Following the release of the recent biopic starring Bryan Cranston, this series celebrates the fascinating work of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (1905–1976). Once among the most prolific and highest-paid screenwriters in the business, Trumbo saw his successful career derail following his 1947 appearance before the House Un-American Activities Committee's highly controversial investigation of alleged Communist influence within the American film industry. Trumbo had in fact joined and left the Communist party in the mid-1940s. Refusing to testify on principle (and citing the First Amendment), Trumbo was nonetheless convicted of contempt of Congress and served nearly a year in prison. Trumbo's fate was shared by the other members of the "Hollywood Ten" who refused to testify at the 1947 hearing, and hundreds more who were denied studio employment due to leftist political associations, whether real or imagined, during the subsequent blacklist era.

No longer wanted — at least officially — by the industry that had so treasured him, Trumbo persevered, laboring at cut rates on dozens of movie scripts through the 1950s, and using a variety of aliases and front writers to sell his work. Some of these pseudonymous writers enjoyed great success, exemplified, for example, by the Oscar^® awarded to "Robert Rich" for 1956's THE BRAVE ONE. Emboldened by Trumbo's incognito success, Otto Preminger and Kirk Douglas both opted to publicly credit him in 1960 for his work on EXODUS and SPARTACUS, effectively ending the era of the blacklist.

AFI Member passes accepted at all screenings.

Revered as one of the great gentlemen in movie history, Gregory Peck (1916–2003) enjoyed a long and distinguished career that stretched from the 1940s to the late 1990s. He achieved consistent box office success through the prime of his career, with iconic roles forever etched in the public's memory, from Captain Mallory in THE GUNS OF NAVARONE to MOBY DICK's Captain Ahab and Atticus Finch in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (for which he won the Best Actor Oscar^® and was named the #1 Hero on AFI's 100 Years…100 Heroes & Villians list).

Peck was well known for his charitable work and service, and was recognized with the Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1967 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, bestowed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 — making Peck one of the first members of the film profession to receive the honor. He served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1967 to 1970 and as the first chairman of the American Film Institute, which awarded him the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1989.

AFI Member passes accepted at all screenings.

Organized and presented by the Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO, the Debs-Jones-Douglass Institute and AFI Silver, the DC Labor FilmFest features a wide-ranging selection of films about work, workers and the wider issues affecting their lives. For more information, visit dclaborfilmfest.org.

Union members who present their member cards will receive the AFI member discount.

AFI Member passes accepted at all screenings.

April 23, 2016, marks the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare — and brings to a close AFI Silver's multiyear celebration of the Bard on the big screen. Part three features another diverse selection of filmed adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, as well as a wide variety of films that draw upon Shakespearean source material, often in adventurous and unusual ways.

Part three of AFI Silver’s Shakespeare Cinema series is presented in partnership with the British Council. Special thanks to British Council USA Director Paul Smith and British Council Events and Networks Manager Kathy Culpin. Other institutions collaborating with AFI Silver on this project include the Folger Shakespeare Library, the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries.

AFI Member passes accepted at all screenings.

The artistry and influence of Bob Dylan, who turns 75 this May, extends beyond American popular music into many nooks and crannies of arts and culture, particularly the cinema. An enthusiastic movie fan himself, Dylan has been the subject of several outstanding documentaries, contributed his music to hundreds of films and acted on occasion; a few vagabond productions even bear his name as screenwriter and/or director. This series gathers together some of the most essential Dylan films from across his long and enduring career.

AFI Member passes accepted at all screenings.

Following the Washington National Opera's presentation of the Richard Wagner's epic "Ring Cycle" at the Kennedy Center this spring, AFI Silver presents this series of films that incorporate Wagner's stirring music in moving and memorable ways.

For a complete listing of the opera performances and related events, visit kennedy-center.org/Festivals/Ring.

AFI Silver once again joins with the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art to celebrate the cinema of South Korea. Following last year's most successful Korean Film Festival to date, the 2016 edition expands to new venues in Washington, DC, and northern Virginia.

Organized by Tom Vick, Curator of Film at the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution, the festival also includes films screening at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History and the Cinema Arts Theatres in Fairfax. For more information visit asia.si.edu/events/films.asp.

Generous support for the Korean Film Festival is provided by the Korea Foundation.

AFI Member passes accepted at all screenings.

No AFI Member passes accepted.

Presented in conjunction with the Takoma Park JazzFest. More info at tpjazzfest.org.

AFI Member passes accepted at all screenings.

AFI Silver is proud to once again host the DC Caribbean FilmFest, now in its 16th year. The festival is co-presented by Caribbean Association of World Bank and IMF (CAWI), Caribbean Professional Network (CPN), Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS) and Africa World Now Project.

No passes accepted.

Now in its ninth year, the traveling Festival of New Spanish Cinema features a selection of outstanding films that reflect the breadth of styles and talents at work in Spain today. Some of the featured directors are established auteurs, while others have recently emerged on the international festival scene, earning top prizes and critical acclaim.

Organized by PRAGDA, SPAIN arts & culture. Presented by AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. With the support of Secretaría de Estado de Cultura – Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte – Gobierno de España, ICAA (Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales). With the collaboration of Cinelandia.

No passes accepted.

In addition to classic and contemporary film programming, AFI Silver presents unique and carefully curated "event cinema" programs from the worlds of opera, dance, theater, pop music and more. Revel in theatrical performances from around the world, captured on camera and presented on the big screen.

No passes accepted.