiancée genuinely are, together. a short ceremony, and waiting for us (it was fall) was champagne and hot cider. Now that’s WL What are your top tips to a bride who not going to work at a church, but think about is just beginning her search for the perfect where and when you can serve your guests wedding dress and feels overwhelmed with all something. They’ll really appreciate it.

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Wedding Parties

WL Do you have

By Anna Post

L

ove every idea for five minutes.

What does this mean? Loving every idea for five minutes means giving people a chance to participate by voicing their opinions and allowing these opinions to be considered.

For example, if the mother of the bride wants to offer her daughter her own bridal gown to wear down the aisle, allow her the chance to enjoy discussing this idea. The bride may well have her own idea about what dress she wants to wear, but by letting her mother talk out her idea, she’s including her in the process – even if she doesn’t choose to wear her mother’s dress in the end: “Okay, Mom, I’ll consider it. Why don’t I go try it on with you?”

This concept is a benevolent way to include others in your decision making process without necessarily having to sacrifice your own ideas or vision. And who knows, you might even get a really great suggestion out of it!

Used with permission by Harper Collins.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

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LIFESTYLES | THE DISH

Toughest Tables in Town Dining out in Washington can be thrilling – if you can get a reservation, that is

BY ANN MAH

W

CityZen (1330 Maryland Ave. SW), took five weeks; Komi (1509 17th St. NW) took three; and Restaurant Eve’s Tasting Room (110 S. Pitt St., Alexandria,Va.) took five weeks to get a table.All asked me for a credit card number to secure my reservation. If I was unable to come, and neglected to cancel at least 24-48 hours before, they would charge me from $50 to $100. “It holds people accountable,” says Mark Politzer, general manager of CityZen. “There’s a high demand, particularly on the weekend and we want to accommodate as many people Sourcing a table reservation at Wolfgang Puck’s “The as we can.”

Source” should be done a week in advance. Other At Komi, reservations are only taken popular tables can take over a month to book. one month in advance, or exactly four weeks before the day you wish to dine there, a policy that seems rather inconvenient for the forgetful – or those who don’t have a lot of time to make phone calls.

But perhaps the city’s most extreme reservation policy is at Minibar (405 8th St. NW). With only six seats, the tiny restaurant within Café Atlantico only accepts reservations exactly one month in advance. The phone lines open at 10 The shortest wait was at The Source (575 a.m. (they recently pushed the time forward Pennsylvania Ave. NW), which offered an easy, by one hour, due to customer requests) and efficient reservation policy as well as a wait the seats usually fill within five minutes. “It’s of only one week. If only all my experiences like trying to get through to Ticketmaster for a Bruce Springsteen concert,” Brian Zaslavsky, were so easy.

The longest wait was at Citronelle general manager of Café Atlantico and Minibar, (3000 M St. NW) – eleven weeks, or almost says of the ringing phone lines. Lucky enough three months! Reserving was easy, however, with to snag a spot? If you must cancel, make sure the hostess thoughtfully making a note of my e- to do it at least one week in advance, or risk mail address. She sent me an e-mail “reservation getting charged $60 per person. Those who reminder” within a half-an-hour of my phone forget to cancel and simply don’t show up get call.Their sister restaurant, Central Michel charged the full price of a meal: 120 clams Richard (1001 Pennsylvania Ave., NW), could – and that is anything but “mini.” seat us in only two weeks, but did not offer an Have any comments or dining suggestions? Email e-confirmation.

WL at: columns@washingtonlife.com. ith a proliferation of hot, new tables, Washington’s restaurant scene is suddenly buzz-worthy. But along with great food comes long waits – sometimes it takes weeks, or even months, to get a table. Recently, I tried to reserve at some of the city’s most popular restaurants, discovering policies that ranged from difficult to daunting.

My request was simple: A table for two, on a Friday or Saturday evening at around 8 p.m.

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GET A TABLE TONIGHT! MINIBAR “It never hurts to call

within the month,” says general manager Brian Zaslavsky, “we fill a lot of seats from the cancellation list.”

THE SOURCE “We serve the dining room menu in the downstairs bar, where we don’t take reservations,” says executive chef Scott Drewno. Alternatively, visit the restaurant during its new lunch hours.

CITYZEN Perch at the bar, where

a reduced menu of three courses is offered for $50. “If we have any lastminute cancellations, we’ll seat you,” says general manager Mark Politzer.

KOMI “Be flexible with the hours

you want to come in,” says Derek M. Brown, general manager and sommelier at Komi. He recommends the shoulder hours of 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. or 9 p.m. to 9:30. p.m. “It’s outside of the bustle, I think it’s almost more enjoyable.”

CITRONELLE “Always try a walk-

in,” says Mel Davis, public relations coordinator, and former maitre d’hotel at the restaurant.There’s also an upstairs lounge, which serves an abbreviated menu – and there’s no dress code!

RESTAURANT EVE “Mondays are

great days; it’s quiet and good for a romantic dinner.The staff can really pay close attention to you,” says Evan Zimmerman, sommelier. A “no reservation policy” at the bar means walk-ins can enjoy the full bistro menu.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

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LIFESTYLES | PAINT THE TOWN

Collect Them All Washington’s collectors come to the fine-arts forefront

BY BETH FARNSTROM

THE CONTRARIANS RIDE AGAIN

“MEAT” THE ARTISTS

“Fifteen for Philip Barlow” paid tribute to that long-haired patron of the arts, a plethora of clever in-jokes from friends and artists is crammed into a room the size of a supply closet. Jeff Spaulding’s “Standing Tall” appears to be an unassuming electrical cord, part of the room itself; upon closer examination, it’s a string of hundreds of tiny Lego heads styled with Barlow’s characteristic Prince Valiant bob.

It’s a witty play on the collector’s ability to make an art space function from the sidelines. Another favorite: Nekisha Durrett’s heroic homage-cum-BOP-magazinecover: Barlow’s hair, propelled by some unseen zephyr, flows amidst a panoply of pink hearts; a tiny, symbiotic bird (for scale? for function, like a rhino?) nests atop his head.

The quick-witted French of the 17th century PW Meat Market Performance Week, held in a snapped up the delicious Italian word sala, or sprawling 14th street warehouse, had the DIY, “room,” and deftly applied it to the gatherings of indie aesthetic (and semi-secret-society flavor) their bewigged, literary precieuses. Pink Line Project founder Philippa Hughes translated this concept into Salon Contra, hosted at her own Logan Circle apartment, where Contrarians ranged from architects, framer, and image stylists to interior decorators, performance artists , real estate developers, and even a magician.

After wine, dumplings and merriment, Mike Weber and guests vowed to make 14th street nightspot Marvin (2007 14th St. NW) the Tuesday-night-hub of the District’s creative community.At the very least, it’ll be a nice way to get all the art Michele Kong, Oscillation, 2007 (Gouache on translucent vellum, 16 history majors into one place. x 22), featured in Collectors Select at the Arlington Arts Center.

I N THE “HOUSE”

Vague middle-school English class recollections of that lugbrious Poe story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” still linger in many of our minds. It’s specious (but fun) to postulate that Usher’s “fall” was predicated on his House’s innate lack of fierceness. In the “not falling any time soon” category: the “House of Aviance” – a collective of performing artists who can throw down the fiercest Vogue-moves since Benny Ninja. Proof: the upstairs floor at Marvin, where voguers Diamond Aviance and crew gave an impromptu performance for the Contrarians Tuesday night. For the uninitiated, it was a taste of the D.C. “Ball Circuit,” in which different houses (there are the Houses of Xtravaganza, Labeija, Revlon, Ninja, Infiniti, Mizrahi, Milan and of course the House of Aviance) compete in Runway, Best Facial Structure, Best Fashion, Best House Designer, Best Body and Best Vogue Dancer categories.

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of a RISD off-campus rager, where invites were always word of mouth from the cute blue-haired printmaking major. The fact that the memo “hats, beards encouraged” seemed to have been broadcast obviously didn’t hurt the hip factor. Offerings ranged from bizarre to inspired to incomprehensible. It’s refreshing in this Ritalin society to be forced – even by sheer skin-of-one’s-teeth etiquette – to watch something for 20 minutes straight every now and again without modern conveniences like channel changers. Megan Palaima and Liz Rosenfeld’s intimate face-off across a sheepskin blanket was a prime example, replete with metronome ticks, prolonged staring contests and embracing/slapping/shoe-throwing.

LITTLE BOXES7 MADE OF TRIBUTE

Small is the new big (We can finally relax the vigilance level of our spam folders). At the diminutive Curator’s Office (1515 14th St. NW), where

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REUNION FOR A “SELECT” FEW The 600-plus crowd thronging to “Collectors Select” at the Arlington Arts Center (3550 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va.) may have been surprised by the raspberry walls of David Levinas’ room (collectors had carte blanche – or rosé – to transform the space), but they were too busy greeting friends and colleagues to do much more than grin appreciatively.The exhibit didn’t feature items from the collectors’ homes but those from the “fantasy baseball” rosters of their ultimate selections. The showstopper was Henry Thaggert’s room, in which (wallmounted beneath actual Topsy Turvy dolls from the 19th century, one of the exceptions to the “not from my house” rule) Brad McCallum and Jackie Terry’s “Topsy Turvy” video piece hung.

The biracial couple, suspended in air together with their heads at opposite ends of earth and sky, rotate slowly and with ceremony in a dark and vaulted hallway space.

Readers wishing to get in touch with Beth can email: columns@washingtonlife.com.

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LIFESTYLES | PAINT THE TOWN

Life through a Lens Barbara Leibovitz shares the experience of making an intimate documentary about her sister

BY BARBARA LEIBOVITZ

I

’ve been a documentary filmmaker for about 15 years. I’ve always tried to go out on my own, and not use my sister’s name, and not go that direction. But everyone was always asking me, “When are you going to do a film on your sister?” I really avoided it for many years. She was doing her thing, I was doing my thing. I felt I needed to be comfortable with who I was first. Right after my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer, and Susan Sontag was dying, was a time when we felt extremely close.We both discussed it and felt it was the right time. Annie told me she needed to be documented because of how important she felt her work was at that time and I finally felt secure with my own career.

The film is a collaboration between the two of us. It is also an enormous responsibility for me, and so different from the other films I’ve made. It’s an intimate film, because I’m her sister, and that was the biggest difference. I filmed her on my own with just the family, while she was shooting all her commercial work. The interweaving of the family, her relationship with

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Susan, and her work is a natural because that really is her life. I want people to see this film and say, “I really know who Annie Leibovitz is.”

I spent some time with Annie recently and I asked her advice, and I also asked her if she wanted me to say anything on her behalf about the film. Annie’s only response was, “people want to hear the truth.”

Well then, here goes...Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens was probably one of the most difficult films I have ever done.

It took two years to make this Filmmaker Barbara Leibovitz photographed by her sister, Annie Leibovitz. documentary. The first year there was the money factor, we had none... her commercial work, and by March 2006 we My husband, Jaime Hellman, who is also a had over 300 hours of footage.

That was not the only challenge. I am sure filmmaker, and I shot most of the summer in Rhinebeck, N.Y., at Annie’s farm, capturing you’ve all heard the famous saying, “you should her with our own cameras and our own money. never work with family,” and it’s probably true.

