Lights, Camera, Alexandria! Film Festival Turns 20 With a Record 80 Screenings
From a small hometown screening series to a citywide showcase, Alexandria’s 20-year celebration of independent film will feature 80 screenings and more than 50 conversations with filmmakers.
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Lights, camera, Alexandria! The Alexandria Film Festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary in a big way: a record 80 screenings, more than 50 in-person filmmaker question-and-answer sessions and moviegoing opportunities in five locations across the city this November.
What began two decades ago as a small, city-funded festival screening roughly two dozen films at a single venue is now a community-wide celebration of independent storytelling. Its anniversary program begins Sunday, November 8, with a special opening film and continues November 13–15.
Twenty Years of Big-Screen Dreams
Festival founder and executive director Patti North says the achievement belongs to the artists and Alexandrians who have supported the event. “We are thrilled to be planning our 20th anniversary celebration,” North said in the festival’s anniversary announcement, describing its filmmakers, volunteers and supporters as an important part of the experience.
Independent films can transport audiences to distant places, introduce unexpected perspectives and spark lively discussions. The festival’s trademark is that viewers can often meet the creative people behind what they have just seen.
Five Places to Catch a Film
This year’s lineup will reach the Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library in the West End, the Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum in Old Town, Patagonia Old Town, Virginia Tech in Potomac Yard and newcomer The Riviera Alexandria in Potomac Yard.
Audiences can choose individual screenings or festival passes, making it easy to build a moviegoing weekend around a favorite subject or try something entirely new.
An Adventurous Opening Film
The November 8 opener, Catching Pinecones, celebrates Jan and Herb Conn, pioneering rock climbers who began blazing new routes in the 1940s. The story of their adventurous, independent spirit offers a fitting kickoff for a festival that has spent two decades championing voices beyond the mainstream.
Elsewhere in the program, the festival website highlights Hail to the Breadsticks!, a documentary from television writer and producer Donick Cary exploring the former name and Native American imagery of Washington’s professional football team through a cross-country family journey. A filmmaker conversation is scheduled following its November 13 screening at The Lyceum.
Made Possible by Alexandria
The Alexandria Film Festival is a volunteer-supported nonprofit, and its anniversary illustrates how an arts idea can become a lasting part of the city’s cultural life. The audience, organizers say, is just as important as the filmmakers who visit.
If You Go
What: 20th Alexandria Film Festival
Dates: November 8 opening screening; November 13–15 festival programming
Where: Five venues across Alexandria
Tickets and complete schedule: Official Alexandria Film Festival website
Details: Record 80 screenings and more than 50 filmmaker Q&As
Sources: Alexandria Film Festival’s official 2026 program and anniversary announcement. Image is archival, not from the 2026 festival.
