This year’s 2017 AFI DOCS, the American Film Institute’s annual documentary film festival in the nation’s capital will open with the East Coast premiere of ICARUS, directed by Bryan Fogel, and will close with ESPN Films’ YEAR OF THE SCAB, directed by Emmy® winner John Dorsey. Both screenings will be held at the Newseum, the festival’s Official Gala Screening Partner. AFI DOCS runs June 14–18, 2017, in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, MD.

“We are thrilled to have two extraordinary films, ICARUS and YEAR OF THE SCAB, open and close AFI DOCS 2017,” said Michael Lumpkin, Director, AFI DOCS. “Filmmakers Bryan Fogel and John Dorsey tell two very different David-and-Goliath tales. Remarkable — even unthinkable — stories like these are what make documentaries such compelling cinema. We look forward to celebrating these films with AFI DOCS audiences.”

The Opening Night screening of ICARUS will be held on June 14 at the Newseum and will feature a Q&A with director Fogel after the film. In ICARUS, he sets out to uncover the truth about doping in sports. His journey to outsmart performance-enhancing drug tests transforms into a real-life thriller involving the biggest scandal in sports history — the cover-up of doping activities among Russian Olympians. ICARUS is Fogel’s first documentary feature.

The Closing Night screening of YEAR OF THE SCAB will be held on June 18 at the Newseum and will feature a Q&A with director Dorsey. His film chronicles the 1987 NFL strike and the Washington Redskins’ team of substitute players who overcame tremendous odds in order to defeat the best teams in the NFL. The perseverance of these players ultimately led the Washington Redskins to victory and helped end the strike.