Annie helped out in the fall, getting images of But we decided to close our eyes and step on the gas pedal. It was hard, especially when you are the “little” sister and are given that certain glare Left: Annie Leibovitz’s of “why did you do that?” Annie and I eventually brother Philip and father Sam in Silver jumped over those hurdles, and through all the Spring, Maryland, turmoil, we realized we had each other.We both 1988. Sam Leibovitz succumbed to lung knew the love of family was always there, but we cancer in early 2005, didn’t understand how strong our relationship is. and his death, which coincided with the The film is an intimate portrait of an artist death of Leibovitz’s who grew up in a military family, who traveled longtime partner, Susan Sontag, a lot, and who has translated that into her was influential in work and her art. She’s someone who is always prompting the sisters to begin their creative searching to go further and further. Annie never endeavor. stops. She has a tremendous amount of stamina Photographs (c) 2008

by Annie Leibovitz and drive.You see that in her as a child.You see from the documentary where that comes from, and then you see how “Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens,” it translates into her work. I really love my sister, Barbara Leibovitz, and I made this film out of love.

Director.

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Eric Mullen and Kelly Craighead

Shirley and Bernie Koteen

Katy and Bryan Anderson

Edgar Brenner, Susan Harreld, Izette Folger, Mike Harreld, and Janet Brenner

WL SPONSORED

DINNER CELEBRATING THE LEIBOVITZ EXHIBIT Corcoran Gallery of Art PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON

Carol Kaplan and John Damgard

THE EVENT An intimate dinner in the museum to celebrate Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990–2005. The evening was underwri en by Time Warner and included a guided tour of the show, cocktails, and dinner in the museum’s exhibition spaces.

Leibovitz is one of America’s greatest living photographers, and the exhibit consists of many of her most recognizable images set alongside private family photos of Leibovitz’s father, Sam, and longtime partner, Susan Sontag. THE GUESTS Corcoran director Paul Greenhalgh, Cleo and Michael Gewirz, Winston Bao Lord, Peter and Brady Arundel, Ize)e Folger, and Susan and Michael Harreld.

Kitty and Sen. John Sununu

Conrad and Ludmilla Cafritz

Savanna Clark and Joanne Bowers

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Sally Chapoton and Paul Greenhalgh

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Andrew and Leslie Cockburn

Ben and Lori Soto

Harry and Maria Hopper

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LIFESTYLES | LUXURY TRAVEL

HISTORIC HIDEAWAYS PRESIDENTIAL RETREATS JUST HOURS AWAY

“The Greenbrier looks like the White House on steroids, which is okay, because it means there is room for about 1,400, rather than just one family.”

THE GREENBRIER AND THE HOMESTEAD

BY PILGRIM BEHN n the cooler months there is an undeniable allure to large-scale resorts with lots of indoor and outdoor activities, great public rooms, long sweeping hallways, varied dining and spa options, and at least a fireplace or two.

This won’t be new to many locals, because both The Homestead and The Greenbrier have been hosting Washingtonians for decades.

Babies have grown into grandparents over the course of dozens of family visits to celebrate birthdays, weddings, holidays, and simple seasonal getaways. The driving distance to both resorts is just over four hours and almost entirely on highways that meander through handsome mountain terrain. Both resorts are suitable for extended visits, but ideal for a long-weekend, for couples, extended families,

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or solo travelers.

Knowing both the Homestead and the Greenbrier well, but having not checked in for a few years, I revisited both in late autumn to find out what’s new - and old - because old isn’t a bad thing in a venerable resort. We tend to go to such places precisely because of their old-world charms, and while we want them to be up-to-date, we don’t expect or want them to be ahead of trends.

HISTORY

Both resorts have rich histories, but The Homestead, opened in 1766, has more, including that most famous Virginian, Thomas Jefferson, who was a dinner guest in 1818. A handsome library outfitted with chess tables and chairs has framed photos of notable guests.

The Greenbrier opened in 1778, but can match The Homestead in VIPs, not least because every president since Dwight Eisenhower has

stayed in its Presidential Suite.

While approximately the same in size and scope, the resorts are different in sensibility.

It’s like comparing the Chevy Chase Club to Congressional. Southern hospitality is the gracious mandate at both hotels – and both do it well – but if they had to be specifically defined it would probably be that The Homestead is more genteel, while The Greenbrier is grander.The Homestead is made of colonial red brick with white trim, there are rocking chairs on verandas, and the great hall lobby is a scramble of happy toddlers. It’s nestled in a valley in the Allegheny mountains, and a cozy aura prevails. In white stucco, The Greenbrier looks like the White House on steroids, which is okay, because it means there is room for about 1,400, rather than just one family. Everything is big – the ten lobbies, dining rooms, guest rooms, lawns, pool, fitness center and spa – but it never feels daunting.

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LIKE MOST OLD SCHOOL resorts,The Homestead appears to be trying to find relevance in a new century and under corporate management.

They each have extensive conference facilities that regularly draw Washington officialdom, but it’s possible to be a private guest and feel separate from all that, especially during big family holidays. Both resorts boast top-rated golf courses, tennis courts, outdoor and indoor pools, fishing, a range of water and trail sports and, interestingly, falconry. The Greenbrier’s “fitness and wellness” center is a large separate facility with all the latest equipment, plus trainers on hand, while The Homestead has a popular Winter Center with ice-skating, skiing and snow-boarding. It’s an ideal place for anyone taking to the slopes for the first time, but even seasoned skiers have fun.

Because these resorts are in rural areas with little regional shopping, they feature corridors of small boutiques. At The Greenbrier there is a decidedly upscale angle, but nothing that will shock anyone accustomed to shopping in Chevy Chase. The Homestead boutiques tend toward more middle-brow shopping, but changes are in the works. Die-hard Homestead fans are upset that the resort’s new management, KSL, has emptied out most of the “Cottage Row” stores. For many Homestead regulars that’s a signature of the new regime.

One only hopes KSL knows what it’s doing.

DINING

Dinner at The Homestead seemed much as it has always been: a little creaky around the edges, but strong and reassuring. The food wasn’t as good as in past years, and in addition to the regular main dining room fare, they have opened a more exclusive and quite handsome restaurant, The 1766 Grille, which offers a menu of classics, plus trends like a bottled water menu. There is a lot of tableside preparation, and service, service, service.

We were attended to almost too much.

Like most old school resorts,The Homestead appears to be trying to find relevance in a new century and under corporate management. If they keep it to details like upgrading the gym,

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

investing in the food, expanding activities, and not messing too much with the old world charm, they might succeed. My advice: don’t undervalue your loyal patrons.

The Greenbrier has also added an upscale restaurant to its dining program. It’s called Hemisphere, and rather than harking back to the past, it is all about the new. Much like The Greenbrier itself, the décor is bold. The theme encompasses small plates of architecturally exquisite “global cuisine,” and the food is delicious. Everything is clever, modern, Californian chic. Downstairs, they’ve added a nightclub which has alcoves and nooks for latenight action. But seriously, who goes to The Greenbrier for late night or disco? The new restaurants at both resorts are a nice diversion, but they can’t compete with the elegance and charm of the main dining rooms.

ATTRACTIONS

The spa at The Homestead contains many services, but it’s essential that you take the shuttle to nearby Warm Springs for an hour-long soak in The Jefferson Pools. The ancient warm mineral baths – one for men, one for women – that will leave you feeling like a brand new person.

At The Greenbrier, don’t miss a tour of “the bunker,” the famous installation that was built during the Cold War as the go-to hideout for Congress in the event of an attack on the U.S. It was decommissioned in the ’90s and now offers guided tours, which are worth the time and very interesting. A new mountaintop restaurant has opened called The Summit Lodge, but you need to know a member to get in for lunch or dinner.

Top: The most eagerly awaited event at The Homestead is their breakfast buffet, served daily in the Crystal Dining Room. Above: The Greenbrier has been hosting guests from around the world since 1778 and boasts over ten lobbies and fifty conference rooms. Below: Since President Thomas Jefferson’s stay in 1818, the Greenbrier’s Presidential Suite has had many upgrades and many visits from other Presidents.

DETAILS

The Homestead: Rooms start at $199. 1766 Homestead Drive, Hot Springs, Va., 24445; 866-3544653; www.thehomestead.com.

The Greenbrier: Rooms start at $259. 300 West Main Street, White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., 24986; 304-536-1110; www.greenbrier.com.

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WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y Night Life﹐ Around Town ﹐ Over the Moon﹐ Michael Strange and exclusive parties﹐ parties﹐ parties!

Luca and Maria Chiara Ferrari at The Washington Ballet’s annual Jeté Society dance party at the French Embassy. (Photo by Tony Powell)

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WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

WL INSIDER

Rock in the New Year A Model Fashion Week, Surviving Sundance and Talking Love Letters with Patti Smith

BY MICHAEL M. CLEMENTS

“Y

ou know you are at fashion week when the bathrooms have skinny mirrors.” This pearl of wisdom was dropped from the stylish lips of WL Trend Reporter Yona Park as she and I took in the Sass & Bide Fall Collection during the Super Bowl of fashion – Mercedes-Benz’s Fall Fashion Week in New York, which, incidentally, happened to coincide this year with the real Super Bowl. It doesn’t get any more “metro” (or as a gay friend recently termed, “Gaight”) than catching a full day of fashion at Bryant Park and then watching the Giants humble the Patriots over pints at a dive bar in the Lower East Side.

Franco Nuschese was in New York trend spotting as well. The Café Milano and Manfacto men’s clothing line owner was seated behind fellow Italian Ermenegildo Zegna at Zegna’s Fall Collection preview. Men looking to modernize their tuxedo collection should get fitted for Zegna’s latest styles, but be pre-warned – people will notice you!

Fashion can be similar to sports in some respects. I’m convinced, for example, that like fist fights in hockey and car crashes in NASCAR, fashion gawkers come to runway shows to see beautiful, long-legged supermodels wipe out in their stilettos. At the penultimate Saturday night Rock & Republic show, a model, perhaps blinded by the lights, executed a turn incorrectly and almost stepped into the orchestra pit.The tension was palpable! Mingling with assorted fashionistas in the W Hotel backstage lounge afterwards, her daring escape from Page Six notoriety was the hot topic of cosmo-fueled debate.

As inspiring as the fashion was in New York, it didn’t compare to Junko Koshino’s couture

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concoctions at the Kennedy Center’s “Japan!

Culture + Hyper Culture” exhibition. Organized by the Center’s vice president of international programming, Alicia Adams, the two-week festival showcased a wide range of Japanese arts.

Favorites included a soulful robot that played jazz,

Above: Michael Clements sits down with Patti Smith. Left: Junko Koshino fashion lands at the Kennedy Center. (Photos by Tony Powell.)

a performance of Petipa’s fulllength masterpiece Raymonda

by Japan’s National Ballet Company, and the food at the opening reception hosted by Ambassador Ryozo Kato and Mrs. Kato (now I know where to get the best four-star Japanese food in the Capital Region).

Speaking of four-star: four WL-hosted events at the Sundance Film Festival brought out the stars. Colin Farrell was chill at the Kicking It screening and after party. Promoting a documentary (as well as his feature In Bruges) at an independent film festival provides stark contrast to promoting splashy features like Alexander or Miami Vice. Mary-Kate Olsen was at the party, too, fueling gossip blogs worldwide.

I tried to watch a ten-second phone clip on YouTube from our party entitled, “Mary-Kate Stalking Colin Farrell.” It was just a bunch of lights and muffled thumping from DJ Paul Oakenfold’s set. I sat with Farrell and Olsen. She was simply hanging out with Farrell and his In Bruges costar, Brendan Gleeson. When U2 arrived, the Greenhouse at top of Main turned into a Dublin pub minus the Irish folk musicians.

Patti Smith was at Sundance as well, promoting the film Patti Smith: Dream of Life but I caught up with her afterwards here in Washington. The ’70s punk rock icon/artist/ poet came to town for “Love Letters,” an evening of spoken word and songs hosted by Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art. Ever humble, she told me,“I’ve never wanted a career and I don’t believe I have one. I believe that I’m a worker and that I’ve always done the best I could.” Smith was invited by Archives director John Smith, who took over last year after working for the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.

Expect more amazing nights like this from Smith as he unlocks the treasures of Archives.

