Family Friendly Block
Showtime: 10:00 AM - 11AM
Audience: Appropriate for all audiences and ages
Waiting for a Friend (Jury Selected Film)
An old woman has brought a picnic lunch and is waiting for her friend to join her. Her friend does not show, but somebody else does.
The Library (Exhibition Film)
A comical look at a day in the life of a public library. Stolen lunches, singing in the bathroom, forgotten book titles, and much more!
Wool Work Folklife Apprenticeship (Exhibition Film)
In 2021-2022, master artist Gwen Handler (Carroll County) taught wool work to apprentice artist Winnie Dreier (Baltimore County) in a Folklife Apprenticeship.
Samoan Fire Dance Folklife Apprenticeship (Exhibition Film)
In 2022-2023, master artist Meki Toalepai Sr. (Anne Arundel County) taught Samoan fire dancing to apprentice artist Meki Toalepai Jr. (Anne Arundel County) in a Folklife Apprenticeship.
Folk Harp Folklife Apprenticeship (Exhibition Film)
In 2022-2023, master artist Jo Morrison (Carroll County) taught folk harp to apprentice artist Lucy Duncan (Carroll County) in a Folklife Apprenticeship.
Heritage Award: Michael Friend (Exhibition Film)
In 2023, Michael Friend (Montgomery County) received a Heritage Award in the category of Person/People. Michael is a performer and respected percussionist in a variety of African-American, West African, and Latin American percussion traditions
Bucket Hat (Exhibition Film)
Brothers Tot and Meech try desperately to convince their jokester Papou (Greek for Grandfather) to buy them ice cream while on a trip to the beach. But they have to act fast, because the Ice Cream Man could leave any minute! Influenced by the TV shows of Cartoon Network in the 1990's, Bucket Hat is a delightfully silly and sweet animated film that balances slice-of-life realism with cartoony slapstick.
Return to Sender (Jury Selected Film)
Ralph makes the unfortunate mistake of answering a stranger's phone.
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Maryland-Made Exhibition Films
Showtime: 11:15AM - 2:05PM
Audience: Adult Language
The Tower Road Bus (Exhibition FIlm)
The Tower Road Bus revisits the unresolved stories of African-American students and educators thrust into all-white schools during the 1970s. Against the backdrop of violent anti-busing protests across the nation, Dotson Burns, Jr, a child of Jim Crow-ridden Fort Worth, Texas, lands on the frontlines of school integration, first as a teacher and then as the first Black principal of a majority-white school in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Bucket Hat (Exhibition FIlm)
Brothers Tot and Meech try desperately to convince their jokester Papou (Greek for Grandfather) to buy them ice cream while on a trip to the beach. But they have to act fast, because the Ice Cream Man could leave any minute! Influenced by the TV shows of Cartoon Network in the 1990's, Bucket Hat is a delightfully silly and sweet animated film that balances slice-of-life realism with cartoony slapstick.
Flu Season (Exhibition Film)
A COVID inspired short-comedy about the Spanish Flu.
Flying Lessons (Exhibition Film)
“Flying Lessons” follows two estranged sisters forced together by their mother’s sudden death: Beatrice, an autistic high schooler who wants to learn to fly, and Talia, a queer musician with no interest in teaching her. Starring and co-written by the autistic actress the story is based on, the film showcases a unique and underrepresented perspective on death and grief.
Gift (Exhibition FIlm)
A jaded alcoholic has his world view challenged by an unexpected act.
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Love and Relationships
Showtime: 2:20PM - 4:05PM
Audience: Adult Language, Mature Themes
Philadelphia, My Love (Jury Selected Film)
Nancy is a recent college graduate who has moved to the city of Philadelphia. She sparks up a conversation with a girl named Robyn at her local Wawa who offers to show her around the city. The two women slowly get to know each other as their romantic bond grows while exploring landmarks such as the Italian Market, Magic Gardens, Love Park, and the Rocky Steps. Their past histories of love and loss are explored as the romantic tension builds to an undeniable peak culminating in a passionate night that forever entwines the two women.
Replace.Me (Jury Selected Film)
Derrick Weems, a stressed-out father and husband, turns to artificial intelligence to help him better grasp a healthy work-life balance. What starts out initially as a generally positive experience turns into something far more serious and unexpectedly dire.
