The 2013 Maryland Film Festival

Well the time is upon us time for the biggest film festival in Maryland to start! (You can see what the opening night films will be here)

As I did last year, I will attempt to LIVE TWEET my experience and share it on the ‘Nother Brother Entertainment social networks, Facebook and Twitter.

As in previous years, I will also give up to the minute reviews of the films I see EXCLUSIVELY on the ‘Nother Brother Entertainment Facebook Page

Last year I had a blast and posted a lot about it via my iPhone and managed to conserve some sort of battery life while going to back to back screenings. LOL

This year as the festival has expanded I’m going to try and post more, the optimal word being TRY. Anyway, the best way to find out is to Like our Facebook Page or Follow Us on Twitter. (Twitter users you can follow me at the hashtag #NBE_MFF)

What was my experience generally like last year? Click the link below

My 2012 Maryland Film Festival Experience

Maryland Film Festival 2013 Opening Night Shorts

Quvenzhané Wallis in Boneshaker

Below are the short films that will open the 2013 Maryland Film Festival. These shorts are exclusive to Opening Night and will not be shown the rest of the festival.

Boneshaker (Frances Bodomo, 12 minutes)
An African family, lost in America, travels to a Louisiana church to find a cure for its problem child.

The Chair (Grainger David, 12 minutes)
A mysterious outbreak in a rural Southern town leads one young boy to a hauntingly poetic consideration of the wonder, mystery, and menace of the natural world.

The Cub (Riley Stearns, 5 minutes)
Wolves make the best parents.

Flutter (Dara Bratt, 8 minutes)
John Bedford is a 76-year-old amateur butterfly collector. Immensely visual, the film follows John on his excursion to the jungles of Vietnam, plunging audiences into a world of wonder and childlike excitement. But as the film reveals, our subject is as fragile as the habitat he loves and seeks to preserve. Extending beyond the exotic and gorgeous butterflies, this is the reflective and meditative portrait of a lonely man seeking companionship in the arms of nature.

Jujitsuing Reality (Chetin Chabuk, 16 minutes)
Despite living with ALS, screenwriter Scott Lew maintains his voice in the world through his scripts, giving added meaning to the expression "living to write".

Social Butterfly  (Lauren Wolkstein, 14 minutes)
A 30-year-old American woman enters into a teenage party in the South of France. Some of the guests wonder who she is and what she is doing there.

See all of my posts about the Maryland Film Festival here

ADDITIONAL LINK
Maryland Film Festival Website

The Brown Center at MICA

Photo I took of the Brown Center May 7, 2011

Below is some of what I said on Facebook when I posted my photos in 2011. MICA stands for Maryland Institute College of Art.

When I volunteered for the Maryland Film Festival I was assigned to the Brown Center at MICA (A second site for showing films). I thought WHAT a beautiful building. The architecture was amazing. I never been inside a “glass pyramid” before. 

Brown Center plaque

While walking around, I saw the above plaque and to my utter amazement and surprise the Browns of the Brown Center were black folk! Besides Reginald F. Lewis I didn't know there were black folks in Maryland with money like THAT. Not only did they have money, they were philanthropic. That’s what I call giving back! 

Internet photo of the Brown Center 

I'm still proud and amazed at the Brown Center and I have been there about a dozen times for various events.

RELATED

You can see more of the building at here

You can read more about the Browns here

Maryland Film Festival posters

The Baltimore Sun has a cool new layout of all the posters from the Maryland Film Festival since its inception in 1999. Below is the poster from the first year I attended in 2005.

Since 2005 I have attended every year and they always come up with some cool designs even if I think some are a bit askew (2006?).

APRIL 2013

This year, the fifteenth of the festival, I think is my favorite poster design they have ever done! I think it was very clever to make a collage out of a film strip. Below are the people responsible.

Graphic by Post Typography (in collaboration with photographer RaRah and 3-D illustrator Jeremy Martin). 

The design concept surreally interprets Maryland Film Festival’s, ‘Film for Everyone’ motto into a single, iconic illustration that references classic movies, avant-garde film, and M.C. Escher. 

A large “head” is created from a spiraling strip of film, whose frames are filled with clips of many faces representing the festival-goers. 

To create this intricate design, dozens of Baltimore faces were photographed and then digitally transferred onto a film reel to create a seamless composite.

RELATED
You can check out ALL the posters HERE

Films I Saw @ The Maryland Film Festival 2011

Click the links below to go to the reviews of the films I saw at the 2011 Maryland Film Festival and reviewed EXCLUSIVELY on the 'Nother Brother Entertainment Facebook page

Film #1- RESTLESS CITY

Film#2- VIVA RIVA

Film #3- THE INTERRUPTERS

Film#4- THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

Film #5- EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: THE STORY OF FISHBONE

In case ya wondering CLICK the graphic below to read my review of...

Maryland Film Festival 2012 Drama Shorts

SHORTS: DRAMA


A CHJÀNA  (Jonas Carpignano)
True events inspired this compelling tale of an African migrant worker and his best friend in the wake of the most significant race riot in Italian history. A stirring story of rebellion, solidarity, and friendship.


THE CHRISTMAS TREE  (Angel Kristi Williams)
A struggling single father prepares to spend his first Christmas alone with his daughter, but when their tree is lost on Christmas Eve, he’s placed in a troubling predicament.


THE FATHER (David Easteal)
Haunted by his past, a man searches for forgiveness. Getting it however, may come at a cost.


FIRST MATCH (Olivia Newman)
Fourteen year-old Monique "Mo" Morris is the only girl on what has been the all-boys wrestling team. As she prepares for her first, co-ed high school match, we learn that her desire to dominate the male opponent she will face on the mat is about more than proving to her skeptical teammates that she has earned her starting position. She is also wrestling to connect to her father, a former wrestler, and struggling single dad.


SPARK (Annie Silverstein)
While a boy waits out his father’s tryst, he is unexpectedly forced to deal with the lady-friend’s daughter.  Set on a ranch in Bastrop, Texas, Spark uses the environment to explore the internal space of children. Shot on 16mm over 3 days.


WAITING ROOM (Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck)
After a significant event takes place, a man experiences unexpected suspension of time.

Maryland Film Festival 2012 Opening Night Shorts

I Am John Wayne

!OPENING NIGHT SHORTS AND PARTY!

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)