After the concert, WL hosted an intimate dinner at Teatro Goldoni with Patti, John, and some of Washington’s top art players, including Hirshhorn Museum curator Kerry Brougher, Mu Project gallery owner Shigeko Bork, creative connector Phillipa Hughes, and modern art collectors Cindy Jones and Mark Ein. Events like these, along with features like “Welcome to Pollywood,” make this job worth the never-ending deadlines. From art to film to fashion, theater, and dance, WL sits at the hub of the city’s creative communities, giving us the opportunity to play connector and promote our arts scene. If you think The Young & The Guest List party was wild, wait until we get all the artists together!

Readers wishing to get in touch with Michael can email: columns@washingtonlife.com.

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Halcyon House’s Artist’s Studio was transformed by André Wells into a chic lounge with dramatic illumination from Frost Lighting and a bar for signature drinks. (Photo by Jonah Koch)

Oh, What A Night The making of Washington Life’s 2008 Young & The Guest List Party

T

he Young & The Guest List party is both a blessing and a curse.

The morning afterwards when partygoers share that they’ve had an enjoyable time in thank you emails, it’s rewarding.

Before the party, however, there is always growing anxiety about how to throw an even better bash than last year.

In order to pull off something spectacular, we enlisted the help of famed event planner André Wells. Over cappuccinos and muffins we hashed many soon-to-be rejected ideas, which included a house party and a key-themed event.

We wanted the night to be spectacular while at the same time being sophisticated. Our primary concern was thwarting crashers. As we looked over photographs from previous years, there perhaps were several hundred people no one in

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Each year, we’ve selected our office could identify. This a place that is not a usual spawned the idea to keep the destination for the Y&GL location a secret. crowd (Dumbarton House and Before we selected a venue Meridian House) and after we or even a date, we chose Haute were wowed at a MaxMara Papier to make the invitations. party at Halcyon House (3400 Owner Sarah Meyer-Walsh Prospect St. NW), we knew we personally creates each invitation had our location. Throwing a and she found gold textured major party is a jigsaw puzzle paper from India for ours. We and each piece has to fit together. hoped the St. Regis Hotel (923 After we found the right venue, 16th St. NW) would re-open in our catering company backed time to serve as a meeting place Event planner André Wells carefully executed three parties back to out due to bad logistics. Our and cocktail hour for our guests, back. (Photo by Jaime Windom) transportation company did the but we kept a back-up hotel on reserve in case of construction delays. All of this same when they learned large coaches couldn’t delayed the invitations being sent out until just a park on Prospect Street. Reston Limousine literally came to our rescue.The drama continued. few weeks before the party.

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WHEN OUR FIRST REPLY CAME via FedEx this year, we knew that anticipation was greater than ever.

For a party called The Young & The Guest List, one would assume the easiest part would be the guest list. Not the case. When our first RSVP response came via FedEx this year, we knew that anticipation was greater than ever.

There are some who ignore Emily Post and RSVP even though they were never invited.

Others take it upon themselves to respond not just for themselves and a date, but also their cousin, second cousin, second cousin’s friend and so forth. Then there are those who just seem to magically appear at the door.This year we had to be list Nazis in order not to exceed the strict 350 capacity at Halcyon House.

The party has established a reputation for offering one of the best gift bags in Washington.

No media organization has ever written about the party without mentioning its value. There are always full-sized products, gourmet treats, luxury gifts, and knick knacks. This is another interesting puzzle to assemble because no beauty company wants to have its products in the same bag with another beauty company’s. The same goes for other items From luxury Italian sheet and soap makers, to electronic companies and gardening equipment, we didn’t leave any stone unturned. This year’s top prize was Tom Ford’s limited edition Black Orchid perfume in a crystal bottle (valued at just over $600). What most guests don’t realize is that not all bags were the same. Some were lucky to score Giorgio

Armani’s Crema Nera cream, while others went home with custom kits from MyBlend cosmetics. The universal favorite was the See’s Candies, a first for any Washington gift bag.

When we walked into The St. Regis Hotel it all seemed perfect. The floral arrangements that we anticipated for weeks from UltraViolet and, later at Halycon House, Janet Flowers Wedding and Event Designs, were even more spectacular than we could have imagined. The Veuve Clicquot was flowing at a rate of a bottle per person. The Himalayan salt slabs with meat by Design Cuisine were a surprise hit, as were the gazpacho shooters. (Many said they got drunk on them, but they were non-alcoholic). The bands “Big Ray and the Kool Kats,” whom we spotted at the Kennedy Center, were even better than we had remembered. They and Eleganza kept everyone dancing. It was a treat to experience the french-themed Josephine Lounge (1008 Vermont Ave. NW) that opened their doors for the first time for this party.

The sign of a great party is when you don’t want it to end. When our carriage turned into a pumpkin at 2 a.m., no one wanted to go home. That’s what sustains the magic of this party into the next year. We look forward to hosting everyone again.

Readers with comments can email: columns@ washingtonlife.com.

IN THE BAG Tea Forte Dolce Vita Set Z Zegna Cologne See’s Candies Graphic Image Leather Bound Date Books Maté and “Be As You Are” Hats The Art of Shaving Gift South Moon Under Gift Certificates Villeroy & Boch Mugs Kiehl’s Products Clarins Sunscreen courtesy of Bloomingdale’s MyBlend Cosmetics The Thymes Cherry Blossom Bath Gel Alchimie Forever Facial Scrub OXO Spatulas Mints courtesy of Wink Boutique Tom Ford’s Black Orchid Dinner at Chima Steak House A Week at The Sports Club / LA Prescriptives Products Amore Pacific Travel Set Deep Dish’s “The Young & The Playlist” CD Baked & Wired Cupcakes SomaFit Discounts

Below, from left to right: At the St. Regis, UltraViolet Flowers provided the centerpieces, and the signature cocktail was a 10 Cane Rum Foam Mojito. (Photo by Tony Powell); French-themed Josephine Lounge was the ideal spot for our after-party. (Photo by Cameron Habashian) After we spotted “Big Ray and the Kool Kats” at the Kennedy Center, we knew they were the perfect dance band for our party. (Photo by Tony Powell); Design Cuisine’s innovative Chinese noodle buffet came complete with mini-take out cartons and chopsticks. (Photo by Jonah Koch)

WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

NIGHTLIFE

“Fly” First Class A night out can become a story unto itself – what a concept

BY ED I E VAN H O R N

A

Other tasteful touches include a bar top spen, with its lofty peaks, is literally a “great height” from which to made of individually-crafted wooden pieces, launch a concept nightclub. More which give the effect of a chic jigsaw puzzle; intimate than the New York or projector screens in the upstairs VIP bathroom L.A. club scene, this ultra-high end mountain that continually show images of idyllic beach mecca ironically doesn’t have many sophisticated scenes; and four-foot light structures filled with places to chill. It does now, thanks to Fly Lounge co-owners Richard Eidman and Chuck Koch. The pairs’ second lounge, appropriately named Fly Aspen (426 E. Hyman Ave,Aspen, Colo.) had a snowy and star-studded launch during the X-Games in February (more on that in a bit).

Club co-owner Britt Swann first spotted the venue and phoned Eidman and Koch, who have now formed the Volér Group (clever: it’s a variation on the French verb meaning “to fly”) to help oversee their Chuck Koch and Richard Eidman, bracketed by members of rock band The Strokes. (Photo by Bryan Davis). expanding portfolio of properties, which include Fly Lounge, Fly Aspen, and Current (1215 Connecticut Ave. NW), water, which – like the sails on the ceiling – opening next month. Eidman and Koch wisely move to the rhythm of the music, adding to saw the potential in opening a premier nightlife the “current” motif. Embedded in the floor – destination in this exclusive ski town.“Plus,” says between the lower and upper levels of the club – three 4’ by 4’ water “features,” which will be Koch, “I love to snowboard.”

Building a high-end nightclub two times clear on both sides, will enchant guests.

And, yes, there is sushi – lots of it, served zones away meant a lot of actual flying time for the nightlife impresarios. The work has paid off. from an illuminated bar designed by Eidman With Fly Aspen, the Volér Group has built on its and Koch. But the crème de la crème are the sound reputation (pun intended) for developing “electrostatic” glass bathroom doors that turn opaque when occupied and then revert to clear international quality nightlife destinations.

Their attention to detail is on display at when empty. Now that is “fly.”

Back at Fly Aspen, theVolér Group’s Colorado Current. Unlike the cozy confines of Fly Lounge, Current is expansive. Take one look at artistry was on full display in February in a series the lounge’s workmanship and creativity and of exclusive events hosted by Sal Masekela and you get a feeling that Koch and Eidman view attended by snowboarder Shaun White and a their properties as much as pieces of art as plush who’s who of the 2008 Winter X Games. The haunts for trendsetters.“The music from the DJ first was a kickoff party for the games, where audio-activates sails in the ceiling, which create the annual contest’s much-celebrated helmets a wave-like current effect,” says Eidman.

– which are custom painted for the Games

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– were given to the athletes. The second was a birthday party for Olympic snowboarding champion Hannah Teeter, who chose Fly Aspen to celebrate her 21st birthday and support two charities, Hannah’s Gold (whose Vermont Maple Syrup proceeds are dedicated to poor children in the community of Kirindon, Kenya) and the Chill Foundation (a non-profit snowboarding school for at-risk city kids).The night was sponsored by Louis Vuitton/Möet Hennessy, who kept the Belvedere Vodka flowing.

Could TV be in the future for Eidman and Koch as well? Perhaps influenced by the stars who frequent their properties (Rosario Dawson, Jamie Foxx, Beenie Man, Chris Tucker and Quincy Jones, to name just a few) the pair have their sights set on their own on-camera fame.

Discovery Channel has begun filming (and, if our sources are correct, quite a few other major networks are interested in shopping) a reality television series about the trials and tribulations of club owners. Raising the Bar is currently in final edits.The show will take a behind-the-scenes look at the good life and hard work of the Volér Group.This includes footage of Koch and Eidman taking employees for spins on a plane (Koch is a licensed pilot) and attending the Giants-Dolphins game in England (all expenses paid) thanks to Snow Queen Vodka.

NIGHT MOVES: Mate owner Osmar Núñez recently flew to Shanghai to research concepts for a potential club venture in Chinatown. Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine was spotted recently at Michael Romeo’s ’80s hotspot Tattoo Lounge (1413 K St. NW). And at Michael Saylor’s birthday at French-inspired lounge Josephine (Vermont Ave. and K St.) in February, the biz wiz picked up the tab for the entire bar.

Have a comment or know a great nightlife event?

Let us know: columns@washingtonlife.com.

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Fly’s interior

NIGHTLIFE

Sal Masekela, host of ESPN’s X Games

FLY ASPEN XGAMES WEEKEND Fly Lounge Aspen PHOTOS BY JAMAL AHMED OF NIGHT STAR PICTURES

Professional snowboarder Shaun White and club co-owner Chuck Koch

Partygoers toast to a great night

The “Fly Girls”

Revelers at the X Games party

Dancing to DJ Dirty Hands’ unique blend of beats

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Hannah Teeter, professional Burton Rider and gold medal winner, celebrates her 21st with pals.

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The atmosphere was convivial, to say the least.

Throwin’ up signs

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LIFE OF THE PARTY

Ashley Gross and Wright Sigmund

Mary Christopher and Josie Taylor Aaron Jackson Dancers WL SPONSORED

JETÉ SOCIETY DANCE PARTY Ashley Taylor and Winston Bao Lord

The French Embassy PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

THE EVENT The Washington Ballet’s spicy party sells out quickly and always gets over 700 young supporters to put on their dancing shoes.

