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CHESAPEAKE FILM FESTIVAL is LIVE and VIRTUAL October 1-10, 2021
For more information: chesapeakefilmfestival.com
Easton, Maryland, August 13, 2021—As the lights dim in the grandeur of the historic Avalon Theatre in Easton, MD, a hush falls over the audience. Excitement builds as the first images of the 14th annual Chesapeake Film Festival mark the return of a LIVE Festival October 1 and 2.
And what better way to kick off an Eastern Shore Festival than to present the world premiere of the Bay Journal’s latest film, Water’s Way: Thinking Like a Watershed, by local favorites Tom Horton, Dave Harp and CFF’s Vice President for Environmental Programming Sandy Cannon-Brown. As Horton says in the introduction:
“Consider water’s way throughout the vast basin of Chesapeake Bay, some 40 rivers and thousands of creeks feeding the great estuary from across nearly a sixth of the East Coast. This is the watershed. 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.”
One of the “stars” of Water’s Way is Herbert the Beaver, a representative of a species whose ponds and dams once sponsored a lush mosaic of wetlands throughout the Chesapeake region.
The second film on opening night, The Heat is On: Driving Climate Action for People and Nature, focuses on World Wildlife Fund’s response to climate change. This short documentary was produced by CFF Board Member Irene Magafan and her colleague Kelley Ashford to prod and inspire people to take action against climate change before it’s too late.
The cost of the Friday night screenings and the panel discussion that follows is $25.
But wait! There’s more to Friday evening: A VIP reception at the Avalon honoring our filmmakers, sponsors and major donors precedes the screenings. Individual tickets for the VIP reception and screenings are available for a $125 tax-deductible donation to CFF. The reception brings the community and visitors to our beloved Eastern shore together to celebrate the magic of a LIVE Festival.
The LIVE Festival continues on Saturday evening at the Avalon with two acclaimed features, Minari and Tesla. Tickets are $15 for each film.
Note: For the live events, you will be required to show proof of vaccinations against CoVid.
Minari, about a Korean-American family pursuing the American dream in Arkansas,
earned six Oscar nominations, and won Youn Yuh -jung Best Supporting Actress. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and earned six nominations at the 74th British Academy Film Awards, including Best Film Not in the English Language. Youn is the first Korean actor nominated for an Oscar for acting, as well as the first to win.
Tesla is a freewheeling take on visionary inventor Nikola Tesla and his imagined interactions with Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. One of the actors in the film, Maryland native Vincent de Paul, will introduce the film.
While the Chesapeake Film Festival is thrilled to bring back a LIVE Festival, it is also delighted to extend the Festival for another week online. The VIRTUAL Festival, October 3-10, includes more than 50 films to watch at your convenience, along with and several scheduled interviews with filmmakers. The VIRTUAL Festival is FREE, but donations are encouraged to help cover the costs.
“Our 2021 Festival includes work by amazing filmmakers around the world,” said Festival Director Cid Collins Walker, “and we are honored to have several of those filmmakers sitting on our Board of Directors both in the LIVE and VIRTUAL events…”
Films by Chesapeake Film Festival Board Members in the VIRTUAL Festival, October 3-10, include:
Liam White, produced and directed by Harold Jackson, III, follows a novelist who, with a few months to live, faces all the people he stepped on to get to the top.
Othello San, produced and directed by Theodore Adams, III, about the realities a celebrated young African-American actor faces when he enrolls at a prestigious theater school in Japan to play the lead role in Shakespeare’s Othello.
Tyndall Typewriters, with an award-winning script by Theodore Adams, III, features a repairman of antique typewriters who reminds people of the days when communications, social interactions, and relationships were tactile experiences.
Zoo (Volkershau), produced and directed by Monda Raquel Webb, is based on a gut-wrenching. true event at the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels, Belgium.
Saving San Domingo, produced and edited by Sandy Cannon-Brown, reveals a 200-year-old African-American community struggling to save its traditions and values.
Other independent film highlights in the virtual festival include: Heroes’ Honeymoon, Honey Bee, The Recess, Type Cast, Ball Side Middle (A Brooklyn Basketball Story), Chicago: America’s Hidden War, Sky So Blue, RUMBLE: The Indians who Rocked the World, The Friendliest Town, The Tower Road Bus and Under the Same Sky.
Now in its 14th year, the mission of the Chesapeake Film Festival is to entertain, empower, educate and inspire diverse audiences of all ages by presenting exceptional independent films and events. We offer outstanding filmmakers, experienced and emerging, a forum to showcase and discuss stories of compelling interest to our local and global community. Because of our location on the Chesapeake Bay and our diverse population, we prioritize films that focus on the environment and social justice issues. The Festival also strives to be an economic engine for the Eastern Shore by enticing visitors to experience exceptional films, world-famous seafood, art, and the beauty of our waterways.
The Chesapeake Film Festival is generously supported by the Shared Earth Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Prager on behalf of Bluepoint Hospitality, Enel Green Powers, Doug Powers, The Nature Conservancy, Maryland Film Office, Choptank Electric, Maryland State Arts Council, Talbot Arts, Talbot County Department of Tourism, Artistic Insights Fund, Richard and Beverly Tilghman, U.S. Small Business Administration, and The Ravenal Foundation. Funding has also been provided to the Chesapeake Film Festival from Maryland Humanities and The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program.
For more information, visit chesapeakefilmfestival.com or contact Nancy Tabor, our Executive Director at 443-955-9144. Tickets will be on sale and trailers will be available on chesapeakefilmfestival.com starting September 1, 2021.
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