Text by Donna M. Owens, For The Baltimore Sun
When Matthew Muir arrived in Baltimore to attend college, the native New Yorker lived in a few neighborhoods while seeking a community that best suited his taste for urban living.
He landed in Mount Vernon three years ago, and it felt like home.
Photos and text by Jen Mizgata, a Baltimore-based photographer, who can be reached at mizgata@gmail.com. See more of her work at jenmizphoto.com.
This year was a historic one for the Maryland Film Festival: in addition to it being the 19th annual festival, the Festival introduced its new year-round home, The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway. The restored theater, referred to as The Parkway, hosted the bulk of the screenings at this year’s festival. The Maryland Film Festival has restored the original auditorium and added two new screens in an adjacent space for three screens total. Festival-goers saw The Parkway as an energetic hub of activity this year, which was complemented by screenings, parties and events throughout Station North.
The Maryland Film Festival brings together filmmakers, producers, artists, actors and film lovers in Baltimore. The 18th annual festival showcased approximately 50 feature films and 75 shorts. More than 150 filmmakers attended the event, with many discussing their work with fans at screenings and during special programming hosted at the Ynot Lot at the corner of North Avenue and Charles Street. The festival screened movies throughout Station North and central Baltimore, hosting screenings at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Walters Museum of Art, multiple MICA locations, Single Carrot Theater and the Baltimore Lab School.
Beyond screenings, the festival organizers also hosted talks with filmmakers, dance parties, a comedy night, and the Closing Party, where filmmakers and local musicians partied with attendees. Baltimore-area photographer Jen Mizgata took these instant photos (real film!) at the Closing Night party.
Photos and text by Jen Mizgata, a Baltimore-based photographer, who can be reached at mizgata@gmail.com. See more of her work at jenmizphoto.com.
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Over five days, the 17th annual Maryland Film Festival screened approximately 50 feature films, 13 shorts programs, and hosted 100 filmmakers who discussed their work with fans. The festival screened movies throughout Station North and central Baltimore, hosting screenings at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Walters Museum of Art, multiple MICA locations, Single Carrot Theater and the Windup Space.
“We always devote our Opening Night to a collection of short films; this year’s closing night film was Crystal Moselle’s The Wolfpack,” said Eric Allen Hatch, director of programming for the event. “The festival this year also included a special event conversation between Taylor Branch, Ta-Nehisi Coates, David Simon, and James McBride, the co-writers of upcoming mini-series ‘America in the King Years.’
“This year we announced our campaign to restore the historic Parkway Theatre, opened for film in 1915; we will restore the original auditorium and add two additional screens in adjacent spaces, creating a year-round 3-screen film center, to open in 2017.”
Photos and text by Jen Mizgata, a Baltimore-based photographer, who can be reached at mizgata@gmail.com. See more of her work at jenmizphoto.com.
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