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Upbeat: Annapolis Film Festival Returns

Annapolis Film Festival: The Sequel isn't the name that fans will see on the marquee, but it's an apt description for this year's edition of the cinema showcase. The three-day event, which made its debut in 2003, returns in November with a mix of shorts, features, documentaries, and animation.

A focus on Maryland filmmakers and special screenings of family-friendly fare highlight the second coming of the fest, November 4-6. "We made a concerted effort to get more Maryland films this year, and we got some great ones," says festival director Maria Triandos. "We have 12 filmmakers who either came from here or shot here. We'll also be doing more shorts (38) and fewer features and feature length documentaries (nine) than we did last year."

Since 2003, the Crown Eastport Cinema has closed and Crown Harbour Center Cinemas are under construction, changes that prompted schedulers to choose alternate locations for this year's festival. "This year, most of our events are centered at Maryland Hall," explains Triandos, "with additional screenings at Cinema Grill. Actually, Maryland Hall is a bigger venue than Crown, so we're expecting more people. We're definitely building an audience for film through our monthly screenings at Cinema Grill ('Indies at the Grill'). And we'll have a new, family-friendly block of shows on Saturday that we think we will attract parents and children."

The festival begins on Thursday, November 4 with a showing of "Lightning Bug," a coming of age film by Robert Hall, followed by an opening night party with music by the Jarflys. On Saturday, six "blocks" of films in two different locations at Maryland Hall will roll a variety of works, including cross-generational crowd-pleasers like "Billy and the Kid."

"That's a great short film about an old Western town where the sheriff protects his community against rowdies," Triandos says. "Another film with wonderful special effects is 'Gamers,' a tale about a game of Dungeons and Dragons that comes to life." The family blocks include mini-animations and shorts, too, in keeping with the festival's goal of creating a mix of programming-"so that people will get more than just a feature or a documentary."

At Cinema Grill, festival shows will take place all three days, with Sunday's "Best of the Fest" finale showing this year's winners and favorites, as voted by a jury of experts from across the country. (A $10 "buy one, get one free" admission, also good on Friday evening, will be in effect.)

Foreign films are in the festival spotlight on Saturday evening, with works from Israel, Macedonia, Italy, Thailand and the U.K. The Israeli film, "America, is the story of two brothers in their 60's, one planning a trip to America; the Thai entry, "Bicycles and Radios," was nominated for a student Academy Award.

New to this year's event is a festival program for budding filmmakers. It will feature works by three teams of high school filmmakers from Anne Arundel County, who created them with donations of time and equipment from professional filmmakers. Also scheduled is a panel discussion with opening night director Hall, noted for his work in special effects, which promises to be a draw for young auteurs.

Tickets for the Annapolis Film Festival are $10 at the door for individual programs (children are admitted free to family programs with an adult). $20 one-day passes, which are good for admission for all films, are available at Maryland Hall or through its website, www.marylandhall.org. For details on festival programs and schedules, visit www.annapolisfilmfestival.com.

-Carol Denny

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