The Eastern Shore’s only annual weekend of independent films draws local and national film makers and audiences of film enthusiasts to view juried films, engage in panel discussions in Easton, St. Michaels and Cambridge. October 11-14, 2018
Easton, MD – The 2018 Chesapeake Film Festival expands its presence in Cambridge, MD at two venues: Dorchester Center for Arts and the Cambridge Premier Cinemas.
Cambridge’s downtown revitalization, a vibrant African American social and cultural history strengthened by the reflective Harriett Tubman Center, and the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science at Horn Point are just a few cornerstones of Dorchester County’s cultural base.
CFF’s affiliation with the Dorchester Center for the Arts (DCA) is the site of the Festival’s expansion. DCA, a non-profit community-based arts organization is also the designated Arts Council for Dorchester County. The CFF affiliation brings film to DCA which is already the home for artists in all media — visual, literary, musical and performing arts. “DCA’s commitment to community-based arts, leadership and facilities make it an ideal partner for CFF and complement its continuing partnership with Cambridge Premier Cinema,” stated CFF’s executive director Karen Footner.
Saturday, October 13
Saturday – 2:00 p.m.
Othello-San, directed by Theodore A. Adams III (20 min.)
A celebrated young African American actor enrolls at a prestigious theater school in Japan to play the lead role in Shakespeare’s Othello, only to find his dreams of greatness are tempered by an instructor who challenges him to question his reason for being there.
Count It All, directed by Alexia Acebo (5 min.)
Count it All showcases the authentic stories of real people going from despair and darkness into a joyous place by means of relationships built and communing with similar people. The film is evidence that we can truly count it all joy.
The Fabric of America, by students in Montgomery County, Maryland (7 min.)
The Fabric of America explores the many sides and issues underlying this complex and controversial topic of immigration. Under our broken immigration system, thousands of people are living in fear every day, and peaceful members of society are being targeted as criminals. The film shows how these issues manifest locally, in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Jabari Keating, directed by Stacey Larkins (10 min.)
Upon making a life altering decision, Jabari Keating is a candid first-person narrative film that explores his personal reflections, life experiences and trials and tribulations as an African American in present day America.
Saturday – 3:30 p.m.
The Sentence, directed by Rudy Valdez (85 min.)
Cindy Shank, mother of three, is serving a 15-year sentence in federal prison for her tangential involvement with a Michigan drug ring years earlier. This intimate portrait of mandatory minimum drug sentencing’s devastating consequences, captured by Cindy’s brother, follows her and her family over the course of ten years.
Saturday – 5:30 p.m.
Moving Stories, directed by Rob Fruchtman (85 min.)
Six dancers from an acclaimed NY company travel the world, working with youth who’ve experienced war, poverty, sexual exploitation, extreme prejudice and severe trauma as refugees. Incredibly, they have just one week to take kids to the point where they not only express themselves through choreography and dance. The kids experience surprising transformations, unlocking feelings and stories in wellsprings of creativity.
Saturday – 8:00 p.m.
The Gardener, directed by Sebastien Chabot (75 min.)
Through the words of influential horticulturalist Frank Cabot and his family, and of gardening experts and writers, The Gardener looks back at this remarkable man’s artistic philosophy and quest for perfection at Les Quatre Vents, his 20-acre English-style garden and summer estate that has become one of the world’s foremost private gardens.
Saturday, October 13
Saturday, 1 p.m.
In The Executioner’s Shadow: A Story of Justice, Injustice and The Death Penalty, directed by Maggie Burnette Stogner (60 min.)
In the Executioner’s Shadow takes a penetrating look at the consequences of the death penalty through three powerful stories – the rare perspective of a former state executioner who comes within days of executing an innocent person; a Boston Marathon bombing victim who struggles to decide what justice really means; and the parents of a murder victim who choose to fight for the life of their daughter’s killer. As the battle to overturn capital punishment comes to a head in the U.S., this provocative film challenges viewers to question their deepest beliefs about justice.
Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
In Up To Snuff, friends and collaborators share personal stories, laughs and insights of W. G. Snuffy Walden, generous soul who overcame the excesses of rock and roll to find success as one of the most beloved composers in television history.
Saturday, 4:15 p.m.
The Local Oyster Stout, directed by Mark Burchick (8 min.)
An oyster farmer, a shucker, and a brewery collaborate on Maryland’s first farm to table Oyster Stout beer, reviving a time-honored tradition of the industrial past and charting a future for sustainability in the Chesapeake Bay.
Saturday – 4:30 p.m.
Poured in Pennsylvania, directed by Nate Kresge (90 min.)
From America’s oldest brewery to taprooms changing the landscape of small towns across the commonwealth, this documentary film, Poured in Pennsylvania, illustrates the importance of this ancient—but newly redeveloped—beer industry and its impact on Pennsylvania.
Saturday – 7:00 p.m.
Five Days In August, directed by Nick Ruff (68 min.)
Directed by four-time Emmy® Nominated filmmaker Nick Ruff, Five Days In August is a feature documentary that follows two teams competing in the world’s largest and richest billfish tournament – The White Marlin Open. With a total of 353 boats battling for an unprecedented 4.9 million dollars in prize money, the stakes couldn’t be higher. For these fisherman, everything is literally on the line.
Sunday, October 14th
Sunday — 1 p.m. – Environmental Shorts
Calm Quiet Strength, directed by Michael Cullen (5 min.)
A dignified tribute by a 200-year-old witness to American history: an Appalachian Mountain tulip poplar tree.
Desolation Follows, directed by Burnham Arlidge (9 min.)
Designated as areas of outstanding natural beauty, the English moorlands elicit in us a sense of the wild and untamed. A pristine wilderness, untouched by the advances of civilization. Yet all is not as it seems.
Crick In The Holler, directed by Ursula Ellis (18 min.)
During West Virginia’s 2014 Elk River chemical spill, a first-generation college student charged with the care of her rebellious younger sister instead becomes consumed by an issue with their water supply.
Freeing A Trapped River, directed by Severn Smith (5 min.)
The Nature Conservancy and several state and federal agency partners have completed the first stage of a major new project to restore floodplain connectivity to a nine-mile stretch of the Pocomoke River that had been dredged and channelized in the mid-20th century.
Shad Run, directed by Ben Dorger (26 min.)
American shad were once so abundant in the Potomac River, that in their heyday, people said the river would “run silver” each spring when they returned to spawn. This short documentary film chronicles the abundance, demise, and triumphant return of a native fish, highlighting the citizens who refused to let them fade away and those who are still united by the quest to fish the Potomac’s renowned shad run.
Sunday, October 14th
Sunday – 3:00 p.m.
The Elephant’s Song, directed by Lynn Tomlinson (8 min.)
The true and tragic tale of Old Bet, the first circus elephant in America, rendered in painterly clay-on-glass and oil pastel animation, and narrated in song by her friend, an old farm dog.
Sunday – 3:30 p.m.
Into The Okavango, directed by Neil Gelinas for National Geographic (88 min.)
A passionate conservation biologist brings together a river bushman fearful of losing his past and a young scientist uncertain of her future on an epic, four-month expedition across three countries, through unexplored and dangerous landscapes to save the Okavango Delta, one of our planet’s last pristine wildernesses.
Sunday – 5:00 p.m.
Saving Sea Turtles: Preventing Extinction, directed by Michelle Gomes and Jennifer Ting (69 min.)
Narrated by renowned scientist Dr. Sylvia Earle, the film tells the story of the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle pushed to near extinction are now slowly helping it to recover. From the beaches of Massachusetts to Mexico, Texas and Georgia, this documentary highlights the collaborative work that is being done to save a species from extinction
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~ Chesapeake Film Festival