DCist is feeling both excited and overwhelmed by the amount of independent film screenings around town this week. Two new ones kick off tonight: Black Maria Film Festival at the Hirshhorn and the 13th Annual DC Environmental Film Festival.

The Black Maria Film Festival — with screenings on tonight and Friday at 8 p.m. — features the latest short films from the United States and abroad. As with all other Hirshhorn programs, these films are free.

John Columbus, founder and director of the festival, will give an introduction to the program, which begin with Hugo Perez’s “The Old Man and Hemingway” (2003), a brief documentary about Giorgio Fuentes, Hemingway’s boat captain from 1938 to 1961. Following this film a different selection of the winning entries will be presented each night. Selections include this year’s Academy Award winner “Ryan,” a tribute to Canadian animator Ryan Larkin through its combination of hand-animated images and computer-generated images (You can read the full list of featured films here). A still from “Ryan” is shown at left.

Curious about the program’s name? It comes from the name of Thomas Edison’s first film studio.