The DC Shorts Film Festival gets under way Thursday evening, the 10th time for the home-grown institution. It’s a feather in the cap for both the organizers and Washington’s growing film scene, which features other stalwarts such as the AFI Docs documentary film festival as well as upstarts like the forthcoming Middleburg Film Festival.

The venues for the festival are spread out across the region, but tonight it all starts at the E Street Cinema (555 11th St. NW) and the Navy Memorial’s theater at 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.  The short films are bunched together in roughly 90 minute blocks for showcasing. E Street is screening Show 1 at 7 p.m. and Show 2 at 9:30 p.m. The Navy Memorial is screening Show 3 at 6:30 p.m. and Show 4 at 9 p.m.

The festival continues through Sept. 29 at E Street and the Navy Memorial, as well as other venues: The Angelika Film Center at 2911 District Ave. in Fairfax, Va.; The Atlas Performing Arts Center at 1333 H St. NE in D.C.; The Anacostia Arts Center at 1231 Good Hope Rd. SE in D.C., and VisArts Rockville at 155 Gibbs St. in Rockville, Md.

The Washington Post had a nice profile of festival founder Jon Gann today, and the Washington City Paper’s been all over the festival, with reviews of each of the showcase blocks.