Our artistic goals are the foundation for everything we do. We recognize that there are many film festivals around the world, other good ones in and around Maryland, so the Maryland Film Festival is dedicated to adding something to what is already available. We are already establishing a unique personality. We want our festival audience to have a special experience.

We want a festival experience that is fun--celebrating the whole film culture, with no distinction between types of films. To us a great movie is a great movie. We realize this is a privilege the marketplace does not have. We strive to make Maryland Film Festival screenings distinct.

Mission in Action Selection and Scheduling
Our Program Advisory Committee is a widely diverse collection of film people--filmmakers, exhibitors, sales executives, archivists--that share a passion for films and the people who make them.

We select films without regard to format, genre, or era. At each Festival we progam our selections to maximize audience interest and access: we have no documentary section, or foreign section, or classic section, though we schedule movies from all those categories.

We invite filmmakers to present their films in person because we believe in their work and we believe their participation in post-screening discussions illuminates the work. We do not run a competition for filmmakers. We offer no prizes for filmmakers. We want the filmmakers to come together in the spirit of mutual support and cooperation--for us, the most important thing is participation in the experience.

Festival Contributions
We have already initiated a series of new programs, or variations of existing programs:

"The Guest Host Program" is unique in the film festival world. We bring in interesting people from outside the film community to host screenings of films that mean a great deal to them. Past guest hosts have consisted of artists, athletes, politicians, historians, architects, judges, musicians, and civil fashion designers.

Advocating for Movies is a program that allows crtics from around the country to advocate for movies they believed were missed in the marketplace. Critics representing the Baltimore Sun, the Boston Globe, GQ, and the New Yorker have participated in the program.

In addition to film screenings, the festival has featured informative panel discussions. Topics have included Writing in 2 Media, which discussed the complex issue of translating writing in one medium to writing for film, Film Making Outside the Mainstream, New Technology in Film, Music in Film, and the "Panel of Blood," which discussed low-budget independent films.

Film Preservation
We select and schedule restored movies and archival prints in a way that will draw audiences and surprise them. Restored and/or archival films such as 70mm prints of Lawrence of Arabia, Spartacus, and My Fair Lady have screened at the festival along with the silent Peter Pan (accompanied by live orchestra), Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, My Brilliant Career, and Citizen Kane.