THIS WEEKEND: The 2024 Annapolis Film Festival. Here's What's Showing!

The Annapolis Film Festival has announced an extraordinary lineup of films for its 12th annual edition, taking place from April 4th to 7th, 2024, in Annapolis, Maryland. With the theme “Out of the Box,” the festival is set to showcase over 85 new release films, offering a rich tapestry of feature narratives, documentaries, and shorts that promise to engage, inspire, and entertain audiences.

Festival co-founders Patti White and Lee Anderson are especially proud of this year’s lineup. White expresses, “Our 2024 lineup is a bold mix of visionary stories that reflect our ‘Out of the Box’ theme. We’re presenting films that are not just entertaining, but also thought-provoking and boundary-pushing.”

Anderson adds, “This festival is a platform for filmmakers to share their unique voices and for audiences to explore new perspectives. We’re excited to bring these films and their creators to Annapolis.”

Director of Programming, Derek Horne, claims “High quality films matter, and our intent is to select a slate of films that deliver and connect with the audience.”

Opening the festival is the film “Thelma,” with June Squibb delivering a tour-de-force performance as 93-year-old Thelma Post. After falling victim to a phone scammer, Thelma defies expectations by embarking on a spirited and unexpected quest to reclaim what’s rightfully hers, blending humor and tenacity in a story that celebrates the audacity of the human spirit.

Also highlighted in the lineup is Jennifer Esposito’s directorial debut, “Fresh Kills,” showcasing the unheralded women of a mob family navigating New York City’s underworld with grit and resilience. Esposito stars as the matriarch Francine, guiding her daughters through a male-dominated world with powerful performances that redefine the crime saga genre. Jennifer Esposito will be attending the Festival, as will Edie Falco, who stars in the new film “I’ll Be Right There,” a poignant drama about a mother’s enduring love amidst life’s unpredictable challenges.

The Annapolis Film Festival transcends the traditional film-viewing experience, turning into a vibrant cultural event. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage in intimate coffee talks with filmmakers, attend glamorous parties, and enjoy unique experiences that only this festival in historic downtown Annapolis can offer.

FEATURE FILMS:

A New Kind of Wilderness directed by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
A Taste of Freedom directed by Oleksandr Berezan
All We Carry directed by Cady Voge
Big Boys directed by Corey Sherman
Call Me Dancer directed by Leslie Shampaine
Common Ground directed by Joshua Tickell, Rebecca Tickell
Coup! directed by Joseph Schuman, Austin Stark
Empire directed by Frederikke Aspöck
Empire Waist directed by Claire Ayoub
Every Little Thing directed by Sally Aitken
Ezra directed by Tony Goldwyn
First We Bombed New Mexico directed by Lois Lipman
Flipside directed by Christopher Wilcha
Free Time directed by Ryan Martin Brown
Fresh Kills directed by Jennifer Esposito
Girls Will Be Girls directed by Shuchi Talati
Gondola directed by Veit Helmer
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person directed by Ariane Louis-Seize
I’ll Be Right There directed by Brendan Walsh
Maestra directed by Maggie Contreras
Mediha directed by Hasan Oswald
Musica! directed by Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
My Motherland (Ma France à Moi) directed by Benoit Cohen
Possum Trot directed by Joshua Peacetree Weigel
Puffin Rock and the New Friends directed by Jeremy Purcell
Suze directed by Dane Clark, Linsey Stewart
The Idea of You directed by Michael Showalter
Thelma directed by Josh Margolin
This Is Going To Be Big directed by Thomas Charles Hyland
This World Is Not My Own directed by Petter Ringbom and Marquise Stillwell
UnBroken directed by Beth Lane
Unfurling the World directed by Gary Jobson
Wildcat directed by Ethan Hawke

SHORT FILMS:

A Symphony of Tiny Lights directed by Dominic Gill, Nadia Gill
A Tattoo on My Brain directed by David Heilbroner, Kate Davis
Apple Blossoms directed by Karlee Rodrigues, Marlee Rodrigues
Bienvenido Juanito directed by Anna Lo Westlin
Campfire directed by Austin Lee Bunn
Camping in Paradise directed by Eirik Tveiten
Cuba Ahora directed by Patti White
Chum directed by Jason King
Dead Cat (Chat Mort) directed by Annie-Claude Caron, Danick Audet
Diana’s Electric Tongue directed by Haroula Rose
Dust Bunnies directed by Peter McCully
Eat Flowers directed by River Autumn Finlay
Esperanza directed by Shruti Parekh
Fan-Fare directed by Nathan Winn
First Time directed by Nicolas Block
Greetings directed by Stephanie Bencin
Happy Thanksgiving directed by Ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby
Hickey directed by Giovanna Molina
How to Win a Nobel Prize directed by Gary Jobson
Hysterical directed by Brynn Walker Mitchell
Just Desserts directed by Jake Schwartz
Lovebugs directed by Teddy Alvarez-Nissen
Making Waves directed by Christian Horgan
Mirage directed by Jhanvi Motla
Ninety-Five Senses directed by Jerusha Hess, Jared Hess
Pathological directed by Alison Rich
Payment in Kind directed by David Zax
Pillow Fortress directed by Zander Coté
Rabbit Hole directed by Aaron Schoonover
Scam directed by Julie Sharbutt
Scammers directed by Carl Kelsch
Shadow Brother Sunday directed by Alden Ehrenreich
Skip the Intro directed by Devin Glass
Soundscape directed by Timmy O’Neill
Still Scattered directed by Dominic Burgess, Jeff Lorch
The Anne Frank Gift Shop directed by Mickey Rapkin
The Boy and the Sea directed by Marianne Østengen
The Date directed by Sandi Johnson
The Film Might Be White directed by Sebastian Johansson Micci
The Furniture (Le Mobilier) directed by Mehdi Pierret
The Hostage directed by Natalie Prisco
The Karens directed by Katie Goodman
The Nectar Instead directed by Yoo Lee
The Skates (Les patins) directed by Halima Ouardiri
The Test directed by Claudia Myers, Laura Waters Hinson
There Can Only Be One… directed by Britney Fan
They Grow Up So Fast directed by John F. Beach
Tits directed by Eivind Landsvik
Tripping directed by Amelia Boscov
Twenty directed by Jason Hogan
Winding Path directed by Alexandra Lazarowich, Ross Kauffman
You Will Not Replace Us directed by Josh Greene, Luke Harris

Tickets for Annapolis Film Society members go on sale on Wednesday, March 13, and for the general public on Friday, March 15. Visit the Annapolis Film Festival website at www.annapolisfilmfestival.org to see the full lineup, and purchase tickets and passes before they sell out.

Stay tuned for a bonus podcast with White and Anderson as we discuss this year’s festival!