Don't Jump! (Exhibition Film)
Patricia and Todd clash over a charity skydiving event. After both sides get advice from their friends, will they stay grounded or take the plunge?
Gianna (Exhibition Film)
A young Italian-American tomboy, Gianna, spent her whole life being told how to live, but after a few terrible blind dates, a young man steps in out of fate and shows her how to be her best self.
A False Date (Jury Selected Film)
A man on a date realizes there's a film crew watching him, and he has to find a way to get away and have his date in peace.
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Suspense Films
Showtime: 4:20PM - 6:35PM
Audience: Adult Language and Action Sequences
Reset (Audience Award Eligible)
An indie film about two survivors at the end of humanity trying to find a place to call home.
The Nightmare Within (Audience Award Eligible)
Ava is tasked with running errands for her teacher. However as she is running said errands, she encounters a killer. She suddenly wakes up and thinks it was all a dream. Or was it?
Stickers for the Undead (Exhibition FIlm)
Robin, a struggling college student, is weighed down by her repetitive mundane life. This weight causes her to see her world as that of the undead, until she's shown a simple act of kindness from a stranger. Now she must hold onto that act of kindness, or risk returning to the corpse she was before.
Chain Letter (Exhibition FIlm)
When a teen girl receives a mysterious email, she must forward it on or face dire consequences.
Overdue (Exhibition FIlm)
A group of teens begin disappearing in the library, and they're about to find out why. This was produced by the Charles County Public Library Film Club for Teens.
Arterial Motive (Jury Selected FIlm)
A gangster takes a job that he proves to be woefully unprepared for.
Sorrows of Yesterday (Exhibition Film)
Nathaniel Prather is a recently exonerated loner who is coping with his new life. Having spent 10 years in prison for a questionable crime, much time has passed since his sentence. His days are spent alone on his farm with his dog Shelly. One day, an investment agent named Theresa Withers arrives unannounced to express her company's interest in buying Nathaniel's property. His defenses kick in and he calls her bluff. It is in this moment that Theresa’s true intentions are revealed, which go far deeper than a piece of property…
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Mature Audiences (18+ ID required)
Showtime: 6:50PM - 8:40PM
Audience: Coarse language, Profanity, Drug Use, Brief Nudity, Depictions of Graphic Violence
Iron Jade (Audience Award Eligible)
Jade is a fierce young woman who will do anything to protect those she loves. So when the nefarious Bob ditches her mother on a date, Jade must go into full-on vengeance mode.
Zombies Are Real (Jury Selected Film)
Sherman Stokes is an avid Zombie fan who finally gets to fight in the ultimate apocalypse.
FINAL SHOT (Audience Award Nominee)
Roy makes the biggest mistake of his life when he meets Clair and drugs her at a club.
Attack the Dojo (Audience Award Eligible)
A pair of martial arts grifters find themselves in deep water when an agent from the Better Business Bureau pays their dojo a visit. After failing to outsmart him with their wits, they have no choice but to try to outsmart him with their FISTS.
Ain't Got Time to Die (Jury Selected Film)
After a long-awaited move to Montana to live out of her RV, Rachel Heisham receives a terminal cancer diagnosis that forces her back home to confront a complicated past. The filmmaker becomes increasingly involved in her story and has to grapple with the weight of that involvement.
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Southern Maryland Heritage
Showtime: 8:55PM - 10:55PM
Audience: Some Language
Maryland's Wild Oyster Harvest (Jury Selected Film)
This documentary looks at Maryland's wild oyster harvest through the eyes of scientists, activists, and those who make their living on the water in and around Southern Maryland.
Shifting Tides (Jury Selected Film)
“Shifting Tides” explores a set of multi-generational watermen based in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, and asks how each are adapting to the rising costs, increased regulation, and growing effects of climate change they face day to day.
The Humbler: Danny Gatton (Jury Selected Film)
Who is Danny Gatton? Danny Gatton, “The World’s Greatest Unknown Guitarist,” combined jazz, rock, country, blues, and rockabilly into dazzling mélanges of sound. A conflicted, paradoxical genius, Danny was a humble man, yet his virtuosity humbled musicians far more famous than he. The Humbler - Danny Gatton" is a music history documentary, a biography and a love story to American music.
Official Southern Maryland FIlm Festival Selections for 2024