THE SCENE The evening was for high rollers and the Bentley out front (courtesy of Capital Dream Cars) set the tone. The invitation encouraged guests to come “dressed to kill,” and that certainly was the case for co-chairs Winston Bao Lord (donning a white dinner jacket) and Ashley Taylor (sparkling in a gold sequin Tory Burch sheath). A<er a performance from the ballet, groove band Liquid Pleasure summoned people away from the black jack tables and their Grey Goose cocktails to boogie. One over-zealous guest had to be taken out on a stretcher a<er a topple resulting in a broken nose. THE GUESTS Septime Webre, Kay Kendall, Lacey Kirstein, Joe Robert, Jr., and George Chopivsky.

Mara Glaser-McCahan and Daniel McCahan

Nicholas Tythron, James Alefantis, and Septime Webre

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Andrew Stephens and Maggie Pitts, and Bobby Blair

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Megan Mooney and Brooke Cashman

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Jany Dor and Stephen Brandman

Aaron Jackson Dancers

Gary Wilson Michael Dendas, Austin Smith, and Hugh Boyle

Theo Adamstein and Olvia Demetriou

Ezra Doung-Van and Maria Trabocchi Tara Holt and Tera Orey

Scott Shrake and Pamela Pressley

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Talmesha Richards, Jimmy Lynn, and Klohver Tynes

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Lindsey Williams and Lindsay Rohrig

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WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

LIFE OF THE PARTY

Alan Novak with Jonathan and Prescott Novak and their daughter Spencer Novak

Andre Wells, Patrice Weddington, and Tiffany Penn

The lion dance rings in The Year of the Rat.

WL SPONSORED

CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION Mandarin Oriental PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

THE EVENT It’s not really the New Year until you see a lion dance, so count the 300 guests at Mandarin Oriental’s Chinese New Year celebration as having officially rung in 2008, the Year of the Rat – which, we know, was not part of the sumptuous food offerings at the event (The fresh-rolled mushu was divine). THE SCENE It was a friendly affair as the Mandarin Oriental family celebrated with representatives from the Chinese Embassy and friends of the luxury hotel. THE GUESTS Mandarin Oriental developer Alan Novak was spo ed smiling gleefully as he posed for pictures with his lovely granddaughter, Spencer Novak.

Lorna Kirwan, Mike McCoy, and Jan Goessing

Jackie Gang, Jodi Moraru, and Thy Parra

Lexie Applebaum and Sarah Milligan

Larry and Brigitte Lee

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Jocelyn Hong and Tom Rice

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Rachel Anderson, Michelle Christian, and Sara Ballesteros

Rachel Cothran, Pamela Sorensen, and Lacey Kirstein

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Parties! Parties! Parties!

Affairs of the Heart Luncheon, Mรถet & Hennessy Tasting and The Hay Adams Tea

c NICOLAS AUDEBERT, the winemaker for Cheval des Andes, pours at a portfolio tasting of Mรถet & Hennessy brands at the Park Hyatt.

c SHIGEKO BORK, owner of Mu Project gallery in Georgetown, and her husband TIM BORK (left) host a reception for Japanese actor TADANOBU ASANO.

c BRETT HALE and movie screening host KATHRYN RAND enter the theater for the Washington debut of the documentary. (Photos by Tony Powell) c War Dance directors and Oscar nominees SEAN FINE and ANDREA NIX FINE at a screening of their latest documentary at the National Museum for Women in the Arts.

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e PING GONG, YOLANDA FORTENBERRY, REBECCA DEATON, LESLEY KANE, and NIKKI GILLUM were five of the six

d The designer of the Lafayette 148 Collection, EDWARD WILKERSON, walks down the runway.

researchers awarded a two-year grant through funds raised at last year’s American Heart Association “Affairs of the Heart” luncheon.

(Photos by Cindy Bartaut)

c ELAINE COLE, HARRIET KASSMAN, JAKIE COLLAMORE, and KAREN FULLER at the “Affairs of the Heart” luncheon and fashion show at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

e MARY MARGARET VALENTI and LOU DAVIDSON enjoy a tea

c LINDA DANIEL enjoys a cup of tea on a Friday afternoon.

(Photos by Beth Farnstrom)

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held in Valenti’s honor at the Hay Adams.

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WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

AROUND TOWN

“Madder music and stronger wine” The royal treatment, Russian dynasties, and the master fruiterer

BY DONNA SHOR

AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART The menu was practically aphrodisiacal at the 60th anniversary luncheon of the American Heart Association.A taste: crab mango salad with sherry vinaigrette, chicken breast with Calvados (more alcohol!), heart-shaped red ravioli, then a white chocolate heart box of raspberrystudded mousse. The 1,100 women thronging the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel, however, were only able to share it with each other: no Romeos included.

They applauded designer Edward Wilkerson’s Lafayette 148 New York collection in Saks Fifth Avenue’s production, where 20 models paraded chic styles.The Affair of the Heart Luncheon was hosted by the Greater Washington Women’s Board, which raises funds to research cardiovascular disease and stroke, the number-one killer of women. Along with a few men (hardy souls!), supporters included luncheon chair Jacqueline Collamore, chairman of the Women’s Board Karen Fuller, Donna Marriott, Ann Hand, Nancy Marriott, Pat Skantze, Sally Pratt, Annie Totah, and the ever-bubbling and entrepreneurial Carole Randolph, who then ran off to teach her class Modern Manners: Dining and Entertaining at the Fairmont.

“MADDER MUSIC AND STONGER WINE” Washington’s Russian Ball, following the old Julian calendar with New Year’s later than for the rest of us, had all the usual features we expect of this rollicking event: Sydney’s Orchestra for dancing, the Washington Balalaika Society, and wild Russian dancers doing the Kazaki – named for the Cossacks who dance it. The Traxler waltz group brought a return to momentary decorum – as befit the formally-clad guests.Their titles harken back to Old Russia: Princess Alexis Obolensky, and the ball chairmen, Georgian Prince David

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Chavchavadze, and his wife Eugenie. Others were Princess Marina Poutiatine, Prince and Princess Gregory Gagarin, Princess Obolensky’s daughter Princess Sophie and her sibs Prince Dimitri Obolensky and his wife Teresa, and Princess Selene Obolensky and husband

Left: Guy D’amecourt and wife Marion at the 2008 Russian Ball. Below: Guy and mother Gertie D’amecourt.

(Photos by Nicole D’amecourt)

Charles Leatham, in from London. Seen: Gertrude d’Amecourt, Prof. Vladimir and Suzanne Tolstoy-Miloslavsky, Raisa Scriabine (grandniece of the famed composer), Louis and Vera Emmerij, Vicky Doyle, Gary and Rose O’Neal Akin,Renée and Wallace Robinson, and Xenia Woyevodsky.A midnight champagne toast led to more dancing, presided over by Russian Amb. Yuri Ushakov and Svetlana Ushakova, who like to party, too. mass migration So many Washingtonians planning

European trips have mentioned “going to the Fraunfelters,” that others wondered if “Fraunfelters” was a chic, new private ski resort. Not a bit of it. Washingtonians Harriet and Eric Fraunfelter are so popular that 103 of their most intimate friends packed up for London to witness Eric’s “investiture” there.

He was declared a “Master of the Worshipful Order of Fruiterers,” a guild (union) dating back to the Middle Ages. It seems that on his trips to George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate, Eric learned a lot about apples.The last ten travelers straggled back just hours before the Master Chorale’ s Candlelight and Song Gala, barely making it in time to hear Donald McCullough’s golden-voiced group perform, and to tell stay-at-home guests about the London pageantry.

KALEIDOSCOPE Eloise, that loveable, literary imp who wrought havoc at New York’s Plaza Hotel, recently came to Washington in spirit. Created by Kay Thompson, Eloise’s charm was also captured by book series illustrator Hilary Knight. Knight was here last month, shepherded by Ann Townsend, the founding president of the Trust for Museum Exhibitions. The motherdaughter tea at the Willard Intercontinental benefited the Trust and Reading is Fundamental foundation…. Pretty Sara Daneshpour, the competition-winning young Iranian pianist and D.C. native who has been getting rave reviews since age 13 for her powerful performances, is coming to Strathmore Hall on March 27 as part of their Mansion Series. She is a protégé of Young Concert Artists, headed here by Gilan Tocco Corn, who brings us many outstanding musicians.

If there is an event Around Town should know about, please email columnists@washingtonlife.com.

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EVENT SPOTLIGHT

Stand for Africa The Kuwait-America Foundation joins the fight against Malaria

BY RIMA AL-SABAH, GALA FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN

M

alaria is a disease of incredible contradiction.

It is an ancient illness with a grip on the modern world. One tiny mosquito bite can transmit malaria, and huge populations are vulnerable, especially mothers and children. About a million people die from it each year; by December 31, 2008, a population the size of Baltimore, Md., will have disappeared from the earth due to this disease.

This preventable and treatable illness costs Africa billions of dollars in healthcare and lost productivity each year. The loss cripples families, health systems, and entire economies, but it could be controlled – possibly eradicated – in sub-Saharan Africa with an investment of $2 billion a year over the next five years.

But the malaria crisis is not about numbers or dollars. It’s about husbands, wives, and children who need a reason to hope for the future.

Fortunately, a non-profit organization called Malaria No More understands today’s challenges and cares very much about tomorrow’s potential.

John Bridgeland, vice-chairman of Malaria No More, recently told me about a tremendous opportunity to help. His organization and an alliance of public and private partners have launched an ambitious plan to eradicate malaria across 30 countries … in three to five years.

The plan is twofold: raising public awareness in the U.S. and putting help on the ground in Africa with insecticide-treated mosquito nets for beds, medicines, and human resources.

One $10 donation provides a life-saving bed net for a family – delivered as part of a comprehensive approach to controlling malaria through education, prevention, and treatment. An investment of $1.5 million could save 150,000 lives.The return on this investment is greater than lives filled with hope – it is an unprecedented

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Clockwise: Honored guest First Lady Laura Bush with Rima Al-Sabah (Photo by Kyle Samperton); honored guest Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Malaria No More vice-chairman John Bridgeland; and Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour, who will perform at the dinner.

opportunity for liberty and prosperity to take hold in an important part of the world.

Ambassador Salem Al-Sabah and I were inspired by this news, and we wanted to help.

Along with the Kuwait-America Foundation, we decided to make Malaria No More the beneficiary of our fourth annual gala dinner,“Stand for Africa,” which will be held on March 12 at our residence in Washington. To date, the foundation has raised more than $1.5 million for the cause.

First Lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be the honored guests at the gala; legendary Grammy award-winning Senegalese artist Youssou N’Dour will perform; and PBS’s Charlie Rose will serve as master of ceremonies.

Soon, Malaria No More will lead the international health community in a 36-month

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plan to expand malaria control in Africa. This approach will combine the best practices of public health with the best ideas from the private sector. With the support of partners such as the Kuwait-America Foundation, this effort could save 3.5 million lives and increase annual economic output by as much as $30 billion in Africa over the next five years.

My husband and I take great pride in working with Malaria No More and advancing the promise of a malaria-free world. We envision a hopeful future; a future in which the children of Africa will no longer be condemned to illness or death from this disease but will live to develop their own potential and make their own contributions to society.With continued support, together we can make malaria no more.

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OVER THE MOON

Animal Farm A different breed of Hunt Country socialite saddles up

BY VICKY MOON

DARWIN AND SWEETIE PIE In the Virginia countryside, love of animals permeates the lifestyle. It goes beyond dogs and horses. Consider the late sportswoman Viola Townsend Winmill, whose zebra, Nderu, was imported in June 1930 from Kenya and trained to pull a cart.

Mrs. Winmill even added a sunroom on the back of a tenant house known as Whiffletree Manor at her 350-acre farm, Clovelly. The “Zebra Room” paid homage to Nderu’s distinctive black and white stripes in everything from lamps to rugs. Winmill sported a coordinating fur coat long before it became politically incorrect.

