Woven throughout this year’s Double Exposure slate are stories about new fault lines—splits in truth, trust, and power that are transforming the landscape of investigative storytelling. Each film probes the fractures where society’s old narratives no longer hold: from the reframing of journalistic rights and governmental authority in the US premiere The Six Billion Dollar Man, to the contested battlegrounds of race, justice, history, and collective memory explored in titles like Cover-Up, Cycle, Magic & Monsters, and Teaching America.

A throughline emerges of filmmakers wrestling with the tension between institutional spin and lived reality. These works expose how stories—be they of state power, cultural trauma, or individual resistance—are constructed, controlled, and even commodified. By centering whistleblowers, survivors, journalists, and ordinary citizens, the slate urges audiences to question the myths that undergird national identity and public life.

In this pivotal moment, the DX slate of films, panels, and workshops captures the urgency—and the hope—of artists and truth-tellers working at the ever-shifting borders of technology, governance, and human rights. The festival becomes not just a showcase, but a public inquiry into where the cracks are now—and who pays the price when they widen.

Double Exposure isn’t just for experts—it’s for anyone in Washington, DC and beyond who’s drawn to powerful stories and curious about how the world really works.  If you’ve ever felt the pull to look beneath the surface or connect with others who do, this is your invitation: come discover what’s hidden, what’s hopeful, and what’s possible at Double Exposure.