Maryland Film Festival

David Lowery, director of Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, starring Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, and Rooney Mara, has been picked to host the 2013 Opening Night of the Maryland Film Festival taking place the evening of May 8, 2013, in downtown Baltimore. Lowery, a multi-year participant in MFF and an alumnus of the festival’s signature Opening Night shorts program, has received widespread acclaim for his forthcoming feature, the Cannes-bound Ain’t Them Bodies Saints. Lowery has also made waves in recent months with a series of profile-raising announced projects, ranging from a reinvention of Disney’s Pete’s Dragon to a crime drama with Robert Redford attached as star and producer, The Old Man and the Gun. 

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Mother of George, directed by Andrew Dosunmu, and which premiered earlier this year at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, will be the closing night film for the 2013 Maryland Film Festival. 

Mother of George, starring Danai Gurira (of The Visitor, The Walking Dead, and Treme) and Isaach De Bankolé, is described as the story of a Nigerian couple in Brooklyn struggling to make their young marriage work while running a restaurant and navigating a new culture.

Maryland Film Festival has supported Mother of George since its earliest stages of development, awarding Dosunmu and screenwriter Darci Picoult the Maryland Filmmakers Fellowship for their script in 2005. Dosunmu’s first produced narrative feature, the beautiful and moving Restless City, was presented within Maryland Film Festival 2011, and according to the festival “it’s with great pleasure that the festival welcomes him back to Baltimore with his new film.”

The 15th annual Maryland Film Festival 2013 takes place May 8-12, 2013 in downtown Baltimore, screening nearly 50 features and 80 short films on 7 screens in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District. 

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[caption id="attachment_3695" align="alignnone" width="550"]Paradise: Faith[/caption]

And there is still more. Maryland Film Festival added eight more feature films to the 2013 Festival, including filmmaker John Waters’ selection, Ulrich Seidl’s Paradise: Faith (pictured above). Each year Waters selects one favorite film to present to MFF audiences. In addition to Paradise: Faith, MFF 2013 will screen all three films in Seidl’s new Paradise trilogy: Paradise: Faith, Paradise: Hope, and Paradise: Love.  

MFF 2013 will take place May 8-12 in downtown Baltimore. 
 
The newly added films to the 2013 Maryland Film Festival are:

The Boy Eating the Bird’s Food (Ektoras Lygizos) 

[caption id="attachment_3696" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Boy Eating the Bird’s Food[/caption]

The debut film from Ektoras Lygizos offers a modern re-imagination of Knut Hamsun’s classic novel Hunger, as an alienated loner tries to survive the bleak landscape of Athens in the wake of economic collapse.

Butter on the Latch (Josephine Decker) 

[caption id="attachment_3697" align="alignnone" width="550"]Butter on the Latch[/caption]

At a Balkan folk song and dance camp in the woods of Mendocino, California, Sarah reunites with her old friend Isolde.  But when Sarah pursues a romance with a new camper, the nights of sensual secrets and singing with Isolde come to an abrupt end.
 
By and By: New Orleans Gospel at the Crossroads (Matthew T. Bowden & Joe Compton) 

[caption id="attachment_3698" align="alignnone" width="550"]By and By: New Orleans Gospel at the Crossroads[/caption]

Baltimore filmmakers Bowden and Compton’s documentary follows The Electrifying Crown Seekers, a family-based group that anchors a vibrant, under-the-radar gospel music community—even as changing tastes and the impact of Hurricane Katrina take a toll on performers and audiences alike.

The Lost World (Harry O. Hoyt) 

[caption id="attachment_3699" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Lost World[/caption]

This landmark 1925 adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1912 fantasy novel concerns an expedition that sets out to prove that dinosaurs still walk the earth. Featuring a live original score performed by Alloy Orchestra.

Paradise: Faith (Ulrich Seidl) 

[caption id="attachment_3695" align="alignnone" width="550"]Paradise: Faith[/caption]

A middle-aged Austrian woman spends her spare time going door to door, trying to bring the Catholic faith into the homes of poor immigrants. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 69th Venice International Film Festival, and presented within MFF as a favorite film by legendary filmmaker John Waters.
 
Paradise: Hope (Ulrich Seidl) 

[caption id="attachment_3700" align="alignnone" width="550"]Paradise: Hope[/caption]

Sent to a diet camp over her summer vacation, Austrian teen Melanie finds distraction in listening to accounts of the sexual escapades of the other girls in her dorm—as well as in her own ever-increasing infatuation with the camp doctor.
 
Paradise: Love (Ulrich Seidl) 

[caption id="attachment_3701" align="alignnone" width="550"]Paradise: Love[/caption]

In the first installment of Seidl’s Paradise trilogy, a 50-year-old Austrian woman travels to Kenya to engage in sexual tourism. But as she becomes smitten with the young Kenyan men who compete for her attention, the power dynamic begins to shift.

