Reston Movie to be Shown at Environmental Film Festival in DC

The documentary Another Way of Living: The Story of Reston, VA will have a screening at the Environmental Film Festival in the National’s Capital next month.

The 24th annual EFF runs March 16 to 26 at 52 venues around the DC area.

Another Way of Living will screen at 6:30 p.m. on March 24 at the National Building Museum (401 F St. NW, Washington, DC). The film will be followed by a discussion with film director Rebekah Wingert-Jabi.

Wingert-Jabi, a Reston resident who has earned a Peabody Award for her previous work, spent about five years working on the documentary. The final version aired at Reston Community Center in November and featured major edits to include the legacy of Reston founder Robert E. Simon, who died in September at age 101. A rough draft screened for a select audience during Simon’s 100th birthday celebration in April of 2014.

Another Way of Living also made its festival debut in December at the Virginia Film Festival in Charlottesville.

The 70-minute film shows how Simon envisioned a suburban “new town” that combined the communal spaces of European cities with natural, wooded open space.

He also wanted people of all incomes and races to live together, which was quite revolutionary in segregated Virginia in 1964. It traces Reston’s changes through the years, right up to the Metro arriving in 2014 and Simon’s death in 2015.

The EFF will present 145 documentary, narrative, animated, archival and children’s films selected to provide fresh perspectives on a variety of environmental issues. Films originate from 33 countries, festival organizers said.

Most screenings are free, and an audience of 30,000 is expected, organizers said.

For more information, visit the EFF website.

Photo Courtesy of Another Way of Living: The Story of Reston, VA