25 Additional Titles Announced Today from The Baltimore Sun! #mdff2016

 

little-sister.44.1Director Zach Clark’s “Little Sister,” playing at the 2016 Maryland Film Festival. (Handout art)

By: Chris Kaltenbach. Contact Reporter

Another 25 films have been announced for this year’s Maryland Film Festival, along with the annual film to be introduced by John Waters.

The latest announcement includes the acclaimed documentary “Life, Animated,” about an autistic child and his love of Disney movies; director Bobby Miller’s fantasy-drama “The Master Cleanse,” starring Johnny Galecki, Anna Friel, Anjelica Huston and Oliver Platt; and the documentary “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.”

Waters will host a screening of British director Terence Davies’ “The Deep Blue Sea,” starring Rachel Weisz and Tom Hiddleston as a judge’s wife and a former Royal Air Force pilot having a destructive affair in postwar Britain.

The announcement brings to 37 the number of films announced for the annual festival, set for May 4-8 at venues in and around Station North.

The 25 films, along with synopses provided by the festival, are:

“Always Shine” (Sophia Takal) The director of “Green” (Maryland Film Festival 2011) and star of “Wild Canaries” (MDFF 2014) helms this feminist psychological thriller, following two L.A. actresses on a weekend sojourn to Big Sur that takes a dark turn. Mackenzie Davis and Caitlin FitzGerald star.

“The Apostate” (Federico Veiroj) The director of “A Useful Life” (MDFF 2011) finds wry humor and quiet discoveries in telling the story of a determined man squaring off against the bureaucracy of the Catholic Church, seeking removal of all mentions of his name from their records.

“Boone” (Christopher LaMarca) This experiential documentary gives us intimate access to three young farmers, recalling both the bucolic beauty of Sweetgrass and the visceral sweat and toil of Leviathan as it paints a heartfelt and intimate portrait of human beings’ relationship to animals and the soil.

“Cameraperson” (Kirsten Johnson) The fearless cinematographer of pivotal documentaries such as “Two Towns of Jasper” and “The Oath” reframes footage from previous projects into a radical personal essay about life and filmmaking.

“Cemetery of Splendor”(Apichatpong Weerasethakul) From the director of festival favorites “Syndromes and a Century” (MDFF 2007) and “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” (MDFF 2011) comes another mysterious and atmospheric masterpiece of slow cinema.

“Donald Cried” (Kris Avedisian) Fresh from its premiere at South by Southwest, this biting yet emotionally resonant dark comedy follows a Wall Street suit pulled back into his head-banging stoner past when he returns home to settle his grandmother’s affairs.

“He Hated Pigeons” (Ingrid Veninger) Anguished Elias tries to cope with the death of his Canadian lover Sebastian in this moody and evocative road trip through the stunning countryside of Chile.

“Hotel Dallas” (Livia Ungur, Sherng-Lee Huang) Documentary and magical-realist fiction intersect in this look at the ripple effects of TV’s “Dallas” in Romania — broadcast there in the ‘80s with the intention of exposing corrupt American capitalism, but instead fomenting fantasies of materialist wealth and financial freedom.

“Ixcanul” (Jayro Bustamante) This memorable feature debut, which won the prestigious Silver Bear Alfred Bauer award at Rotterdam, offers an intimate look at a young Mayan girl’s hardscrabble existence on a coffee plantation. As she dreams of a life outside the plantation’s volcano-sloped confines, she comes to realize that the big city may prove an even harsher reality.

“Kate Plays Christine” (Robert Greene) The director of “Fake It So Real” (MDFF 2011) and “Actress” (MDFF 2014) returns with another rich work situated at the intersection of documentary, artifice, and performance. Here, Greene and actress Kate Lyn Sheil reconstruct a stylized vision of the life of television host Christine Chubbuck, who committed suicide on air in 1974.

“Koza” (Ivan Ostrochovský) A former Olympic flyweight boxer, already down on his luck, finds himself in a bind when he learns his girlfriend is pregnant. Out of shape and slowed by years of hard living, he sets out on a dark tour of cold Eastern Europe with a dubious manager, in search of fights for small fistfuls of cash.

“Lamb”
(Yared Zeleke) This elegant, moving, and cinematically rich film tells the story of Ephraim, a young Ethiopian boy who finds meaning in the company of a lamb after the loss of his mother— but must protect his new animal companion from being sacrificed at the hands of his uncle.

