APRIL 2, 2002

MARYLAND FILM FESTIVAL 2002 DISCOVER ALL NEW UNCOMMON EXPOSURES

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - At a press conference held today at the Charles Theatre, plans for the Maryland Film Festival 2002, being held May 2-5, 2002, were announced by Festival Director Jed Dietz.

After three years of unprecedented screenings and filmmaker events, this year's Festival will meet the challenge to deliver another year of unique events, continuing the tradition of uncommon exposures and adding new and exciting events throughout the 4-day Festival. Mr. Dietz began the conference by highlighting success stories from several films that were shown, some having their premieres, at the Maryland Film Festival 2001. New films from last year's Festival have gone on to distribution, several just won Independent Spirit Awards, and one even won an Oscar. "This is a Festival of discovery for the audiences. One of the things we like best is advocating for films and filmmakers," Dietz said, "and it's great that in a few short years we've played a significant role in the life of so many movies."

As he unveiled the 2002 poster art, the latest in a series of designs that have been award-winning in their own right, Dietz commented, "this is our first photograph-based poster. This is Art Institute of Chicago-trained and locally-based photographer Howard Korn. Composed especially for us, we think it evokes a quality that is very specific to Baltimore and to the kind of special film festival we are building here."

He then revealed information about the new and exciting sponsorships for this year's Festival. "We are starting to attract national corporate sponsors who see the film festival market as a good place to be," Dietz said. He identified cable company Comcast as one of the biggest and most important new sponsors and introduced Ken Crooks, the Vice President and General Manager of Comcast in Baltimore City, who spoke about the Comcast sponsorship. "Comcast is proud to sponsor the 2002 Maryland Film Festival, and we look forward to celebrating great filmmaking in May. It is across our cable lines that great movies and programming are brought into homes to entertain families across Maryland from hundreds of networks," said Mr. Crooks. "We join the Maryland Film Festival in saluting wonderful films that truly bring art alive on the screen." The television spot for the Maryland Film Festival 2002, which was produced by MGH Advertising, shot by local filmmakers Tim and Pat Kahoe, and created for the Comcast sponsorship, was shown for the first time to press conference attendees.

Next, Dietz introduced Tim Boell, Sundance Channel Account Vice President, Sales, who talked about Sundance Channel's sponsorship. "Sundance Channel is extremely pleased to be a sponsor of the 2002 Maryland Film Festival," said Mr. Boell. "The Festival is a great fit for Sundance Channel because we share the same philosophy of bringing films to audiences that may not have another opportunity to see them and it is a great place for us to showcase our programming as well as scout for new films." Dietz added, "Because of our five-year partnership with the Sundance Labs, we are especially proud to be showing Sundance Channel's extraordinary documentary about the Labs. Thanks to Sundance Channel, we will show it with filmmaker Doug Pray, and several of the Lab recipients."

Along with various members of the Program Advisory Board, Dietz announced program highlights, all of which are available on the festival's website, www.mdfilmfest.com. A partial list of films being shown is enclosed, representing about half of the eventual screenings. Additional films will be listed on the website as they are added, including the opening night film. Please check the website frequently, as it will be updated regularly.

Dietz then announced plans for all of the festival parties being held, including some additional parties at new and exciting venues. The biggest addition to the schedule of parties throughout the weekend is the Filmmakers Party. Being held on Friday night to welcome the visiting filmmakers and open to everyone who has bought a ticket to any Friday screening, the Filmmakers Party will be in a tent near the Charles. "This will make the party even more exciting than it has ever been, giving everyone a chance to move in and out for screenings," said Dietz.

Dietz concluded the press conference by announcing several of the hosts for this year's Guest Host Program, which has become one of the most talked-about aspects of the Maryland Film Festival. Completely unique to the MD Film Festival, the Guest Host Program invites notable people who are not in the film industry to host a screening of their favorite film, including an in-depth discussion after the film with the audience. Past Guest Hosts have included Brian Billick, Mayor Martin O'Malley, and NPR's Scott Simon, among others. Dietz announced two of the Guest Host's for this year's Festival: NAACP Board Chair and legendary Civil Rights Activist Julian Bond, who has chosen the seminal work Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song and first year Survivor finalist Colleen Haskell, who has chosen Terry Gilliam's great The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Other Guest Hosts will be announced as the Festival approaches.

Also a tradition of the MD Film Festival is the screening that John Waters hosts on Friday night. This year, John will host a screening of Fuego, which means "fire," an unusual film that was made in Argentina in 1969. "Once again, John picked a film none of us had even heard of. It took a lot of effort to even find a print. This soft-core Argentine melodrama (X-rated in 1969) will now take its place alongside such Waters' favorites as Boom!, Clean Shaven, and Baxter. Like those other films, Fuego is destined to become an audience favorite, and we are already fielding inquiries from other film festivals for future screenings," Dietz said.

Comcast Cable serves more than 1.5 million customers in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and The District of Columbia. Comcast, whose Mid-Atlantic Division offices are located in White Marsh, Maryland, employs more than 4,000 people in the Mid-Atlantic Division.

Comcast Corporation (www.comcast.com) is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable networks, and in the provision of electronic commerce and programming content. Comcast Cable is the third largest cable company in the United States serving more than 8.4 million cable subscribers. Comcast's commerce and content businesses include majority ownership of QVC, Comcast-Spectacor, Comcast SportsNet, The Golf Channel and Outdoor Life Network, a controlling interest in E! Networks, and other programming investments.

Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel brings television viewers daring and engaging feature films, shorts, documentaries, world cinema and animation, shown uncut and with no commercials. Through its original programs, Sundance Channel connects viewers with filmmakers, the creative process, and the world of independent film. Launched in 1996, Sundance Channel is a venture between Robert Redford, Showtime Networks Inc., and Universal Studios. Sundance Channel operates independently of the non-profit Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, but shares the overall Sundance mission of supporting independent artists and providing them with wider opportunities to present their work to audiences. Sundance Channel's website address is www.sundancechannel.com.