Today, we have many more animal lovers – photographer Janet Hitchen rises every morning to feed her flock of two llamas, five goats, three donkeys, six cats, and six dogs (This does not include her horses). “Why so many?” a writer asks.

“Just lucky, I guess,” Janet replies.

Right: The zebra room at Whiffletree Manor. Below: Viola Winmill and her zebra, Nderu.

(Photos by Freudy Photo/ Chisholm Gallery)

BIRDS OF A FEATHER When Barbara du Pont is not out riding horses, she roams the fields with her feathered friends. Barbara is a falconry enthusiast. Her falcon, Darwin, perches on the back seat of the car while Barbara runs errands. “My bird is a tierce [male] by a Gyrfalcon Falcon from the far north of Alaska, Canada and Antarctica and a Saker Falcon from the Arab peninsula and India,” Barbara reports.” He was bred in captivity by Robert F. Kennedy. Jr., a long time falconer and breeder.

Darwin is “flown” on ducks, partridge, and anything he fancies with feathers.

“Crows are hunted on horseback and are fabulous sport for falcons in Scotland and the Border District,” Barbara adds.

“He’s a very sociable hawk and enjoys

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Above: Scottish Highland cow. Right: Barbara du Pont and Darwin.

Far right: Sweetie Pie. (Photos by Vicky Moon)

all our family, sleeps and shares his dinner with our Maine coon cat, Sassy, who is his selfappointed bodyguard. He’s such a wonderful bird, and it’s a true privilege to work with these magnificent wild creatures,” she said.

ALPACAS, LLAMAS, AND CAMELS, OH MY At Heronwood Farm in Upperville, well-known real estate developer and arts philanthropist Robert Smith switched from a 17-year stint of raising Thoroughbred racehorses to breeding Huacaya alpacas in 1999. While in the horse business, Smith sold several yearlings at the Saratoga sales, including one colt which fetched $650,000. Breeding horses presents many challenges, chief among them that a fractious young horse can risk injury before even getting to the starting gate.

The current potential return for alpacas is a bit more solid. The docile offspring usually sell for the same price as the original female (according to the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association, a top female can garner $25,000$150,000). In addition to selling alpacas for breeding and show, Heronwood Farm also sells their fleece for knitting as well as finished sweaters and soft teddy bears. The farm will be part of this year’s Hunt Country Stable Tour on Memorial Day weekend.

Alpacas, llamas and camels all come from the same family. Recently, Indi – an adorable one-year-old dromedary camel – had been unable to walk and was sent to Middleburg for

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a possible rehab at the horse swimming pool.

Indi made a gallant attempt in the water for two weeks but sadly succumbed in the end to a mysterious illness.

SWEETIE PIE AND COW PIES Harriett Condon didn’t have room for a horse and had always wanted a donkey. So when she heard about the Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program, she did her homework and then hitched up her horse trailer. She drove down past Lorton to pick up Sweetie Pie. “I’ve seen these donkeys all over the world, they’re so dear … such good little friends,” Harriett says.

When folks in Middleburg are looking for a “dear little friend,” they frequently turn to Hilleary Bogley, the president and founder of the Middleburg Humane Foundation. Here, one can adopt not only cats and dogs but also goats and even pet pigs. Hilleary also runs Scruffy’s Ice Cream Parlor and a thrift shop in the village which raises funds for the foundation.

The extraordinary countryside in this corner of Virginia also provides abundant grazing for numerous bovine breeds. Actor Robert Duvall has a field full of refined Texas Longhorns. Lisa and Zohar Ben-Dov raise those delightful fuzzy Scottish Highland Cows as well as the Belted Galloways (fondly referred to as Oreo cows).

Meanwhile, Dr. Betsee Parker will soon

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be carrying on in the tradition of Viola Winmill when her goats are fully trained to pull a vintage Victorian cart at the 129-acre historic property known as Huntland. The estate was purchased under the name of AixLa-Chapelle Partnership from Lila and Roy Ash for $7.3 million. And oh … about that Zebra. Nderu lost an eye in an unfortunate encounter with a horse. She became a bit unpredictable and was sent to the Washington Zoo, where she lived happily ever after.

For anyone interested in adopting a donkey like Sweetie Pie: Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Program 7450 Boston Blvd., Springfield, VA 22153 Phone: 800-370-3936; Inet_Adoption@blm.gov

For more information on other animals in need of a loving home: Middleburg Humane Foundation P.O. Box 1238, Middleburg, VA 20118 Phone: 540-364-3272; www.middleburghumane.com

The Heronwood Alpacas will be part of the Hunt Country Stable Tour on May 24 and 25.

Trinity Episcopal Church 9108 John Mosby Highway, P.O. Box 127, Upperville, Virginia 20185 Phone: 540-592-3343; www.trinityupperville.org

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ETIQUETTE

SET SAKE

in Style

CREATE A TABLE FOR A TRADITIONAL JAPANESE DINNER On April 4th, the Hay-Adams hotel will host it’s tenth annual Kaiseki-style sake tasting dinner, held during the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Noted sake sommelier Rie Seno will fly from Tokyo to pair sake with five dishes prepared by the hotel’s executive chef, Peter Schaffrath. For those looking to do the same at home, here are some ideas to set an East meets West table.

P H O T O S B Y TO N Y P OW E L L

Chopsticks are placed at the front of the setting with pointed ends facing left. They are supported by a chopstick rest, or hashioki.

This bamboo flatware available from DC Rental adds to the table’s oriental flair.

Sake translates as “Drink of the Gods,” and is made from rice, water, koji, and yeast. Usually it’s served from individual decanters.

Premium sakes are served chilled.

Since the 13th century, most traditional Japanese ceramics have been glazed with earth tones, primarily green.

THREE SENSATIONAL SAKES BRAND KOKURYU SHUZO - SAKE Kokuryu Daiginjo ‘Ryu’, Fukui prefecture

Mary Jo Myers, author of Obi Ties East and West creates unique centerpieces using the obi, traditionally used as a sash for a kimono.

BRAND EWAZAKURA SHUZO - SAKE Daiginjo‘Mauntain Cherry’, Yamagata prefecture BRAND MIYASAKA JYOZO - SAKE Masumi Daiginjo ‘Nanago’ , Nagano prefecture

HOME LIFE Development in-depth﹐ real estate news﹐ and historical landscapes

CAPITAL GROWTH LUXURY DEVELOPMENTS RISE IN WASHINGTON’S HOTTEST NEIGHBORHOODS

BY MARY K. MEWBORN

The Flats at Union Row, by PN Hoffman, are located in the up-and-coming U Street corridor.

They are currently on the market, with studio units starting in the mid $200,000’s.

(Photo by Maxwell Mackenzie)

HOME LIFE | REAL ESTATE FEATURE

The Yards, developed by Forest City Washington, will encompass 2,800 residential units, 1.8 million square feet of office space, and more than 300,000 square feet of shops and restaurants.

D

evelopment is changing the face of our nation’s capital with a building boom unparalleled in the city’s history. Despite recent economic downturns and a slowing real estate sales market, development in the District is proceeding at an unprecedented pace with new and revitalized neighborhoods emerging downtown, in Mt. Vernon Square, east of the Anacostia and elsewhere.Whether in new home construction, reuse and renovation of historic edifices, or mixed-use developments on otherwise fallow land, from multi-family to townhomes to mansions and multi-family complexes, Washington, D.C., is experiencing a housing renaissance for every lifestyle.

The largest and perhaps most exciting development project to break ground last year was The Yards at New Jersey Avenue and M Street, S.E., where 42 acres of property along the Anacostia River will become a vibrant new world-

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class waterfront destination. In what was once the annex to the Washington Navy Yard, developers Forest City Washington, Inc. are expected to invest some $1.7 billion to convert historic industrial structures and construct new buildings to create 2,800 residential units, 1.8 million square feet of office space, and more than 300,000 square feet of shops and restaurants all within blocks of the Washington Nationals’ new baseball stadium, due to open this Spring.Also planned are five and a half acres of parkland boasting a terraced waterfront performance venue, a public marina, and a bike path that will connect The Yards to Potomac riverfront locations as far west as Georgetown.

With a reputation for redeveloping derelict neighborhoods and refurbishing underused buildings, Forest City Washington, in partnership with PN Hoffman, already has plans to renovate and convert a building used to produce ordnance for ships during World War II into a 250-unit cosmopolitan-style

condominium, to be called Factory 202.

PN Hoffman has also been awarded a major role in the revitalization of the Southwest waterfront, which has lacked any widespread redevelopment since the concrete laden urban renewal of the1960’s. Here, PN Hoffman and Baltimore’s Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse plan to invest $900 million to improve the riverfront landscape and turn it into a more pedestrianfriendly, park-like setting with an inviting promenade, perhaps an aquarium or maritime museum, and about 770 condos and apartments, 675 hotel rooms, significant Class A office space, and 280,000 square feet of retail space.

To capitalize on the best of what nature has to offer, both The Yards and the Southwest waterfront projects are participating in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Development (LEED) Neighborhood Pilot Program which incorporates the principles of sustainable growth, urbanism,

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

“THIS COULD BE TERMED the largest residential land redistribution in Northwest Washington, D.C.’s modern history.” and environmentally sound construction to create a national standard for neighborhood design.

A new District mandate was just passed that requires commercial and government buildings to meet certain green criteria by 2012.

Since 1993, PN Hoffman has built 35 mixed use or residential projects in the District including The Alta, the first LEED-certified condo in the District. PN Hoffman also built the Lofts in Adams Morgan, the Mather Building near the Verizon Center and has had great success in recent months with the sale of both their Warehouses at Union Row and The Flats at Union Row, condominiums which are priced from $495,000 to over $1 million, and from $270,000 to $1.2 million respectively.

While major gateway projects and the creation of up-and-coming neighborhoods in run-down or previously underused areas are newsworthy and exciting, one should not overlook the construction taking place in already well-established areas. So-called infill projects, which increase the population density of mature and vital areas, are among the ongoing development trends currently affecting our urban landscape and lifestyle.

Specializing in urban infill projects involving historic restoration and high quality new construction, the Murillo/Malnati Group (MMG Development) and their affiliate Renovations Unlimited, are about to break ground on what is being billed as the best condominium location in the District. Located at 2816–2822 Connecticut Avenue N.W., in the heart of Woodley Park and heralded as MMG’s most luxurious boutique condominium ever, the development is appropriately called the Woodley-Wardman in honor of Harry Wardman, Washington’s most famous and prolific developer and the man responsible for the construction of two of the four historic townhouses that will be incorporated into a new 39 unit condominium.

The project, which has an estimated development price tag of $32 million, calls for

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

the preservation, renovation, and adaptive reuse of the existing structures coupled with a seven story, 67-foot rear addition. Based on designs by Bonstra/Haresign Architects, the four-level brick townhouses will be subdivided and reconfigured to create 16 new units as well as an entranceway to a courtyard and the new 23 unit glass and metal tower at the rear. The 53,650-square-foot building is slated to have studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom residences plus penthouses with “hot tub ready private roof terraces.” Prices will range from the $300,000’s to more than $2 million.

In keeping with MMG’s green design imperatives, the homes will feature energy efficient appliances and fixtures and recycled materials to protect the environment and reduce costs to homeowners. MMG takes pride in the fact that none of its multi-family development projects have yet to experience increases in condominium dues or special assessments, which the firm attributes to

the vertical integration of the design and construction processes.

Highlights of the building include great views, private roof decks and balconies, and 24 parking spaces including garage parking, concierge service, monitored security system, and on-site Zipcar service all in the highly sought after, amenity-rich Woodley Park neighborhood.

