The Connection

Drama, documentaries, comedy and even a little horror — they’ve got it all at the Twelfth Annual Northern Virginia International Film & Music Festival Thursday, April 9 and Friday, April 10. It is being held at the LOOK Dine-in Cinemas at the Boro, Tysons. The film screenings will run from approximately 5 p.m.-11 p.m. both nights. 

“We look for films that have quality and that magic—you know that ‘ah ha’ moment,” says Fernando Mico, NOVA Festival Director. “Our brand is glamour, elegance and excellence.” 

Mico says no year is the same. “In the first year for some reason we had a lot of horror film submissions. This year we have the first short film submission from France, and documentaries are up.” 

There is also a local connection with “909,” a music video, which was filmed in part in Arlington, and “The Floaters,” a comedy by an Arlingtonian about a struggling musician who takes a last resort job supervising misfits at her childhood Jewish summer camp. 

And Fairfax County resident and retired federal government employee Michael J. Volpe has won multiple screenwriting awards for a romantic drama he recently completed.

Mico adds, “Although we have films from across the United States and across Europe, we quickly found that many of the filmmakers have some kind of attachment to the DMV area. A big number identify with the area because they have a connection; they know somebody or have a relative, and it is a destination area.”

Mico is from Alexandria where he has lived all of his life “except for a short stint in LA where I took a grown up job for a few months as a colorist for Marvel Comics, all the big titles you still recognize like Spiderman.” He moved back to Alexandria 3 years later and went back to school. “After a few bumps and bruises I learned how films work.”

His work in school won “action film of the year” which he says “was kind of a big deal, it came out of nowhere.” But he said the action films that work in film festivals aren’t necessarily the ones that make it in streaming. As a result he has become a mentor to others; outside of the grind it is called “show” business for a reason.

The Festival schedule is online, and films are free but registration is required. The schedule ranges from “No Other Gods,” a music video filmed in Athens; to “The Donut Dollies,” a documentary about 627 young women in their blue dresses and smiles who entertained the troops along the front lines in Vietnam; to “Free Syria” which follows a country at a rare moment of possibility with the new freedom juxtaposed against the hardship.

The Black Tie Festival Awards and Red Carpet Show takes place on Saturday, April 11 starting at 5:30 pm at the Boro where the awards will be presented to the winners in each category. “We’ve changed the format this year from the Oscar style where you show up and have no idea whether you’ve won.” Now, he says, the winners are notified ahead of time so they have more time to think about their remarks and can invite their friends and families to celebrate with them.

To register for the screenings:https://www.novafilmfest.com/ 

https://www.novafilmfest.com/2026-screening-schedule