Remote Area Medical (Jeff Reichert & Farihah Zaman) 

[caption id="attachment_3702" align="alignnone" width="550"]Remote Area Medical [/caption]

Over three days in April 2012, Remote Area Medical, the pioneers of “no-cost” health care clinics, treated nearly 2000 patients on the infield of Bristol, Tennessee’s massive NASCAR speedway. This documentary takes an intimate look at the patients, the care providers, and the gap in public health that brought them together.

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Maryland Film Festival taking place May 8-12, 2013, in downtown Baltimore added twelve more films to their 2013 film lineup, bringing the total number of feature films revealed so far to 36.

The films announced today includes work from Finland, Mexico, Austria, and Israel, and such titles as Zach Clark’s holiday-themed, darkly comic White Reindeer;Alex Winter’s riveting look at the rise and fall of Napster, Downloaded; Jessica Oreck’s experiential documentary about a family of reindeer herders, Aatsinki; and Calvin Reeder’s surreal, horror-tinged mindbender about a mysterious loner, The Rambler.

Today’s announced features for Maryland Film Festival 2013 are: 

16 ACRES (Richard Hankin)

From the editor and co-producer of Capturing the Friedmans comes this riveting and nuanced documentary look at the rebuilding of Ground Zero-one of the most architecturally, politically, and emotionally complex urban renewal projects in history.

AATSINKI: THE STORY OF ARCTIC COWBOYS (Jessica Oreck) 

 

One year in the life of a family of reindeer herders in Finnish Lapland yields an immersive study of hard work, hard earned leisure, and an intricate bond between man and nature. From the director ofBeetle Queen Conquers Tokyo.

BEFORE YOU KNOW IT (PJ Raval) 

This observational documentary raises the curtain on a profoundly neglected segment of the LGBT community, its senior population, as three gay men residing in very different regions of the U.S. face new life challenges.

BLUEBIRD (Lance Edmands)

In the frozen woods of an isolated Maine logging town, one woman’s tragic mistake shatters the balance of the community, resulting in profound and unexpected consequences.

DOWNLOADED (Alex Winter) 

 

 With remarkable insight and access, this documentary tells the story of the rise and fall of Napster, taking a close look at the internet mavericks and musicians involved and the lasting global impact of peer-to-peer file sharing.

 
HERE COMES THE DEVIL (Adrián García Bogliano) 

From Mexico comes this horror film concerning disappeared children and panicked parents, offering ever-escalating thrills as it heads to increasingly bloody, diabolical, and even psychedelic territory.

FILL THE VOID (Rama Burshtein) 

This drama set in Tel Aviv’s Orthodox community centers around 18-year-old Shira, who faces unexpected life challenges when her older sister dies.

 
GOOD OL’ FREDA (Ryan White) 

 

Freda Kelly was just a shy Liverpudlian teenager when she was asked to work for a local band hoping to make it big. That band was The Beatles, and Freda was their devoted secretary and friend for 11 years; this documentary tells her story-and the story of the world’s most famous band through her eyes.

MUSEUM HOURS (Jem Cohen) 

From the director of Benjamin Smoke and Instrumentcomes this gentle and expertly crafted drama about a Vienna museum guard and the friendship he forms with a woman visiting town to care for a sick friend.

THE RAMBLER (Calvin Reeder) 

Dermot Mulroney, Lindsay Pulsipher, and Natasha Lyonne star in the latest psychotronic vision from the director of The Oregonian, in which a mysterious loner, newly released from prison, sets out on a journey filled with bizarre characters and warped experiences.

WE ALWAYS LIE TO STRANGERS (AJ Schnack and David Wilson) 

A documentary story of family, community, music and tradition, built over five years and set against the backdrop of Branson, Missouri, one of the biggest tourist destinations in America.

WHITE REINDEER (Zach Clark) 

After an unexpected tragedy, Suzanne searches for the true meaning of Christmas during one sad, strange December in suburban Virginia. From the director of Vacation! and Modern Love Is Automatic.

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[caption id="attachment_3492" align="alignnone" width="550"]12 O’Clock Boys[/caption]

Maryland Film Festival has begun releasing the lineup for the 15th annual festival, which will take place May 8-12, 2013 in downtown Baltimore and include over 50 feature films and 10 short-film programs from around the world. 

The first dozen feature films announced include several highly anticipated made-in-Baltimore films, among them Matt Porterfield’s art-house drama I Used to Be Darkerand Lotfy Nathan’s gritty documentary 12 O’Clock Boys (pictured above). Also on tap for MFF 2013 are Bobcat Goldthwait’s Bigfoot-themed Willow Creek, and a diverse spectrum of films launched at Sundance 2013, including Andrew Bujalski’s Computer Chess, Lynn Shelton’s Touchy Feely, Yen Tan’s Pit Stop, and Eliza Hittman’s It Felt Like Love.

The first twelve films announced for MFF 2013 are:

12 O’Clock Boys (Lotfy Nathan) This gritty and exhilarating documentary follows several years in the life of Pug, a young Baltimorean who hopes to join the exclusive ranks of Baltimore’s urban dirt-bike riders.

After Tiller (Martha Shane and Lana Wilson) A documentary look at the personal and professional lives of the only four U.S.-based doctors who continue to perform third-trimester abortions in the wake of the 2009 murder of Dr. George Tiller.

