Editor’s Pick: The Annapolis Film Festival
The 10th Annual Annapolis Film Festival includes screenings of "To Olivia," "King Richard," "Dionne Warwick," and short films on sailing.
The Annapolis Film Festival turns a decade old this year, celebrating with an in-person, four-day event showing more than 70 films, including several standout narrative features, documentaries, and shorts.
The weekend will include parties, panels, “Coffee Talks,” and select post-screening interview sessions with filmmakers.
The festival is taking the lingering COVID threat seriously, however, and is attempting to ensure as safe an environment as possible for attendees.
To that end, organizers are requiring masking in the theaters (optional at parties, though). There will also be a wellness check-in for all attendees.
This year’s theme is “The Big Picture,” with screenings held at four primary venues in the Annapolis Historic Arts District: Maryland Hall; Asbury United Methodist Church; Annapolis Elementary School on Compromise Street, and the Jack C. Taylor Center at the Naval Institute, on the grounds of the Naval Academy.
The festival kicks off Thursday, March 31 with a screening of 2018’s To Olivia, featuring Downton Abbey‘s Hugh Bonneville as Roald Dahl, the celebrated author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Witches, and Keeley Hawes as his wife, movie star Patricia Neal. The film is set in the 1960s during a time in which the couple’s life was “marred by a family tragedy.”
Other highlights include The Biggest Little Farm: The Return, a TV pilot sequel to the 2019 film, Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over, an inspiring 2021 documentary that chronicles the singer’s career as well as her advocacy for social issues, including LGBTQ activism, and a special screening of the Oscar-winning King Richard, starring Will Smith as the demanding father of tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams.
There are several showcases, including, this being Annapolis, a “Sailing Showcase,” comprised of three short films — True North, 87 Days: Alone Rowing the Pacific, and Captain Nat Herreshoff’s Enduring Legacy.
The weekend includes several dedicated shorts programs as well. An Annual “Best of Fest” event will be held at Maryland Hall on Sunday, April 3, at 5 p.m. with an awards ceremony, followed by encore screenings of the four audience award-winning films.
The Annapolis Film Festival runs from March 31 to April 3. Costs vary, with individual films starting at $15, opening night tickets available for $50, and Best of the Fest set at $25. Festival Passes range from $75 to $350. For a full schedule of films and events, and various pricing details, visit www.annapolisfilmfestival.com.
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