LightReel Closes With A Bang
(WASHINGTON, DC – June 2, 2023) – The 4th Annual LightReel Film Festival (formerly the Lakefront Film Festival) is happy to unveil its high-intensity closing night event.
The closing night film will be an exclusive showing of MGM’s Surrounded, directed by Anthony Mandler and written by Andrew Pagana & Justin Thomas and Andrew Pagana, the film stars Letitia Wright, Jamie Bell, Jeffrey Donovan, with Brett Gelman, and Michael K. Williams.
Five years after the Civil War, freedwoman and former Buffalo Soldier Moses “Mo” Washington travels west to lay claim on a gold mine- the summation of years of toil for Mo and her community. It is a mean, dangerous world for an unaccompanied Black woman in 1870 America and so Mo travels into the deep frontier disguised as a man. After her stagecoach is ambushed by a group of murderous thieves, Mo is forced to hold legendary outlaw Tommy Walsh captive while the remaining surviving passengers seek out help. What ensues is a battle of wills, blurring the line between captor and captive, as they both try to survive the harsh western landscape.
LightReel is also proud to announce that Mandler will be present to introduce the film as well as participate in a post-film conversation. Surrounded is Mandler’s second feature-length film following an extensive and comprehensive career in short-form content, including commercials and music videos.
Mandler’s first feature-length film was Monster, the Kelvin Harrison Jr. helmed drama based on the book by Walter Dean Myers. Monster was nominated for the U.S. dramatic grand jury prize at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
“We are extremely elated over the addition of Surrounded to our festival. We are grateful that they are so willing to come along with us on our journey and share with us the opportunity to continue to present one of the best festival experiences in the area” quoted Festival Director Tim Gordon. “Each year we strive to present a festival worthy of the community and their investment and having the director of this important film join us, in this way, validates the work that we are doing.”
Surrounded will be shown at the Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market on Saturday, June 10 at 7 pm and will close out this year’s LightReel Film Festival.
The entire slate of films, tickets, and passes for the festival can be found at: www.lightreelfilm.com. Tickets and passes for the LightReel Film Festival are on sale now. Individual tickets for online events are priced at $20 each. The Full Fest pass, which allows access to all the online films and the VR Experience, is only $75.
Follow the LightReel Film Festival on social media or the official site for more announcements, including the opening night film, the closing night film, secret events, and the annual talk series. Stay tuned!
About the LightReel Film Festival
The LightReel Film Festival is an annual showcase for cinematic talent hosted by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African Americans in Film (FAAAF). The festival serves as an opportunity to inform, collaborate, entertain, and educate its audience through the cinematic achievements of a wide and diverse collection of filmmakers from around the world. From 2019 to the present day, the LightReel Film Festival has been a unique and immersive cultural experience for its community, filmmakers, and stakeholders.
CONTACTS:
Taunja Pegues Tim Gordon
info@taunjapegues.com info@lightreelfilm.com
# # #
