OPENING NIGHT
Let's start the party! Our opening night shorts program spotlights a few of our favorite works from this year's crop of short films, recognizing the innovation and artistic vision of the emerging and established filmmakers alike who have long been the raison d'être of the Maryland Film Festival.
FILMS
The end of an era looms as 4th-generation dairy farmer Ned nears a long overdue retirement. His adult son, Jacob, has chosen a different life path, effectively ending his family’s long history on the farm, a choice that prompts a new level of introspection from both father and son.
EXPIRATION DATE
Parkway Theater 1
The end of an era looms as 4th-generation dairy farmer Ned nears a long overdue retirement. His adult son, Jacob, has chosen a different life Read More→
Giles Perkins
2025
United States
14 minutes
A genre-bending short film inspired by a 19th-century short story written by Ivan Turgenev, in which a lowly pub full of downtrodden men connect unexpectedly through an impromptu sing-off.
THE SINGERS
Parkway Theater 1
A genre-bending short film inspired by a 19th-century short story written by Ivan Turgenev, in which a lowly pub full of downtrodden men connect unexpectedly Read More→
Sam Davis
2025
United States
17 minutes
A fabulous, queer Muslim beauty entrepreneur must figure out how to compete in a Shark Tank-like product pitch contest after suffering an untimely allergic reaction.
PORELESS
Parkway Theater 1
A fabulous, queer Muslim beauty entrepreneur must figure out how to compete in a Shark Tank-like product pitch contest after suffering an untimely allergic reaction.
Harris Doran
2025
United States
13 minutes
A chronicle of the power and complexity of the relationship between Corinne and Tiana, two Queer Black women who experience cycles of life’s joys and pains together in the home they share.
HOLD ME CLOSE
Parkway Theater 1
A chronicle of the power and complexity of the relationship between Corinne and Tiana, two Queer Black women who experience cycles of life’s joys and Read More→
Aurora Brachman, LaTajh Simmons-Weaver
2025
United States
19 minutes
THE ZOO
Parkway Theater 1
A caged lion festers in anger and silence until an unlikely friend comes along to help him tell his story.
Mimi Chakarova
2025
United States
14 minutes
In the whimsical Pan-African society of Alkebulan, brilliant but overlooked scholar Dr. Constance Moumie discovers her fiancé, Sèyí Àjàyí, is secretly engaged to Princess Ada, sending the town into chaos. With the help of her best friend Bibi, she hatches a bold plan to expose her unfaithful lover at his engagement ceremony, seeking both justice and long-overdue recognition.
THE INCREDIBLE SENSATIONAL FIANCÉE OF SÈYÍ ÀJÀYÍ
Parkway Theater 1
In the whimsical Pan-African society of Alkebulan, brilliant but overlooked scholar Dr. Constance Moumie discovers her fiancé, Sèyí Àjàyí, is secretly engaged to Princess Ada, Read More→
Abbesi Akhamie
2024
United States