“Life, Animated”
(Roger Ross Williams) Years after stopping all verbal communication, a young autistic child finds his voice again through his deep love of Disney movies in this sweet and insightful documentary from the director of “God Loves Uganda” and “Music by Prudence” (MDFF 2011).

“Little Men” (Ira Sachs) From the director of “Love Is Strange” and “Keep the Lights On,” this poignant new drama follows two middle-schoolers, who both experience the effects of gentrification in Brooklyn, but in very differently ways. Greg Kinnear stars.

“Little Sister” (Zach Clark) Clark, the warped mind behind such psychotronic-tinged outings as “Modern Love Is Automatic” (MDFF 2009) and “White Reindeer” (MDFF 2013), remains rooted in his love of cult cinema, while reaching new heights in this story of a young nun whose brother was deeply scarred by the Iraq War. Addison Timlin, Keith Poulson, Ally Sheedy, Peter Hedges, Kristin Slaysman, and Barbara Crampton star.

“The Love Witch”
(Anna Biller) With 2007’s “Viva,” Anna Biller displayed a unique talent for channeling the look and feel of ’60s and ’70s cult cinema. Here she returns with a modern spin on 1960s Technicolor thrillers, centered on a beautiful young witch with an itch to kill. The only emerging film presented on 35mm in the festival.

“The Master Cleanse” (Bobby Miller) When Paul (Johnny Galecki) bottoms out, he attends a self-help retreat — to his surprise, he finds himself purging something quite a bit stranger than tension and toxins. Anna Friel, Anjelica Huston, and Oliver Platt co-star in this unique SXSW-premiered blend of fantasy and drama.

“Morris From America”
(Chad Hartigan) This Sundance hit comes from the director of “This Is Martin Bonner” (MDFF 2013), with much-lauded performances from Craig Robinson and Markees Christmas in a heartfelt and funny story of a father and teenage son adjusting to their new life in Germany.

“No Home Movie” (Chantal Akerman) The final work from master filmmaker Chantal Akerman stands as a strong companion piece to her pivotal early work News From Home. A series of conversations between the filmmaker and her mother, conducted both in person and over the internet, deliver a moving meditation on family and aging that has taken on new resonance after Akerman’s own recent passing.

“Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You” (Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady) The team behind festival favorites “The Boys of Baraka” (MDFF 2005) and “Detropia” (MDFF 2012) turn their lens on a living legend who changed what television meant to millions of Americans, transforming the small screen forever.

“Orange Sunshine” (William A. Kirkley) This action-packed documentary tells the story of the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, a mystic group of California surfers whose passion for LSD use led them to large-scale drug smuggling in the 1960s and ‘70s.

“A Stray” (Musa Syeed) When Adan accidentally strikes a dog while on the job as a deliveryman, he feels a responsibility to the animal, even as his beliefs lead him to see it as impure. What follows is an insightful and direct slice of contemporary neo-realism set in Minneapolis’ vibrant Somali population.

“Trapped” (Dawn Porter) In many states, particularly in the South, laws have been passed under the pretense of regulating reproductive-health services that have in effect made it nearly or fully impossible for abortion providers to keep their doors open. The providers in this documentary explain their motivations for the work they do, and for maintaining their practices under new constraints.

“Under the Shadow” (Babak Anvari) During the Iran-Iraq war, a mother seeks to calm and protect her young daughter. But when a missile hits their apartment building, tension turns to terror in this fresh and inventive horror film.

“Untouchable”
(David Feige) This challenging documentary brings nuance and complexity to an issue that too often has none: sex-offender laws and registries. Examining particularly punitive laws, it argues that measures that may have been intended to protect are sometimes themselves obstacles preventing redemption, closure, and functional lives.

Copyright © 2016, The Baltimore Sun

First Selections Announced Exclusively on Indiewire! #mdff2016

The Maryland Film Festival has exclusively shared with Indiewire its first ten film selections for its 18th annual festival taking place from May 4-8 in Baltimore’s Station North Arts and Entertainment District. This first section of the lineup includes a number of festival favorites from around the world, including Athina Rachel Tsangari’s “Chevalier” and Anna Rose Holmer’s “The Fits.” Other standouts include Craig Atkinson’s documentary “Do Not Resist” and Ben Wheatley’s “High-Rise.”