Computer Chess (Andrew Bujalski) A subculture of offbeat personalities attempt to create the first computer system capable of beating human chess masters in this subversively shot, Robert Altman-worthy ensemble comedy.

I Used to Be Darker (Matt Porterfield) Ned Oldham, Kim Taylor, Hannah Gross and Deragh Campbell star in this Baltimore-made drama about shifting family and romantic relationships from the director of Hamilton and Putty Hill.

If We Shout Loud Enough (Gabriel DeLoach and Zach Keifer) An inside look at the Baltimore underground music scene through one of its most pivotal bands, Double Dagger, as they embark on their final tour.

It Felt Like Love (Eliza Hittman) On the outskirts of Brooklyn, a fourteen-year-old girl’s sexual quest takes a dangerous turn when she pursues an older man and tests the boundaries between obsession and love.

The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology (Sophie Fiennes) Philosopher Slavoj Zizek and filmmaker Sophie Fiennes use their interpretation of moving pictures to present a compelling cinematic journey into the heart of ideology-the dreams that shape our collective beliefs and practices.

Pit Stop (Yen Tan) Two gay men in small-town Texas, one maintaining the façade of a family life with his ex-wife and daughter and one spending much of his spare time visiting an ex-lover in the hospital, live parallel lives with overlapping hopes and dreams.

Touchy Feely (Lynn Shelton) The new film from the director of Humpday and Your Sister’s Sister is a family drama boasting a brilliant cast that includes Rosemarie DeWitt, Josh Pais, Ellen Page, Allison Janney, and Ron Livingston.

V/H/S/2 (omnibus) Searching for a missing student, two private investigators break into his house and find a horrifying collection of VHS tapes. This sequel to cult favoriteV/H/S includes segments by Eduardo Sánchez (The Blair Witch Project) and Gareth Evans (The Raid: Redemption).

Willow Creek (Bobcat Goldthwait) MFF audience favorite Bobcat Goldthwait follows up his acclaimed dark comedy God Bless America with this riveting Bigfoot film, shot on the same location as the controversial Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot footage some 45 years ago.

Zero Charisma (Katie Graham and Andrew Matthews) An indie comedy about an ill-tempered game master and the neo-nerd hipster that interferes with his game, fresh from winning the SXSW 2013 Narrative Spotlight Audience Award.

 

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[caption id="attachment_2786" align="alignnone" width="550"]DARK HORSE[/caption]

DARK HORSE, described as the latest “sad comedy” by filmmaker Todd Solondz,has been selected as the Closing Night film of the 2012 Maryland Film Festival scheduled to run May 3-6 in downtown Baltimore. The film, starring Jordan Gelber and co-starring Selma Blair, Justin Bartha, Mia Farrow, and Christopher Walken,will be screened on the evening of Sunday, May 6th in the historic Charles Theater, with Solondz and members of his cast presenting.

Abe (Jordan Gelber), is an overgrown and selfish man-child who, firmly on the far side of 30, still lives at home, working for his father and collecting toys. Deeply lonely yet full of blustery delusions of grandeur, Abe aggressively pursues troubled beauty Miranda (Selma Blair). In a moment of weakness, she goes along with his advances, built around his grandiose vision of a life together in his room full of collectibles. This stroke of good fortune surprises no one more than Abe’s long-suffering parents (a note-perfect pairing of Mia Farrow and Christopher Walken)—until, that is, things begin to unravel. [via MFF]

The Opening Night program, which each year since 2004 the festival has dedicated to a program of short films, will take place the evening of Thursday, May 3rd in the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Brown Center, with each film presented by its director.

The MFF 2012 Opening Night Shorts are:

I Am John Wayne (Christina Choe)
The Kook (Nat Livingston Johnson and Gregory Mitnick)
Modern Man (Kerri Lendo and John Merriman)
Cork’s Cattlebaron (Eric Steele)
Fishing Without Nets (Cutter Hodierne)

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[caption id="attachment_1272" align="alignnone" width="550"]THE LEARNING[/caption]

Maryland Film Festival 2011 opens tomorrow, and among the many documentaries screening are two honing in on fascinating stories within the Baltimore school system.

Imelda director Ramona Diaz’s THE LEARNING documents a year in the lives of four Filipino women recruited to work as teachers in the Baltimore school system; Richard Chisolm’s CAFETERIA MAN follows Tony Geraci as he attempts to revamp Baltimore’s school lunch program with an emphasis on fresh, healthy, local, and even student-grown ingredients.

All of MFF’s 2011 features are now announced, including Closing Night (Sing Your Song, with Harry Belafonte attending!), Palme d’Or winner UNCLE BOONMEE, John Waters presenting DOMAINE, Kelly Reichardt’s MEEK’S CUTOFF, and Opening Night Shorts hosted by Ann Hornaday.

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SING YOUR SONG, the new documentary about the life of actor/activist/singer Harry Belafonte, will close 2011 Maryland Film Festival, on May 8.

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