Since 2001, The Murilllo/Malnati Group has designed, restored and developed over 30 singleand multi-family residences in Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, Columbia Heights, Mount Vernon Square, Capitol Hill, Shaw, LeDroit Park and Brookland. Projects include the Hillingdon, Logan Heights,The Palermo and Logan Park, a new 16unit condo at 1616 11th Street N.W., in the Logan neighborhood now close to completion.

Completion of the Woodley-Wardman is scheduled for early 2009, in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the original Wardmanbuilt townhouses. Paul Pike and Alex Venditti of Tutt, Taylor & Rankin Sotheby’s International Realty have been leading the pre-sales marketing program, and at last count 15 units had been “pre-sold” to a diverse group of buyers. One as yet unnamed client is said to be interested in purchasing the entire fifth floor.

The interior of a residential unit in the Woodley-Wardman, a luxury condominium project being developed by the The Murilllo/Malnati Group. The homes, which will feature energy efficient appliances and fixtures and recycled materials, are slated for completion in early 2009.

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

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HOME LIFE | REAL ESTATE FEATURE If Woodley Park is the premier condominium site in the District, then Foxhall Road is the best site for a single-family home. For more than a century, Foxhall Road has been home to Washington’s elite, including business leaders, philanthropists, and notable political figures. Now two historic estates,“Dunmarlin” at 2101 Foxhall Road N.W., and the Casey Estate, originally known as “Valley View Farm” at 1801 Foxhall Road N.W., are being subdivided and sold off in what could be termed the largest residential land redistribution in Northwest Washington’s modern history.

Phillips Park, LLC, a consortium of four investors led by First Capital Trust of Miami, is subdividing the 16-acre former estate of philanthropists and art aficionados Marjorie and Duncan Phillips to create a new community offering 46 estate home sites, 13 of which will have Foxhall or W Street N.W. addresses.

The price of a 9,000-square-foot lot starts at around $1.1 million, with the 17,000 squarefoot parcels priced at nearly $2 million. Sites will support 4,500- to 9,000-square-foot custombuilt residences designed and constructed by a

selection of world-class architects and builders recommended by the Phillips Park consortium.

The developers reportedly paid $21 million for the estate while the cost of the project is estimated to be $90 million. According to Phillips Park project coordinator Kelly Biggs, more than 30 percent of these rare home sites are under contract, and settlements are already underway. Sales are being handled by Susan Maguire with Long and Foster and Kimberly Gibson with Arnold Bradley Sergeant Davy and Chew. The wealthy buyers are said to be a mix of families, singles and empty-nesters.

Phillips Park investors were originally interested in buying the nearby Brady Estate, where cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post once lived while her own Linnean Avenue mansion was being built. But they found the Phillips property more desirable.

Betty Brown Casey, the widow of Montgomery County real estate developer Eugene B.Casey, had purchased the 16.5-acre property in 2001 for $16.5 million in what was the area’s largest-ever private real estate transaction. After plans for a D.C. mayoral residence fell through,

she sold it to the Friends of St. Patrick’s, a parents’ group associated with St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School for approximately $25 million. St. Patrick’s will have Elm Street Development and Michael Harris Development, Inc., (jointly know as Elm Street) construct 28 new single-family homes on the southern portion of the property.

Phillips Park and the Elm Street Development probably offer the last opportunity in Washington to build a custom home on such historically grand estates and in both cases the developers’ principal concession to going green is likely their commitment to preserving the properties’ open spaces, verdant growth and vegetation. Elm Street is said to have a reputation for its commitment to protecting nature, and Phillips Park developers are currently working with arborists and forestry engineers to maintain and supplement their property’s mature trees and foliage.

Ultimately, both developments will want to lay claim to multimillion-dollar homes situated on lush, landscaped gardens backing to parkland because what is good for the environment is increasingly good for the pocketbook.

A rendering of the $900 million Southwest waterfront project being developed by PN Hoffman and Baltimore’s Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse. (Image: Interface Multimedia)

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GEORGETOWN 202.944.8400 FOGGY BOTTOM 202.296.5200 FRIENDSHIP HEIGHTS 202.364.5200 CHEVY CHASE 202.363.9700

LONG & FOSTER REALTORS 速

POTOMAC/RIVER FALLS

KENSINGTON

Gorgeous 3 finished level Colonial featuring side-load garage, fabulous new gourmet table-space 2007 kitchen, sunroom addition, 4 bedrooms and 3 baths up, 1st-floor family room with fireplace and built-ins, beautiful master suite with luxurious bath, large level fenced yard with deck and patio.

Sought-after pool/tennis community. $1,399,000.

Enter this charming Cape Cod and be wowed by the most incredible expansion/renovation you could ever imagine!

Approximately 4,400 Square Feet with designer finishes and quality craftsmanship abound in this exquisite 5-Bedroom, 3.5 Bath home. Seeing is believing! $1,195,000.

Sharyn Goldman B ETHESDA G ATEWAY O FFICE

301.529.7555 301.907.7600

Sharyn Goldman B ETHESDA G ATEWAY O FFICE

301.529.7555 301.907.7600

FOXHALL 202.363.1800 WOODLEY PARK 202.483.6300 CHEVY CHASE/UPTOWN 202.364.1300 BETHESDA Gateway 301.907.7600

FOXHALL Phillips Park: a fabulous new neighborhood where you can design and build your own custom house. We are introducing our NEW concierge program where we are able to help you manage and coordinate the design build process making this a seamless process. Over 30% sold, but still some great lots available including some park frontage lots!

Susie Maguire and Kim Gibson

202.333.4760

2007 WA S H I N G T O N , D C SA L E S

30

L ONG & F OSTER 25

27%

20

GEORGETOWN Georgeous Victorian with a wonderful vista overlooking Visitation grounds. Enjoy 4 floors of spacious living and even parking! This special house has a terrific pool for hot summer days. Unique mantels and some interesting architectural features. Loaded with light and close to all of the amenities of Georgetown. $2,775,000.

Margaret Heimbold GEORGETOWN O FFICE

202.812.2750 202.944.8400

15

WEST END

CBRB

15%

10

LONG & FOSTER

RMAX WFP

9% 9% 5

TTRS

4%

WEI

3%

0

Featured in Architectural Digest, this Victorian Brownstone is a fine example of renovation creativity. Unique 3-level central atrium, spacious main level living area, balcony, and PR. Formal DR, den, kitchen with dining area overlook Washington Circle. Sizeable MBR suite with large walk-in closet. Additional BR and BA. Private lower level quarters. Walk to Georgetown, Dupont Circle. $1,495,000.

*The statistics reported above show Listings Sold and Buyer Purchases from January 1st-December 31st 2007 in Washington, DC as reported in the Metropolitan Regional Information System (MRIS).

Frank Griffin 202.256.4707 Jamie Finch 202.316.5600 FRIENDSHIP HEIGHTS O FFICE 202 364-5200

JUST SOLD!

WASHINGTON, DC

JUST SOLD!

4300 Torchlight Circle. Enjoy fabulous views of the Reservoir in this 3-bedroom residence within walking distance to a community pool & Little Falls Park! A 1st-floor Master Bedroom and finished Lower-Level looking out to a spacious patio & garden are just a few of the many other highlights.

This terrific 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath townhouse boasts a spacious balcony and wonderful light. Located in a gated community with a lovely pool and tennis courts, it is in movein condition with many upgrades. Close to American University, Foxhall Square, shops and restaurants. Includes parking and pets are welcome! $675,000.

Susie Maguire G EORGETOWN OFFICE

Claude Pritchett G EORGETOWN OFFICE

2908 Brandywine Street, NW. Privacy abounds in the heart of the city on this magnificent private lot with towering trees and multi-level garden. The home features four bedrooms, two and one half baths, large living room with fireplace, screened porch, table space kitchen, separate dining room, unfinished third level and huge basement.

2-car detached garage.

Terri Robinson 202.966.6223 G EORGETOWN O FFICE 202.944.8400

202.841.2006 202.944.8400

*Number of listings coming under contract from September 30th-October 30th 2007 by the top brokers as reported in the Metropolitan Regional Information System(MRIS).

202.262.9389 202.944.8400

In select areas

HOME LIFE | OPEN HOUSE

Modern English Restored Tudors and architectural treats MANOR MAKEOVER THOMPSON CIRCLE NW WASHINGTON DC

Nestled between Connecticut and Massachusetts avenues, N.W., this 9,000 square-foot (est.) residence dates to 1929, and has undergone extensive restoration and renovations which have maintained the integrity of its original construction. The house contains over 100 windows, a step-down living room with extending orangerie, library, dining room, and breakfast room, all of which open directly onto an elevated terrace with a pond and fountain. Other features include a great room, chef â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kitchen, butlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pantry, wine cellar, gym, 2-car garage, and three laundry rooms.

ASKING

Listing agents: Greg Gaddy Tutt, Taylor & Rankin Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty 202-421-4734

Carroll Dey Tutt, Taylor & Rankin Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty 202-320-0441

ENGLISH MASTERPIECE ROCKWOOD PARKWAY NW WASHINGTON DC

Set on a hill overlooking Rockwood Parkway, this late 1920â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residence features Tudor characteristics and details throughout.The focus of the main level is the formal living room with wood-burning ďŹ replace and French doors which lead to a screened-in porch. The main level also features a dining room with a fountain and tray ceiling, as well as a library with built-in bookcases. The upper level has a master suite, dressing room, sitting area and three other bedrooms, while the third level has two bedrooms and a full bath. The exterior of the house is done in brick and stone and there are front and rear gardens.

ASKING

Listing agents: William F.X. Moody Robert Hryniewicki Washington Fine Properties 202-243-1620

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| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

GEORGETOWN

NEW LISTING, Englishstyle Victorian residence, c 1886, with an elevator to all levels. Two gracious drawing rooms, separate dining room, superb kitchen and a half bath on the main level. Large master bedroom suite plus two additional suites and a library and an office. The â&#x20AC;&#x153;Au Pairâ&#x20AC;? lower level apartment has outside entrances. Included are a walled garden and gated courtyard with parking. $4,675,000.

Nan Stewart 202.321.4556

MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE HEIGHTS

NEW LISTING, Impervious 1929 construction with meticulous renovation.

Considered the best floor-plan for todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s active lifestyle.

Perfectly sited on private cul-de-sac with commanding views. $8,300,000.

Carroll Dey 202.320.0441 Greg Gaddy 202.421.4734

CHEVY CHASE

NEW LISTING, Exceptional estate in the heart of Chevy Chase Village directly across from Chevy Chase Club.

Built in 1927 by noted Washington, D. C. architect, Waddy B. Wood. $4,600,000.

Michael Rankin 202.271.3344 Jonathan Taylor 202.276.3344

WEST END

NEW LISTING, Magnificent penthouse unit is in the exclusive Ritz-Carlton.

World-class service, a 24-hour concierge, valet parking, in-home catering, and a top-rated fitness center. $3,400,000.

Jonathan Taylor 202.276.3344 Michael Rankin 202.271.3344

WATERGATE

Elegant renovation of this 3,060 sq ft unit overlooking garden/pool/ river. Master suite with double closets, padded silk walls and imported bathroom tiles & fixtures. Custom-made Italian Gourmet kitchen w/top of the line appliances. $2,250,000.

Julia Diaz-Asper 202.256.1887

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MCLEAN

rare offering. $17,500,000.

Ruth Ellis-Morillo

Magnificent chateau built with exceptional craftsmanship and design.

Extraordinary and elaborate details throughout. A 703.582.4254

KALORAMA HEIGHTS

Perfectly sited on an exclusive two block street in one of Washingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most desirable neighborhoods.

This 3-story residence has exceptional style and grandeur, great privacy, terraces and pool. $10,000,000.

