Hometown filmmaker Matthew Porterfield’s “Sollers Point” and the 1988 animated dinosaur adventure “The Land Before Time” are among the first four announced films that will screen at the Maryland Film Festival early next month.
Also in the lineup: “I, Olga Hepnarová,” a Czech film hand-picked by local filmmaker John Waters about a woman who mowed down 20 people with a truck in Prague in 1973; and “A Page of Madness,” the 1926 silent Japanese film about a man trying to free his wife from an asylum, which will be live-scored by the Alloy Orchestra.
“Sollers Point” brings some local flavor to the headliners for the 20th anniversary of the annual May film fest here in Baltimore. It follows Keith (McCaul Lombardi), a small-time drug dealer recently released from prison and living with his father (Jim Belushi) in the namesake setting near the southeast city-county border.
It premiered in September 2017 at the San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain.
In a statement, Maryland Film Festival director of programming Scott Braid said “Sollers Point” is “Matt’s most ambitious and compelling film to date,” and that the festival will be “the perfect homecoming” for his work.
The screening of “The Land Before Time” will kick off a new offering called the Generation Parkway Family Film Series. Beginning with the dino flick, every Saturday the Parkway will show movies geared toward children and families.
Other lineup announcements are forthcoming; the festival, set for May 2-6, will ultimately screen more than 120 films, per a release. As with past years, events will include discussions hosted by filmmakers and artists. In addition to the Parkway, MICA’s Lazarus Center, Gateway Building and Brown Center will also be hosting screenings.
Tickets to regular shows will cost $13 ($11 on-site for students), or real film buffs can grab an all-access pass for $425 or a $100 pass for showings only at the Brown Center. Prices for special event showings, such as Waters’ pick and the Alloy Orchestra accompaniment, among others, will be announced later this month.
