Political Lineup for DC Fest

Washington will resemble Sundance during the second weekend of May. Celebrities will trek to the White House Correspondents dinner, an annual surreal ritual of Hollywood and politics that also will include a bevy of cocktail parties and other functions.

And this year, for the first time ever, there will be a film festival. Politics on Film announced its lineup of domestic films that will headline the fest, which is being presented by the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The special screening will be of "The Response," right, a 30-minute drama based on the actual transcripts of the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals, with stars Aasif Mandvi ("The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"), Kate Mulgrew and Peter Riegert.

On the bill for official selections: "Abraham Obama," about an artist who plasters the image of Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama across the country; "Cult of Personality," which documents the 2006 New  Orleans mayoral election; "Neshoba," the story of a Mississippi town still grappling with the 1965 murders of three civil rights workers; "The Other Side of Immigration," about the effect of immigration on families left behind in Mexico; "The Reckoning:The Battle for the International Criminal Court," highlighting the challenges of the Hague body to pursue justice; "Sprawling from Grace: The Consequences of Suburbanization," a look at the consequences of urban sprawl; and "What's the Matter with Kansas?," right, a film version of Thomas Frank's book.

The screenings will take place at Landmark's E Street Cinema and the Marvin Center Ampitheater on the George Washington University campus.

The fest is having a panel on Wednesday on "what makes a movie political," with Patrick Gavin of Politico; MPAA chairman Dan Glickman; Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday; "The Response" writer and producer Sig Libowitz; Jason Pollock, director of "The Youngest Candidate"; and Hilary Rosen, managing director of the Brunswick Group. WJLA's Arch Campbell moderates.