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Shamrocks and SilverDocs

Wednesday, June 18, 2008
5:30 PM - Happy Hour at McGinty’s Public House
6:30 PM - Screening at AFI Silver Theatre

McGinty’s Public House -- 911 Ellsworth Drive
AFI Silver Theatre -- 8633 Colesville Road
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Metro: Silver Spring
Cost: $10 per person*

SILVERDOCS Film Festival

McGinty’s Public House

Click Here To Register

It’s time to try something new! Join fellow Wahoos for a celebration of the silver screen. In its sixth year, SILVERDOCS is one of the most talked about documentary festivals. This international event showcases the creative vision of independent filmmakers and features films on a wide variety of cultural issues. Our group will meet for drinks and Irish pub fare at McGinty’s Public House then head over to the historic AFI Silver Theatre for the world premiere screening of The Garden.

From the festival website: "Once upon a time, at the intersection of 41st Street and Alameda Avenue in the heart of South Central Los Angeles, a lush 14-acre community garden rose from the ashes of the 1992 LA riots. With uncharacteristic charity, the city donated the land in the largely Latino neighborhood in the hopes that this vast field crammed with garbage, blown tires and syringes would be replaced with an abundance of ripe tomatoes, fresh lettuce, and sweet papayas. The South Central Farm, as it was called, was a resounding success, enabling the farmers to rely on home-grown produce instead of food stamps. It also created a place of beauty where before there had only been signs of abject poverty, violence, and dependence.

"The garden was a source of pride and sustenance for more than a decade, but in December 2003, bulldozers were poised to level the urban oasis to make room for...a proposed soccer field. Clearly, this fairytale was not destined for a happy ending.

"[Filmmaker] Scott Hamilton Kennedy captures this extraordinary story from the moment the farmers receive notices of eviction, through their two-and-a-half year battle in the courts, to the final verdict and shocking aftermath. The film tracks the serpentine trial, backroom deals and political scandals, as well as the unexpected emergence of a political voice for the immigrant farmers who refuse to remain silent.

"The Garden passionately explores a seismic fault line in American society. It also makes us question our own standards of social justice when our system doesn’t serve the poorest and most vulnerable among us."

The Garden (USA, 95 minutes) is award-winning filmmaker Scott Hamilton Kennedy's latest documentary project and is one of ten finalists competing for the festival's Sterling U.S. Documentary Award.

Both McGinty’s Public House and the AFI Silver Theatre are within walking distance (within four blocks) of the Silver Spring Metro station on the Red Line, near the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road . Public (pay) parking garages are nearby as well.

Questions or need more information? Email movies@dchoos.org for more information.

*Because event tickets are purchased in advance, payments are non-refundable.