Maryland Film Festival

Scenes from the 2017 Maryland Film Festival

Scenes from the 2017 Maryland Film Festival

26 Photos

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.

More →

Scenes from the 2016 Maryland Film Festival

Scenes from the 2016 Maryland Film Festival

28 Photos

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.

More →

Posterized: Maryland Film Festival, 1999-2015

Posterized: Maryland Film Festival, 1999-2015

17 photos

This post has been updated with the 2015 Maryland Film Festival poster, which was again designed by Post Typography. This year’s festival is May 6-10.

Originally published May 4, 2012: Before the lights go down and you settle in to watch your first film at the Maryland Film Festival, you’ve already seen them — the ubiquitous festival posters that pop up around Baltimore in the weeks leading up to the event. They’re “almost unavoidable,” says Bruce Willen of Post Typography, the Baltimore design studio that’s created the film festival posters the past two years. Willen, who heads Post Typography with longtime collaborator Nolen Strals, discussed the inspiration for this year’s poster, the design process and more in a Q&A with The Darkroom.

But wait, there’s more! To celebrate the 14th annual festival, which kicked off Thursday night and runs through Sunday, and the familiar posters we associate with the event, here’s a gallery featuring artwork from all the previous festivals, 1999-2012. How many posters do you remember? Which are your favorites?

More →