Jonathan Taylor 202.276.3344 Michael Rankin 202.271.3344

The managing partners of Tutt, Taylor & Rankin Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty are pleased

GEORGETOWN

This handsome federal townhouse in the heart of the East Village is rich in architectural history and details.

There are spacious rooms for elegant entertaining, a divine third floor balcony from which you can enjoy the views and a lush garden & patio on the main level perfect for al fresco dining. $2,595,000.

Julia Diaz-Asper 202.256.1887

to announce that

DIANA HART has joined our firm as Vice President.

CRESTWOOD

Classic 1942 colonial prominently features well proportioned rooms with high ceilings, chefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kitchen w/topof-the-line appliances,luxurious master suite with private office, lovely flagstone terrace and landscaped backyard. $1,795,000.

Michael Rankin 202.271.3344 John Mahshie 202.271.3132

KALORAMA

NEW LISTING, Exceptional, Federal row house nestled along Rock Creek Park has 3 levels of living. Perfect home & garden for entertaining and is close to Embassy Row and downtown. Parking. $1,250,000.

Kimberly Casey 202.361.3228 Daryl Judy 202.380.7219

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Š MMV Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty AfďŹ liates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Les Bords de lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Epte a Giverny, used with permission. Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International RealtyÂŽ is a licensed trademark to Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty AfďŹ liates, Inc. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each OfďŹ ce Is Independently Owned And Operated, Except OfďŹ ces Owned And Operated By NRT Incorporated.

HOME LIFE | OPEN HOUSE

TREETOP TRIUMPH " CHESTERFIELD PLACE NW WASHINGTON DC

Designed by award-winning architect Travis L. Price and executed in the tradition of Frank Lloyd Wright, this four-story residence offers approximately 11,000 square feet of living space, ďŹ ve bedrooms, six bathrooms, a study and home ofďŹ ce. One hundred and ďŹ fty tons of structural steel support the frame, which features copper, brickwork, and unique windows.

ASKING

Listing agent: John T. Mahshie Tutt, Taylor & Rankin Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty 202-271-3132

FIVE LOFT LEVELS S ST! NW WASHINGTON DC

Located between Connecticut and Massachusetts avenues N.W., this ďŹ ve bedroom Kalorama house is well over 7,000 square feet, with ďŹ ve ďŹ replaces and main-level archways. The residence features French doors, hardwood ďŹ&#x201A;oors and high ceilings throughout, in addition to an open chef â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kitchen. The exterior of the ďŹ ve-level house features a South-facing facade and a private rooftop deck, as well as parking spaces for two cars.

ASKING

Listing agent: David W. Kranich Randall Hagner Ltd. 202-262-2055

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| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

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HOME LIFE | HISTORICAL LANDSCAPES

The Power to See Beautifully From the ashes of grief, Duncan Phillips’ “phoenix” rose

BY DONNA EVERS

T

he Phillips Collection – the art collection that so manyWashingtonians describe as their favorite – was born out of equal parts of love and loss.The Great Influenza Epidemic of 1918 killed 100 million people around the world, including the beloved brother of Duncan Phillips. James Phillips’ death occurred only a year after Duncan’s father died, and the weight of these tragedies plunged Duncan Phillips into a state of despair. His love of art, by his own description, saved him.

Heirs to the Pittsburgh Jones and Laughlin steel fortune, the Phillips brothers grew up in the family mansion in Dupont Circle at 1600 21st St. NW.They were so close that when James finished high school, he waited for two years for his younger brother to graduate, so they could go to college together.The brothers both became enamored with art at Yale, where Duncan aspired to be an art critic. But the man who went on to open the first modern art museum in America wasn’t always inclined toward the latest artistic trends. When Duncan attended the history-making New York Armory show of 1913, he called the exhibit of French Impressionist paintings “stupefying in its vulgarity.” He wrote that Cézanne was an “unbalanced fanatic,” Gauguin was “half savage,” the Cubists were ridiculous, and Matisse was “poisonous.”

There is a saying that only unthinking people never change their minds, and Duncan Phillips changed his point of view radically. He soon fell in love with the very art works he had once derided. When James died, Duncan was able to recover from his depression through his vision of a great art collection that he would assemble to honor both the memory of his father and his art-loving brother. He developed a passion, if not an obsession, for modern art, and ended up spending the rest of his life creating a monument to the artists he came to cherish.

In 1920, as fate would have it, he met Marjorie Acker, a painter who had as good an eye for art

140

Right: The house at 21st and Q Streets, NW, circa 1900.

Below: Marjorie and Duncan Phillips in the Main Gallery. (Photo by Clara E. Sipprel, circa 1922).

as he did. They got married and moved into the Phillips family mansion, where they turned two of the rooms into gallery spaces for public viewing.

They stayed in the house for many years, until the growing collection – and the space it required – crowded them out.The Phillips Collection gained world renown after Duncan purchased Renoir’s masterpiece, “Luncheon of the Boating Party,” in 1923. He paid $125,000 for it, which was an enormous price at that time – his entire year’s budget for buying paintings. The story of rival collector Dr. Albert Barnes’ reaction to Duncan’s acquisition is a favorite of Phillips’ fans. Barnes, a hugely wealthy drug inventor and art patron who bought French Impressionist paintings by the carload, teased Phillips, saying, “That’s the only Renoir you’ve got, isn’t it?” Phillips replied, “It’s the only one I need.”

Marjorie and Duncan Phillips encouraged and patronized dozens of American artists, including Georgia O’Keefe, Milton Avery, Arthur Dove

and Washington artists Gene Davis and Kenneth Noland. Duncan Phillips used to stroll through the gallery and talk to people about the paintings, which he moved from room to room, mixing up styles and periods, so the pictures could, as he said, “talk to each other.” He wanted the viewer to see how artists from different periods and places influenced one another; how they passed ideas along; and how they reshaped their use of color and light. This unorthodox arrangement of artwork grew out of Phillips’ desire for people “to see beautifully, as artists see.” Colors appear even more vivid, the thoughts and feelings expressed in the art more penetrating and resonant.

Today, because of the generosity of contemporary art collectors, Phillips’ vision – and his collection – is alive and growing. New pictures and paintings are added each year.

While the pictures are sent out periodically to exhibitions around the world, they always come home again, where they move from room to room, talking to each other. The gallery is the place where James Phillips died so many years ago, and this jewel of an art collection is the phoenix that rose from the ashes of grief to beome a gift of joy and transcendence, just as Duncan Phillips meant it to be.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

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HOME LIFE | REAL ESTATE NEWS

Flight of the Condos Historic buildings in the District are divided but never diminished

BY MARY K. MEWBORN

THE DISTRICT Georgetown’s Cassin House at

O Street NW has been sold for $7.5 million by the Fisher Family Trust. Initial construction of the large Federal house began in 1816; by 1818, documents describe the impressive abode as a “mansion.” Subsequent work was completed in 1900, and today the house measures 6,578 square feet. It boasts grand public rooms with high ceilings, six huge bedrooms and five and a half baths. Highlights include a two-story side porch, staff quarters and private driveway.

Joyce Sargent with Arnold, Bradley, Sargent, Davis & Chew listed the three-level home for $8.95 million. Michael Rankin and Maggie Shannon of Tutt, Taylor & Rankin Sotheby’s International Realty represented the out-oftown buyers.

Also in Georgetown, realtor Michael Rankin is reportedly planning to sell his home at

Volta Place NW for $2,395,000 to a pair of attorneys. The early 1800s brick Federal edifice was once three row houses and contains original fireplace mantles, random-width hardwood floors, and an original staircase plus well-preserved mouldings and wainscoting.

There are three bedrooms, three and a half baths, a private courtyard, a lovely English garden and a garage built just last year. During World War II, the house belonged to Assistant Secretary of War Jack McCloy. It was in the library that McCloy and Generals George C. Marshall and Brehon B. Somervell drew up the plans for the D-Day invasion. The historically significant property was listed by Tutt,Taylor & Rankin Sotheby’s International Realty agents Daryl Judy and Kimberly Casey.

Cathy Merrill Williams, publisher of the Washingtonian, and her husband Paul Williams have purchased Wyoming Avenue NW from P. Wesley Foster, Jr., founder of Long & Foster Real Estate. The Spanish-style

142

Keener-Squire Properties’ charming four-unit boutique-style building located at 2120 Wyoming Avenue NW

stucco house was built in 1923 and has four bedrooms, three full baths and a powder room.

Washington Fine Properties Jim Bell served as the selling agent. The Washingtonian reports

that the price tag was $3.5 million.

Also with Jim Bell’s assistance, KeenerSquire Properties sold a $2.15 million Kalorama condo housed in a charming four-

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

unit boutique-style building at Wyoming Avenue NW. Restored and redesigned by Wnuk Spurlock Architecture, the converted mansion is rich in architectural detail and filled with the luxurious amenities. The unit has three bedrooms and a den, an open floor plan, ten-foot ceilings, French doors opening onto a terrace and multi-directional recessed lighting.

The center island kitchen has a built-in espresso machine, wine cooler, double dishwasher, warming tray, convection oven and microwave.

The master bath boasts “floating cabinets,” an ultra-deep soaking tub, a rain shower with a built-in steam bath and multiple body scrubbers. The home also boasts a fireplace, a private elevator and two parking spaces. The purchaser is David Israelite, president and CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), who previously served as chairman of the Justice Department’s Task Force on Intellectual Property.

Another recently completed condominium is now home to developer Julio Murillo, managing partner of the Murillo/Malnati Group (MMG). Murillo chose the penthouse from among the seven contemporary condos his company has constructed within a 19th century brownstone at M Street NW in newly revitalized Mount Vernon Square.

The structure, which was first owned by its architect and builder, Edward Woltz – and which has now been redesigned by Argentineborn architect/designer Carina Lopez – is named The Palermo in honor of the renowned Buenos Aires neighborhood. The building’s façade has been artfully restored, and its interior has been transformed and fitted with the latest in fine finishes and energy-efficient green design elements. Murillo’s 1,650 square foot penthouse has three bedrooms and features a rooftop deck with hot tub plus a balcony which runs the length of the unit for an additional 1,000 square feet of living space.

There are eighteen-foot ceilings in the living room, and the European spa bathrooms come equipped with hot-rock foot massagers in the showers. Tutt, Taylor & Rankin Sotheby’s International Realty was selected as the exclusive sales agency for The Palermo. The penthouse was priced at $999,999.

Charlie Hein of Long & Foster was the

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Dr. John Niederhuber, head of the National Cancer Institute for NIH, paid $1.725 million for 7905 Sandalfoot Drive.

selling agent representing Kristina and Mike Gill in their purchase of Randolf Street

president of Convergent Wealth Advisors.

Long & Foster was the listing agent for NW. Mike is a partner with C&M Capitolink. ' ( Sandalfoot Drive in Avenel. The The seller, Ruth Smith, was asking for $1.195 8,567-square-foot Pardoe-built, custom million, but the Gills paid $50,000 less for the designed house has four bedrooms and five-bedroom Colonial. Built in 1942, the house baths, a library, and gourmet kitchen with is located on what many consider the best block butler’s pantry and breakfast room. Several sets of French doors lead to a spacious deck in the Crestwood neighborhood. overlooking the swimming pool and golf course. The home also has three fireplaces and MARYLAND In Potomac, # York Manoid ask a two-car garage. The seller was Carol Bi)man. you to send mr Way sold for $5.2 million. The buyer is Dr. John Niederhuber, head of The stunning six-bedroom house was the National Cancer Institute for NIH. He constructed by renowned builder Frank paid $1.725 million for the residence.

