Opening Night Shorts
2019, 82 minutes, Digital
MdFF’s signature Opening Night Shorts program is curated from the finest in short films that come into our orbit in a given year. After the screening, meet and mingle with festival filmmakers during our exclusive Opening Night Gala, with catering from Baltimore’s own Copper Kitchen and complimentary drinks from local brewery Union Craft Brewing. Ticket required for gala entry.
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DRYER
Connor Hurley, 2019, USA, 13:30 minutes, World Premiere
On a summer day, a group of unattended kids pass on a dangerous initiation ritual, incapable of understanding its life-changing potential. Dyer is a film about the instances that reminds us our lives are fragile, the cycle of bullying and the magic and horror of childhood.
Father Figurine
Matt Kazman, 2019, USA, 18:00 minutes
When the wealthy patriarch of a family dies, they discover a rather unusual request in his will...
Ghosts of Sugar Land
Bassam Tariq, 2018, USA, 21 minutes
In Sugar Land, Texas, a group of young Muslim American men ponder the disappearance of their friend “Mark,” who is suspected of joining ISIS.
Hi I Need To Be Loved
Marnie Ellen Hertzler, 2018, USA, 11:00 minutes
Actors from Craigslist audition for a film by reading spam emails from a teleprompter. Three are cast: A Dancer, A Chef, and A Milkmaid. Is it poetry or malware?
JIM
Christopher Black, 2018, USA, 6:41 minutes, U.S. Premiere
In an overwhelmingly white classroom, an isolated and Black middle school student struggles with the pressure of being the only Black voice during an uncomfortable in-class reading activity.
Twist
Aly Migliori, 2019, USA, 10:49 minutes
No choice but to walk home alone, Hannah sees an opportunity for a ride, but others see an opportunity in her.