Maryland Film Festival Blog

PARADISE: FAITH

Maryland Film Festival has just announced eight more feature films for its fifteenth edition, including legendary filmmaker John Waters’ selection, Ulrich Seidl’s Paradise: Faith. Each year Waters selects one favorite film to present to our audiences. This marks the first time Waters has selected a second title by the same director, having presented Seidl’s Dog Days within MFF 2004.

While Waters will host only Paradise: Faith, MFF 2013 will screen all three films in Seidl’s new Paradise trilogy: Paradise: Faith, Paradise: Hope, and Paradise: Love.  Alongside Waters’ selection, MFF has also announced the title for another signature event, our annual silent film with a live score performed by Alloy Orchestra: Harry O. Hoyt’s The Lost World (1925).

MFF 2013 will take place May 8-12 in downtown Baltimore. Lineup announcements will continue this week, including the festival’s Opening Night Shorts program and Closing Night title. Keep checking this blog for updates, and for all the latest information be sure to “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @MdFilmFestival!

The newly announced films for MFF 2013 are:

THE BOY EATING THE BIRD’S FOOD

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

By and By: New Orleans Gospel at the Crossroads (Matthew T. Bowden & Joe Compton) 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

The Lost World (Harry O. Hoyt) 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) 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

Paradise: Hope (Ulrich Seidl) 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) 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

Remote Area Medical (Jeff Reichert & Farihah Zaman) 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.