LEADERS IN INVESTIGATIVE FILMMAKING AND JOURNALISM TO CONVERGE FOR DOUBLE EXPOSURE FESTIVAL IN WASHINGTON, DC OCTOBER 19-22

The Festival Announces Symposium Lineup

Third Edition Explores Investigative Reporting Under Fire Politically, Legally

Film Program to be Announced in September

 

  As the 2017 Double Exposure  Investigative Film Festival and Symposium (#DX2017) approaches, public awareness of investigative reporting’s importance for a vibrant democracy has never been more urgent – particularly in Washington, DC the epicenter of the assault on verifiable truth.

As grave as the efforts may be to stifle watchdog journalism, however, there is also light: a rebirth of relentless investigative reporting alongside exciting new forms of storytelling that mix journalism with film, serial storytelling in audio and video, virtual reality–even poetry.

Symposium sessions in 2017 will include one-on-one conversations with leading investigative journalists and filmmakers, like Charles Lewis and Jane Mayer in conversation with The Atlantic Editor Matt Thompson, and a conversation between director Bryan Fogel and producer Dan Cogan, filmmakers of Icarus, with Rebecca Ruiz the journalist who covered the Russian doping story for The New York Times, along with panels that explore Storytelling on the Cutting Edge, Rapid Turnaround Investigations, Protecting Sources and Subjects in a (Newly) Hostile Environment, the philosophical, creative and legal issues at the crossroads of film and journalism, and more. Hands-on workshops provide training in critical skills like “Safe + Secure”, presented by Doc Society (formerly BRITDOC) and Fact Checking for Filmmakers, presented by the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, and more. The Symposium program, announced today, is available here: http://doubleexposurefestival.com/2017-symposium/

2017 films will cover the most compelling issues of our day, from some of today’s leading visionaries. The film program will be announced in September.

The feature film Spotlight, winner of the Academy Award® for Best Picture, had its Washington premiere and panel conversation at the 2015 Double Exposure opening night gala just days after its high-profile premieres in Venice, Telluride, and Toronto. Director Tom McCarthy, screenwriter Joshua Singer, investigative journalists from The Boston Globe spotlight team Martin Baron, Ben Bradlee Jr., Sacha Pfeiffer, Michael Rezendes, Walter Robinson, were joined in a post-screening conversation with moderator and television producer David Simon.

“We put together this year’s festival against a drumbeat of attacks on fact-based reporting and the role of an independent press,” said Diana Jean Schemo, Double Exposure co-director and founder.  “The panels, workshops, the Pro Bono Legal Clinic and one-on-one industry sessions, are shaped by the unprecedented challenges facing investigative storytellers today on just about every level.”

Sky Sitney, Double Exposure co-director said, “At such a time, with unprecedented hostility being directed towards the very notion of truth, the work of our filmmakers and journalists is ever more essential, and Double Exposure offers a critical platform to ensure that this work not only continues, but thrives.”

A project of the nonprofit news organization 100Reporters, Double Exposure showcases the best new, unreleased films inspired by the investigative instinct. It pairs film screenings with a concurrent symposium for journalists and filmmakers to hear from leaders in their fields, connect with each other, and with the producers, editors, funders, and experts who can advance their work.

New this year, Double Exposure Access will connect registered attendees to the heads of the most respected and innovative organizations in film and journalism, and provide unparalleled one-on-one face time with industry leaders who can concretely advance their investigative projects. 

Double Exposure will also host a Pro Bono Legal Clinic with leading First Amendment and entertainment attorneys for participants who pre-register.

Double Exposure Academy (DXA) is a special initiative that invites select universities to bring their students and faculty to experience the festival and symposium in an immersive learning environment and expose future generations of investigative storytellers to potential career pathways.

Confirmed Symposium speakers include Charles Lewis (935 Lies) and Jane Mayer of The New Yorker; Matt Thompson, Executive Editor of The Atlantic; Ryan White, director of the new Emmy-nominated Netflix serial, The Keepers; Brian Knappenberger, director of Nobody Speak: The Trials of a Free Press; Bryan Fogel, director of Icarus; Sonia Kennebeck, director of National Bird; Stephen Engelberg of ProPublica; Suki Kim, author of Without You, There is No Us, Ted Conover (Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing), Jess Search of Doc Society (formerly BRITDOC Foundation); and many more leading journalists and filmmakers.

On October 19 and 20, the symposium will take place at the National Union Building, 918 F St NW, Washington, DC 20004.

On October 21, the symposium “Workshop Day” will take place at The Loft at 600 F St NW, Washington, DC 20004. The film program runs Oct. 19-22.

About Double Exposure

In recent years, the creative landscape of films inspired by investigative reporting has flowered in unexpected and exciting ways, from Spotlight, which took audiences inside The Boston Globe investigative team, to Blackfish, which exposed mistreatment of orca whales at SeaWorld, to Citizenfour, which gave us a front-row seat on Edward Snowden’s massive release of files on government surveillance.

Yet this flourishing of creativity comes just as the rights of journalists and visual storytellers face unprecedented challenges on nearly every level: politically, socially, legally and financially.

Double Exposure, now in its third year, showcases the best new films inspired by the investigative instinct, in a bid to raise public recognition of this a vital form of reporting that doesn’t just ask tough questions, but delivers answers. It pairs film screenings with a concurrent symposium for journalists and filmmakers to connect with each other, and with the producers, editors, funders, and experts who can advance their work.

No other event in the nation’s capital is devoted exclusively to creating a space where journalists, visual storytellers and industry leaders can interact and engage in an exchange of ideas, resources, and best practices.

For more information visit: 
http://doubleexposurefestival.com

A list of sponsors is available here:
http://doubleexposurefestival.com/sponsors/

Press Contact:
Adam J. Segal • The 2050 Group – Publicity
212.642.4317 (Office) • 202.422.4673 (Cell)
adam@the2050group.com • www.the2050group.com