Bell in collaboration with designer/owner Donna Gumbin. Situated on a two-acre lot in VIRGINIA Avenel’s gated Rapley Preserve, the property is Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell and wife reminiscent of a 16th-century English country Stacy have sold their Colonial at #( Deerfield manor, exuding Old World charm with a turret Farm Court in Great Falls to Donald and Marie and French forecourt. In 2002, as part of the Reilly for $3,500,000. Set on a quiet cul-de-sac, 47th annual Potomac Country House Tour, the home has a gated circular drive, two kitchens, Gumbin and her husband Neal (a managing seven bedrooms (including two guest suites), director of GEM Realty) welcomed visitors media room, exercise room, four fireplaces and to view their spectacular home and admire its a pool. striking collection of Art-Deco heirlooms.The estate includes an in-law suite, chef ’s kitchen, Please send real estate news items to gym, billiards room and sports court. The new columns@washingtonlife.com. owners are Tara and David Zier, executive vice

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

143

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MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

William F. X. Moody Robert Hryniewicki

Victoria Kilcullen William F. X. Moody Robert Hryniewicki

Estate on McLean’s scenic Gold Coast w/ 11,000 sq. ft. 10 BR home. Minutes from DC/Chain Bridge Line.

Built for prominent U.S. Senator. $13,500,000

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CHEVY CHASE, MARYLAND

Villa on an acre+ lot with pool and terrace. Handsome moldings, wood floors, marble baths, 10-foot ceilings, Palladian windows. 5 BR, 4 BA, 3-car garage. $2,395,000

Florence Meers Donald Corin

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New hand selected & custom built. Offers grand principal rooms. Surrounded by park land. $5,695,000

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CHEVY CHASE, MARYLAND

Turn of century estate on nearly acre and a half.

Gorgeous public rooms, including grand foyer and ballroom. Ample bedrooms and staff quarters, heated pool and spa. Exceptional offering. $7,400,000

Liz Lavette Shorb

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301-785-6300

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RITZ RESIDENCES, WASHINGTON, DC

SPRING VALLEY, WASHINGTON, DC

Ellen Morrell Patrick Chauvin Matthew B. McCormick

Susan Koehler Anne Killeen

NEW LISTING! Luxurious city living w/2,700+ sq. ft. of living space, 3BRs, 2.5BAs, 2 balconies & 2 pkg spaces.

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You’re going to love this house! Stately brick Georgian on almost 1/3 acre, four finished levels, exceptional master suite, finished 3rd floor. Make it yours today. $2,595,000

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WARRENTON, VIRGINIA

Blue Ridge views, beautifully designed & built 5 BR house on its own mountain. First floor BR. European country kitchen. 3 FPs. Barn w/ fenced paddocks.

20’x50’ pool w/ spa. Professional gardens. $2,595,000

Ruth Ripley

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DELAPLANE, VIRGINIA

52 acres in Northern Fauquier Co with custom designed 5 bedroom brick house. Stunning views. Fencing, 4 stall bank barn, cattle barn, streams & springs. Piedmont Hunt territory. $1,950,000

Carole Miller

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HILLSBORO, VIRGINIA

INCREDIBLE VIEWS! Stone and glass house on 10 private acres. 4 BR, state of the art systems, 10 foot ceilings, game, media and exercise rooms. Well designed landscaping. $1,850,000

Ruth Ripley

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FOREST HILLS, WASHINGTON, DC

GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC

GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC

Ellen Morrell Patrick Chauvin Matthew B. McCormick

Heidi Hatfield Anne Hatfield Weir

Anne Hatfield Weir Heidi Hatfield

Situated on 1.25-acre lot overlooking Rock Creek Park, this 1929 Tudor estate has 7 BRs & 6.5 BAs.

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Grand home w/historic provenance! Exquisite top floor master suite w/deck, gourmet kitchen, dining room w/ terrace & huge living room. Garage. $4,250,000

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1st floor BR suite; 5BR, 3BA upstairs. $2,995,000

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KENT, WASHINGTON, DC

GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC

William F. X. Moody Robert Hryniewicki

Ellen Morrell Patrick Chauvin Matthew B. McCormick

Ellen Morrell Patrick Chauvin Matthew B. McCormick

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MIDDLEBURG, VA WASHINGTON, VA

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Genuine late 1920’s Tudor located on a secluded almost one half acre lot on one of DC’s most sought after streets. Preserved original details. $3,695,000

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Chalet boasting soaring ceilings, walls of windows, master suite, 3 BRs, 3.5 BAs, great lower level & deck.

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Pristine 4-level TH w/ open floor plan in gated Hillandale community. 4BRs, 3.5BAs, chef ’s kitchen, & garden.

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DELAPLANE, VIRGINIA

Lovely brick house on 10 private acres. Spacious kitchen, 2 family rooms each with FP. 4 BR each with BA. Beautiful pool/spa area and sweeping lawn. Riding trails in neighborhood. $1,550,000

Ruth Ripley

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MIDDLEBURG, VIRGINIA

New Virginia Farm House, brick and siding, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, gourmet kitchen, Main level master bedroom. 2 car garage. Fabulous location and setting.

4+ acres. $985,000

Gloria Armfield

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MIDDLEBURG, VIRGINIA

New custom home on 3+ acres. 4 BR, 3.5 BA, open floor plan, gourmet kitchen, lovely wood floors, top quality appliances, breakfast bar, fireplace in family room, 2 car garage. $975,000

Gloria Armfield

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WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

THIS TOWN

Who Will Rock This Town?

Enough talk about Iraq, health care, and immigration – what we really want to know is which candidate will bring “the real party” back to Washington

BY MICHAEL STRANGE

seven years of searching has produced bupkas.

Granted, we’ve coped with September 11th and a war, and neither is the foundation for joie de vivre, but matters weren’t helped by a First Family who’ve been reticent to know us or exploit the after-work opportunities that could ameliorate rampant partisan ill will. For decades, what was not resolved across a conference table often got settled over cocktails and dinner in a private setting that was certifiably off the record. In other words: a private dinner party.

I sit at the knee of my husband, and others of a certain age, and listen intently as they tell stories of a “golden era” a few decades back when it was an esteemed secretary of state, and not Jim Kimsey, Chip Dent or Joe Robert, who was the most notorious man about town.As a bachelor in the Nixon and then Ford administrations, Henry Kissinger was famous for squiring inappropriately young blonds and actresses with racy reputations.

Also in the ’70s, a striking character named Steve Martindale hosted intimate but glam dinner parties at his Garfield Street home that mixed the elected, the titled, the rich, and provocative, and guests didn’t have to make a donation to get invited.

In Georgetown at the same time, another colorful host, Peter Malatesta, ran the Pisces Club with a knack for sneaking in young hotties to mix it up with the fogeyish, dues-paying members, which served up loads of morning-after TMZ worthy gossip. Dish was spawned there even on slow nights, but exploded when Liz Taylor, Halston, Liza Minelli, Andy Warhol, and Bianca Jagger tripped down the stairs to be among the shark tanks and flowing Dom Perignon. Liz and Liza were regulars, too, at the Iranian Embassy on Massachusetts Avenue. In the last gasp of decadence before the Shah fell, Iran’s

ambassador,Ardeshir Zahedi, hosted Bacchanalian frolics where guests freely depleted the Caspian Sea’s supply of Beluga Malassol caviar.

My storytellers claim Washington was fun then because Jerry and Betty Ford were lively people, and the city was exuberant after Watergate and at the end of the Vietnam War.They say the Carter crowd were up for a good time but unskilled in social graces, such as when Hamilton Jordan verbally swooned over the breasts of the Egyptian ambassador’s wife. “I’ve always wanted to see the pyramids,” he’s said to have remarked.

(Rude, but kinda fun, too.) The Reagans were all about social graces but not as social here as they were in Los Angeles and Palm Springs. Nancy was visible, and that was appreciated, especially her frequent cozy lunches with George Will at The Jockey Club.Then came the dynasties – the Bushes and the Clintons. George and Barbara Bush got out, put some restaurants on the map, and invited local friends over for dinner. The preferred party hub of the Clinton era was Adams Morgan over Georgetown, but that crowd keyed their social focus to the Lincoln Bedroom. As for George and Laura Bush, well, apart from the earlier nighttime antics of their daughters, it’s as if they don’t live here.

So, when you vote, please first consider the candidates in terms of fixing the war, the economy, health care and the deficit, but also ask yourself this: who will rock this town, both politically and socially? Who will make it fun again?

Readers wishing to get in touch with Michael can email her at: mstrange@washingtonlife.com

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

IL LU STRATION BY J.C. SUA RÈ S

T

his is not news to anyone here, but we are having an exceptional political moment. Come fall, it appears voters will choose a black man, a woman, or the oldest candidate ever to be the next president of the United States.The new administration will be historic, a turning point, and – presumably – good for America. But will the next president be good for Washington?

The question is not a reference to D.C. statehood, though God knows it’s time for Congress to free District residents from their plight as vote-neutered tax-paying citizens.

There are illegal immigrants with more rights.

By “good for Washington” I mean a White House occupant who is good for us at ground level, who sets a standard for the social matrix that is upward, outward, involving, inclusive, and fun. I’m told this town can be a kick, but

WASHINGTON, D.C. GEORGETOWN BETHESDA/CHEVY CHASE POTOMAC NORTHERN VIRGINIA WFP.COM

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K ALORAMA, WASHINGTON, DC

Rarely Available! Spectaular renovation of a large Kalorama residence with removed one bedroom guest house and garage. Large pool size garden and poolhouse. $3,795,000

Jim Bell

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K ALORAMA, WASHINGTON, DC

K ALORAMA, WASHINGTON, DC

Jim Bell

Jim Bell

Rarely Available! Extraordinary 4 level rowhome featuring formal entertaining rooms, exquisite architectural details, gracious marble entry foyer, hardwood floors, ornate fireplaces, large kitchen/family room w/fpl, private terrace. Garage + 2 spaces. $2,500,000

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NEW LISTING! Fully renovated magnificent estate with extra large lot, pool, two car garage, an au pair suite/ nanny residence on lower level. Large family room off of granite and stainless steel kitchen. Fireplaces, magnificent light, formal entertaining rooms. $3,795,000

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K ALORAMA, WASHINGTON, DC

Truly magnificent Federal complete with beautiful detailing throughout, large Family Room off gourmet Kitchen, exquisite Master Bath, deck off the Master Suite plus two-car garage and driveway. $4,500,000

Nancy Taylor Bubes

202-256-2164

GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC

Hidden jewel complete with 3BR/1.5BA and 1BR, 1BA lower level suit, a beautifully redone kitchen, light-filled living room, separate dining room, hardwood floors, & rear patio. $1,295,000

Nancy Taylor Bubes

202-256-2164

GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC

2BR/2BA Federal offers wide-planked hardwood floors throughout, renovated Kitchen with granite countertops, wood-burning fp, light-filled spaces, and a private rear brick patio. $899,000

Nancy Taylor Bubes

CLEVELAND PARK, WASHINGTON, DC

K ALORAMA HEIGHTS, WASHINGTON, DC

KENT, WASHINGTON, DC

William F. X. Moody Robert Hryniewicki

William F. X. Moody Robert Hryniewicki

Ellen Morrell Carrill McKenzie

NEW LISTING! Early 20th Century Dutch Colonial with wrap around porch, sophisticated renovations and details. Beautiful vistas of Garden through many glass doors. 2-car & 1-car Garage. $1,800,000

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Located in a hidden enclave, this Classic TH has modern updates & beautiful vistas of Rock Creek Park. Eat-in kitchen overlooking private brick patio.

4 BRs & 3 BAs. Separate Garage. $845,000

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202-256-2164

Light filled 4 BR, 3.5 BA Colonial w/formal Living and Dining Room, Kitchen with breakfast bar, lower level Family Room, flagstone terrace, large side lot and one car garage. A MUST SEE!

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202-365-0196 703-966-6283