OPENS MARCH 18
The 12th Annual Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital
The 12th annual installment of this fest will present 90 movies in 11 days (Bill Plympton’s Guard Dog, at 9 p.m. Friday, March 19, at the American Film Institute’s Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, is pictured), but just four of the D.C. (or world) premieres demonstrate the event’s range: Monumental: David Brower’s Fight to Protect Wild America (at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, March 21, at the National Museum of American History) is a biography of the Sierra Club’s first executive director, including some footage shot by the subject himself. Inheritance: A Fisherman’s Story (at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 25, at American University) follows a Hungarian’s attempt to hold an Australian mining company responsible for the cyanide spill that devastated the River Tisza. A Constructive Madness (at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 21, at the National Building Museum) shows how Frank Gehry’s evolving plans for a never-built house shaped the style of his breakthrough buildings. Elina (at 10:30 p.m. Saturday, March 27, at the National Gallery of Art) is the story of a Finnish-speaking girl in northern Sweden who takes to the moors to escape emotional pain. Among the many striking movies making repeat local appearances are a stunningly intimate view of avian commuting, Winged Migration (at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 20, at the National Geographic Society); a rediscovery of the Irish landscape photographed by Dorothea Lange in the ’50s, Photos to Send (at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 18, the Corcoran Gallery of Art); and an entrancing view of everyday life in a Mauritanian seaside village, Waiting for Happiness (at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 18, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 21, at the National Museum of African Art). The festival opens Thursday, March 18, and runs through Sunday, March 28, at venues around the city. Most screenings are free. Call (202) 342-2564 for more information, see Showtimes for this week’s schedule, or go to www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org for a complete schedule of events. (Mark Jenkins)