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For general questions about reservations or event details, please contact the DC Public Library location you are planning to visit. For those in need of disability services related to event registration or room reservation, please reach out to the Center for Accessibility at 202-727-2142 or DCPLaccess@dc.gov. |
Join us at MLK Library for the Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival Short Film Series in partnership with 100Reporters followed by fireside chats with the makers of the film.
Learn more about this Short Film Festival and 100Reporters below.
Registration is recommended but not required. Click the registration link to DXfest website and scroll until you see the Short Film Series tickets.
For reasonable accommodations, please contact the Center for Accessibility at 202-727-2142 or DCPLaccess@dc.gov. For ASL or tactile interpretation, please allow at least seven (7) days notice.
100Reporters is a news organization dedicated to forging new frontiers in responsible journalism. It joins scores of award-winning reporters with whistle-blowers and citizen journalists across the globe to report on corruption in all its forms. The organization, spearheaded by veteran correspondents of top-tier news outlets, aims to raise the caliber, impact and visibility of citizen-driven investigative journalism, as a means of promoting transparency and good government.
You can learn more about each film by clicking the links below.
All the Empty Rooms
Director: Joshua Seftel
A journalist and photographer embark on a seven-year-long project to document the empty bedrooms of children killed in school shootings.
In Exchange for Flesh
Directors: Corey Devon Arthur, Sandro Ramani
An investigation into a brutal, state-sanctioned prison practice that blurs the line between safety and sexual abuse for incarcerated individuals.
Teaching America
Director: Anurima Bhargava
A short documentary exploring the battle around the teaching of African-American history from inside one of the most historic classrooms.
Thank You For Allowing Me To Speak With You Today
Director: Kate Stonehill
An exploration of culture and language after U.S. government agencies, at the direction of Elon Musk, flagged hundreds of words to limit or avoid.
No Se Ve Desde Acá
Director: Enrique Pedráza-Botero
A spatial exploration of Miami, and the endless pursuit of the American Dream in an era of immigrant mass mobilization.
Bloodlines, Mississippi
Director: Crystal Kayiza
Set in America’s Diabetes Belt and epicenter of the amputation epidemic, this film examines a medical system that is stacked against the Delta’s most vulnerable residents.
Boil That Cabbage Down
Director: Candace Williamson
A novice banjoist embarks on a transformative journey to uncover the forgotten Black roots of the banjo.
Status: Venezuelan
Director: Mauricio Rodríguez Pons
As the Trump administration threatens to roll back protections for legal immigrants, a Venezuelan family sees themselves with fewer options.
Jeffery, Come Home
Directors: Esther Lim, Jankhna Sura
Jeffery Campbell has served 24 years of a 47 year sentence for a crime he knows he didn’t commit.
Exodus
Director: Nimco Sheikhaden
An intimate portrait of two women who face unique challenges following decades of incarceration.
We Bloom in Spring
Director: Kali
A story about the women of the Myanmar resistance; the immense capabilities of the human spirit amidst a country’s battle for democracy.
Woven throughout this year’s Double Exposure slate are stories about new fault lines—splits in truth, trust, and power that are transforming the landscape of investigative storytelling. Each film probes the fractures where society’s old narratives no longer hold: from the reframing of journalistic rights and governmental authority in the US premiere The Six Billion Dollar Man, to the contested battlegrounds of race, justice, history, and collective memory explored in titles like Cover-Up, Cycle, Magic & Monsters, and Teaching America.
A throughline emerges of filmmakers wrestling with the tension between institutional spin and lived reality. These works expose how stories—be they of state power, cultural trauma, or individual resistance—are constructed, controlled, and even commodified. By centering whistleblowers, survivors, journalists, and ordinary citizens, the slate urges audiences to question the myths that undergird national identity and public life.
In this pivotal moment, the DX slate of films, panels, and workshops captures the urgency—and the hope—of artists and truth-tellers working at the ever-shifting borders of technology, governance, and human rights. The festival becomes not just a showcase, but a public inquiry into where the cracks are now—and who pays the price when they widen.
Double Exposure isn’t just for experts—it’s for anyone in Washington, DC and beyond who’s drawn to powerful stories and curious about how the world really works. If you’ve ever felt the pull to look beneath the surface or connect with others who do, this is your invitation: come discover what’s hidden, what’s hopeful, and what’s possible at Double Exposure.