This year’s festival will also present a vintage silent film with live musical accompaniment performed and composed by the renowned Alloy Orchestra. This year’s selection is the recently restored print of “L’inhumaine,” “a groundbreaking and controversial French science fiction film with some of the most avant-garde European artists of the time.”

This year’s festival includes 120 feature-length and short films of all genres that “demonstrate the possibilities of cinema. Check out the first ten titles below, with all synopses provided by the festival.

“Chevalier” (Athina Rachel Tsangari, Greece) When a group of men gather on a luxury yacht, a spontaneous mind game expands into an internecine struggle fueled by domination and shame —a darkly comedic look at competition and male ego.

“Collective: Unconscious” (Lily Baldwin, Frances Bodomo, Daniel Patrick Carbone, Josephine Decker, Lauren Wolkstein) Five independent filmmakers take a dream by another member of the collective and bring it to vivid life as a short film interwoven into a hypnotic and compelling new whole (Fresh from its premiere at SXSW 2016).

Chevalier
“Chevalier”

“Do Not Resist” (Craig Atkinson) Recent protests in Ferguson, Baltimore, and many other cities around the country have brought into focus a startling phenomenon: the flow of military equipment and weaponry to local police forces. This jaw-dropping documentary probes a disturbing nationwide trend—one with high financial stakes and powerful interests at its core.

“The Fits” (Anna Rose Holmer) An 11-year-old boxer finds a new passion when she joins a dance drill squad—but as her new teammates start experiencing bizarre fainting episodes, her life takes a mysterious turn (Premiered at Venice and screened in Sundance 2016’s NEXT FEST).

“High-Rise” (Ben Wheatley, UK) The residents of a new luxury apartment tower develop their own social pecking order—one that quickly takes a precipitous dive into class warfare and chaos. Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, and Elisabeth Moss star in this adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s novel, from the director of “Kill List” and “A Field in England.”

High Rise
“High-Rise”

“How Heavy This Hammer” (Kazik Radwanski, Canada): On the surface, married father-of-two Erwin looks like a functioning member of society. But the deeper we look into his life, from his obsessive marathon sessions of computer fantasy games, to the extreme irritation with which he experiences most real-world interactions, we see a troubled man-child who’s barely getting by.

“Nuts” (Penny Lane) This inventive documentary tells the true story of John Romulus Brinkley, a Kansas doctor who tried to treat impotence by transplanting goat testicles into men and went on to become a player in state politics and the early days of radio. The director of “Our Nixon” returns with another fresh approach to a unique narrative.

“Salero” (Mike Plunkett) This sumptuous, meditative documentary transports viewers to Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat. There we meet a traditional salt gatherer whose generations-deep lifestyle is on the brink of change, with the discovery of a precious mineral bringing international attention and big-money interests to the remote region.

"Slash"
“Slash”

“Shu-De!” (Michael R. Faulkner) When Baltimore-based beatboxer and vocal percussionist Shodekeh meets the Alash Ensemble, masters of the art of Tuvan throat singing, his life and art take on an exciting new dimension. This joyous, exploratory documentary follows him on his travels to Kyzyl, Tuva, to study their music and culture, and participate in a prestigious music festival.

“Slash” (Clay Liford) Two high-school students—shy and awkward Neil (Michael Johnston) and brash, confident Julia (Hannah Marks)—form a unlikely bond when they find they both publish work in an adult forum for erotic fan fiction. But their relationship becomes more complex once they both come to the attention of the site’s moderator, Denis (Michael Ian Black).

Tickets go on sale in April and can be purchased online, by phone or on-site at the festival box office. All-access passes to the Maryland Film Festival are on sale now for $375 and can be purchased by calling 410-752-8083.

Members Only Film Festival Preview on Tuesday, 4/19! Free for Friends of the Festival and All-Access Pass Holders!

Save the date for our popular annual Members Only Film Festival preview hosted by MDFF Director Jed Dietz and the MDFF programming staff on Tuesday, April 19th at Falvey Hall in MICA’s Brown Center! This is your exclusive chance to see trailers for films that will play at MDFF 2016 and have your questions answered by the programming staff.
This is a special event just for current Friends of the Festival and 2016 All-Access pass holders and is not open to the public!

Event Info:
Members Only Festival Preview
Tuesday, April 19th 
7:00pm
Falvey Hall, MICA Brown Center

Free for current Friends of the Festival and 2016 All-Access pass holders; RSVPs are requested. Reply to this email with your name to save a spot!

