Save the Date: Washington West Film Festival Returns in October

Mark your calendars, movie lovers. The third Washington West Film Festival returns to Reston Oct. 23-27.

The festival will feature about 40 screenings of independent films, with many showing at Reston Bow Tie Cinema 13.

The theme of the festival: Story can change the world.

Here is what you need to know:

* As the spotlighted country this year, the festival will showcase several Lithuanian short films. In keeping with the festival’s vision, all box office net proceeds are donated to a charity that then becomes the subject of a short film debuting at the festival.  Past proceeds helped provide relief for Hurricane Sandy victims and built a theater for Haitian children.

Some of the high-profile movies to be screened:

*Living On One Dollar  , the Opening Night film is a feature-length documentary that looks at how some people live in Guatemala on one dollar a day.

*Bishtar Az Do Saat (More than Two Hours), a nominee at Cannes Film Festival this year for Best Short Film.

Special events include:

*       Oct 23: Preview Music Event with legendary film composer W.G. Snuffy Walden at the Artisphere

*       Oct 24: Opening Night at Reston Bow Tie  

*       Oct 26: George Mason student short films at Reston Bow Tie

*       Oct 27: Family Screening of Casper and Costume Party, Sherwood Community Center, Fairfax ($5 per family)

*       Oct 27: Closing Night at Reston Bow Tie

*  Locations include Reston Bow Tie Cinemas (and other venues including Angelika Film Center in Merrifield and Artisphere in Arlington)

*Tickets range from $12-$25; discounts for students and seniors. View the schedule and order tickets at:wwfilmfest.com/tickets.

* The Washington West Film Festival has committed to screening several exceptional films by local filmmakers, including:

• Rebekah Wingert-Jabi (Reston), short documentary "My Neighbourhood"
• Noel Izon (Maryland), documentary feature "Chocolate Soldiers from the USA"
• Bryan Reichhardt and Paul Glenshaw (Maryland and Reston, respectively), feature documentary "Barnstorming"
• Daniel Stine (Northern Virginia), short documentary "Grape"

 For info on additional movies, screenings and tickets, click here.