Film fest returns to in-person events

The best investigations are no longer conveyed in newsprint alone. Industry innovators are experimenting with newer media — from podcasts to graphics to films — to convey the gravity of their work in creative formats. 

The Double Exposure Film Festival, co-sponsored annually by IRW, is just that: a collaboration between journalists and documentarians, culminating in the screening of documentaries grounded in dogged journalism and capped off by a multi-day symposium. 

In-person and virtual early-bird passes for the festival, which returns to Washington, D.C. Oct. 13-16, are on-sale until Aug. 1. The Burke Theater will serve as the venue for the [NUMBER] film screenings, and the symposium will take place at the District Architecture Center, located in D.C.’s historic Penn Quarter. 

The topics covered in prior festival films are wide-ranging, from the investigation that revealed the sprawl of tax fraud and money laundering (2018’s “The Panama Papers”) to a fly-on-the-wall look at an FBI agent on a sting operation (2015’s “(T)error”). 

The symposium, too, offers a sampling of path-breaking investigatory work. 

Last year, ICIJ’s Scilla Alecci spoke about the Pandora Papers, a project that called for the collaboration of 150 media outlets. Lawyer Diana Palacios provided journalists and documentarians with practical skills, speaking in a session about First Amendment rights, whistleblower protections and privacy rights. 

As investigative storytelling migrates from page to screen, at times melding both media, this year’s festival remains a must-see event for students, professors and practicing journalists. 

Purchase your discounted passes and follow @DX_IFF on Twitter for film and speaker announcements as the festival nears.