Sold-Out Inaugural Run · DDFF 2024 Selections: Yumeji House Productions - Tribeca 2025 · Florida Film Festival · Oscar-Qualifying Slate

District Dreamers is a Washington, DC independent film festival I cofounded and directed, programming local short-form documentary and scripted work for DC audiences. The festival was built on a curatorial bet: DC's existing film scene runs to two extremes, niche documentary-only festivals and a long-running general festival that hadn't broken into national recognition, and there was no platform inside the city for emerging local filmmakers working across both modes. District Dreamers was designed to fill that gap. The inaugural three-day weekend ran at a DC artist residency studio in the city's arts district, called Stable and sold out every day; six months later, a follow-on screening at Yours Truly Hotel featured the second short from one of the inaugural-weekend filmmakers, Yumeji House Productions, Cherry Colored Funk that advanced to Tribeca, the Florida Film Festival, and multiple Oscar-qualifying festivals.

My role spans curation, brand, and operations. I cofounded the festival with Andrew Williams (writer / narrative designer, runs a boutique marketing agency, With Sauce) and Sarah Lakey (former Streetsense Director of Events). I set the curatorial thesis, local DC filmmakers, short-form, doc and scripted in parallel, festival-quality programming inside an intimate venue — and authored the festival's brand identity and on-grounds environmental concept. On the operating side, I led the sponsor architecture: cash funding from a local Business Improvement District NoMa BID, in-kind partnerships with Streetsense(interior design build — furniture, plant-life, elevated design treatment), Charix Shoes, a local UPS Store, and two alcohol partners for the inaugural weekend, plus Blossom Beverages for the follow-on screening. The festival's selection committee comprises Hollywood and international producers, all DC-area natives, bringing national-caliber curatorial judgment to a deliberately local slate.

The inaugural two-day weekend sold out daily across 8 short films from 20 filmmakers. Six months later, the follow-on screening at Yours Truly previewed the second short from one of the inaugural-weekend filmmakers, Yumeji House Productions, ahead of its festival run; the film Cherry Colored Funk, went on to selection at Tribeca, the Florida Film Festival, and multiple Oscar-qualifying festivals, validating the festival's curatorial bet that DC's emerging filmmakers were operating at a national level and just needed a platform that could match it.