Get a chance to sample MDFF 2016’s offerings from the best and brightest filmmakers from around the world ahead of the general public!

Short Films about Process at The Walters Art Museum! Free admission for Friends of the Festival!

This program features short films about particular processes-sourcing ceramics, quarrying marble, and making books. Before each film, Walters conservators will make 10-minute presentations on objects from the collection that relate to the corresponding film’s content. Featuring Gene Mahon Makes Books (2013), Il Capo (2010), Rare Earthenware (2015) and Idem Paris (2013). All films are unrated.
Thursday, April 14th- 7:00pm-8:30pm
Presented in partnership with the Maryland Film Festival. Maryland Film Festival members receive free tickets; please contact 410-752-8083, or e-mail tickets@mdfilmfest.com for the member code.

Members Only Film Festival Preview on Tuesday, 4/19! Free for Friends of the Festival and All-Access Pass Holders!

Save the date for our popular annual Members Only Film Festival preview hosted by MDFF Director Jed Dietz and the MDFF programming staff on Tuesday, April 19th at Falvey Hall in MICA’s Brown Center! This is your exclusive chance to see trailers for films that will play at MDFF 2016 and have your questions answered by the programming staff.
This is a special event just for current Friends of the Festival and 2016 All-Access pass holders and is not open to the public!

Event Info:
Members Only Festival Preview
Tuesday, April 19th 
7:00pm
Falvey Hall, MICA Brown Center
Free for current Friends of the Festival and 2016 All-Access pass holders; RSVPs are requested. Reply to this email with your name to save a spot!

Get a chance to sample MDFF 2016’s offerings from the best and brightest filmmakers from around the world ahead of the general public!

MFF 2016 All-Access Passes Now On Sale! Supplies are limited, so act now!

The 2016 Maryland Film Festival is just around the corner! Wouldn’t you like to avoid the ticket lines and guarantee a spot for yourself (even at sold-out screenings)? It’s not too late to purchase an All-Access pass, the BEST way to experience everything that Maryland Film Festival has to offer!
  • All-Access passes are just $375 — call our office at 410-752-8083 to order yours today (while supplies last)!  This offer is not available online.
Maryland Film Festival returns to the Station North Arts District this May 4-8, 2016 for five days of incredible film, filmmakers, workshops, parties, and more, and the All-Access pass is the best way to experience everything Maryland Film Festival has to offer!
Pass holders get:
  • Priority seating at all screenings (including the John Waters and Alloy Orchestra screenings) without a ticket and ahead of regular ticket holders;
  • Access to our Opening Night Shorts Program and Gala at the MICA Brown Center, Closing Night Screening and Party, and the Filmmakers Lounge!
  • DUE TO LIMITED SUPPLY, WE SELL OUT EVERY YEAR!  CALL NOW TO ORDER YOURS TODAY!
Call us at 410-752-8083 M-F, 10am-6pm to order yours today!  Don’t miss this rare opportunity!

All-Access Passes are NOT available online. Supplies are limited, so act now!

QUEEN OF EARTH with director Alex Ross Perry, Tuesday March 22nd!

Screening Details: 
Tuesday, March 22nd
7:30pm
MICA Brown Center
1300 W. Mt. Royal Avenue
Maryland Film Festival, in conjunction with the MICA and JHU film programs, proudly brings back to Baltimore director Alex Ross Perry with his film QUEEN OF EARTH, an “acidly funny and unnerving portrait of a psychological breakdown” (Variety).

Catherine (Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men) has entered a particularly dark period in her life: her father, a famous artist whose affairs she managed, has recently died, and on the heels of his death she’s dumped by her boyfriend James (Kentucker Audley of Christmas, Again). Looking to recuperate, Catherine heads out to her best friend Virginia’s (Katherine Waterston, Inherent Vice) lake house for some much needed relaxation. However, once Catherine arrives relaxation proves impossible to find.

A bracing, eerie look at the deep bonds of friendship and the horrific effects of such bonds being frayed, QUEEN OF EARTH is a thrilling examination of a deeply complex relationship from the director of The Color Wheel and Listen Up Philip. Co-starring Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous) and Kate Lyn Sheil (Sun Don’t Shine, House of Cards).

TICKETS are $10 general admission / FREE to Maryland Film Festival’s Friends of the Festival members, and MICA/JHU students and staff (w/ ID).

 
To join or renew your Friends of the Festival membership, click here!

