ANNOUNCING CHESAPEAKE FILM FESTIVAL’S LIVE SHOWING OF
ENVIRONMENTAL AND DRAMATIC FILMS OCTOBER 1-2
FREE VIRTUAL FESTIVAL RUNS OCTOBER 3-10
Remember the excitement of watching films on a big screen with surround sound in a darkened theater among other film lovers, and then discussing them with the filmmakers? That intimate experience returns this fall as the Chesapeake Film Festival offers a wall-to-wall weekend of provocative, insightful and innovative films October 1 and 2 at Easton’s Avalon Theatre.
Friday evening begins with a VIP reception for sponsors and donors followed by screenings and discussions of environmental films, including the world premiere of a new film by local favorites Tom Horton, Dave Harp and Sandy Cannon-Brown. Saturday’s films feature two audience-pleasing narrative newcomers. Admission to Friday’s evening of environmental films and discussions is $25. Admission for Saturday’s films is $15 each.
The remaining complement of the Chesapeake Film Festival’s lineup will be shown virtually October 3-10. The CFF is thrilled to bring these films to audiences free-of-charge, but donations to help offset cost is encouraged.
For the Live and Virtual Festival, nearly 60 films will be shown, including documentaries, animation, shorts, narratives, student films, Made in Maryland films, thrillers and environmental films.
The films to be screened at the Avalon are:
Water’s Way: Thinking Like a Watershed
– A film by Sandy Cannon-Brown, Dave Harp and Tom Horton.
Image Credit: Dave Harp
Every drop of rain that falls on 64,000 square miles heads one way, Bayward. And the Chesapeake, which appears so long and broad is, in context, just a smallish and shallow pool of water on the receiving end of everything 18 million people in six states and the District of Columbia do with the land, for good or ill. Controlling Bay pollution has achieved modest success in recent decades. But these technological solutions are pushing the limits of engineering and affordability. Alone they cannot achieve a healthy Bay. Further progress must come from the lands of the watershed, from better understanding what was Water’s Way when the Chesapeake basin and the Bay it feeds were clearer, cleaner, healthier. One source of hope: beavers. These furry rodents have a lot to teach us about preserving a healthy, diverse, rich ecosystem.
The Heat is On: Driving Climate Action for
People and Nature
– World Wildlife Fund
This short documentary produced by Kelley Ashford and Irene Magafan focuses on WWF’s climate work shortly after the big global climate report was revealed from the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change). The film encourages individual activism to fight a universal challenge.
The narrative films on Saturday night, October 2 will be:
Minari
– Directed by Lee Isaac Chung
Click on the above image to watch the trailer
This critically-acclaimed film had its world premiere at Sundance in 2020 where it won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award, received a Golden Globe and six Academy Award nominations, including winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The heartwarming story follows a Korean American family as they face the challenges of a new life in the Ozarks.
Tesla
– Starring Ethan Hawke
Click on the above image to watch the trailer
This freewheeling take on visionary inventor Nikola Tesla imagines his interactions with Thomas Edison and J.P. Morgan’s daughter Anne while it follows his uphill battle to bring his revolutionary electrical system to the world. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020.
Among the films in CFF’s free virtual festival include:
The Tower Road Bus
– Documentary Feature
Click on the above image to watch the trailer
Fifty years after the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of busing children to achieve racial integration in schools, The Tower Road Bus revisits the unresolved stories of African-American students and educators thrust into all-white schools during the 1970s.
The Recess
– Narrative Short
Click on the above image to watch the trailer
Iran – Sahar is a 17 year-old student who is determined to skip high school during the recess to attend the football stadium to watch the match between Esteghlal F.C vs. Al-Ain against the national ban on women to enter football stadiums.
Tickets for the LIVE festival go on sale
HERE on September 1
Trailers for the VIRTUAL festival can be seen
HERE on September 1
For more information, call our Executive Director at 443-955-9144.
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