MFF 2016 ALL-ACCESS PASSES — $325 MEMBERS ONLY EARLY BIRD SALE! REGULAR PRICE $375! Friends of the Festival Save $50 on MFF 2016 All-Access Passes!

We’re excited to announce that the extremely popular MFF 2016 All-Access passes are on sale for members only at the discounted rate of $325 (regular price $375) beginning Monday, January 18th at 10:00AM! Call our office at 410-752-8083 to order your All-Access pass today; this offer is not available online. 
Maryland Film Festival returns to the Station North Arts District this May 4-8, 2016 for five days of incredible film, filmmakers, workshops, parties, and more, and the All-Access pass is the best way to experience everything Maryland Film Festival has to offer!
Pass holders get:
  • Priority seating at all screenings (including the John Waters and Alloy Orchestra screenings) without a ticket and ahead of regular ticket holders;
  • Access to our Opening Night Shorts Program and Gala at the MICA Brown Center, Closing Night Screening and Party, and the Filmmakers Lounge!
  • DUE TO LIMITED SUPPLY, WE SELL OUT EVERY YEAR!  CALL NOW TO ORDER YOURS TODAY!
FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT PRICE (1/18-1/25): $325
Click here to join Friends of the Festival and take advantage of this special early bird discount, plus get access to FREE movies all year-round, invitations to special events, and many more great benefits!
Call us at 410-752-8083 M-F, 10am-6pm to order yours today!  Don’t miss this rare opportunity!
All-Access Passes are NOT available online. Supplies are limited, so act now!

Your chance to win a pair of tickets to A John Waters Christmas! Now through Dec 10th!

Maryland Film Festival is giving away two pairs of tickets to A John Waters Christmas: Holier & Dirtier and a signed John Waters MFF 2015 poster! 
One pair will be awarded to a new or renewing Friends of the Festival member!
One pair will be awarded to any current Friends of the Festival member who gives a gift membership to a family member or friend!
To join or renew your FOF membership, click here!
 
Act before 12/10 to be entered to win. More details will be announced soon!

John Waters (Pink Flamingos, Hairspray, A Dirty Shame) is to perform an unforgettable night of holiday mischief with his critically acclaimed one man show, A John Waters Christmas. Waters pokes fun at the holiday season with adult-appropriate humor, effectively “putting the X in Xmas,” developing a show for the open minded and slightly left-of-center audience. The cult classic, Baltimore-born filmmaker began his Hollywood success with now Broadway classic, Hairspray in 1988. Claiming his playful nicknames “Pope of Trash” and “Prince of Puke,” he maintains his image through his film-making and his personal presentation. Regarded as a shocking entertainer, John Waters carefully chooses his material and exploits it through a dirty lens. “It’s my obsession with Christmas: what I want for Christmas, what you should want, how to handle every holiday disaster,” Waters says. His rapid-fire monologue explores and explodes the traditional holiday rituals and traditions as he shares his religious fanaticism for Santa Claus, and an unhealthy love of real life holiday horror stories. Delving into his passion for lunatic exploitation Christmas movies and the unhealthy urge to remake all his own films into seasonal children’s classics, “The Pope of Trash” will give you a Joyeaux Noel like no other.”

Treat that special someone to a Friends of the Festival membership this holiday season!

Friends of the Festival membership makes the perfect gift for the film lover in your life!  Friends of the Festival not only enjoy our growing annual five-day festival, they get so much more throughout the year with several events each month. We bring films, filmmakers and audiences together in an atmosphere that’s both comfortable and totally fun. Groundbreaking films. Independent films. Classic films. Big studio prerelease films. You’ll experience them all year long and see something that’s truly different. Friends of the Festival screenings present the art of film making the way it’s meant to be – entertaining and enlightening.
 
 
What’s in it for your gift recipient?
– Access to DOZENS of FREE movies year-round!
– See FREE movies before 6pm on Friday of our Festival!
– Members Only Festival Preview!
– VIP Ticketing at MFF!
– Discounts on MFF merchandise!
– Email with film industry news and updates!
– And more…
To give a gift membership, simply purchase a membership by clicking one of the links to the right, then send an email with your gift recipient’s full name, address and email address to Kelly Sniffen at the Maryland Film Festival office (mffmembership@gmail.com). Your recipient will receive a welcome email and and confirmation of your gift, and you will receive an acknowledgement of your tax-deductible donation by mail.