Diaz, who will be bringing a trailer she used for fundraising to the festival, is already planning her next documentary, about Filipinos recruited for teaching jobs in Baltimore. That means she'll be plugging two coming films this weekend.
"The Journey film, just because of their big songs, it might break through," she says. "But a documentary film about teachers recruited to teach in inner-city Baltimore doesn't get a very big audience. That's why this festival is so important."
if you go
Ramona Diaz, Kurt Kolaja and Matthew Porterfield will be showing clips from and discussing their films-in-progress during a panel discussion, "Works in Progress From MFF Alums." The free discussion is set for 3:30 p.m. Friday in the Tent Village, on the parking lot across the street from the Charles Theatre, 1717 N. Charles St.
also at the festival
You won't want to miss John Waters' annual pick for the film festival, culled from the outer fringes of cinema. Heck, if you don't like the movie, you'll still get to hear Waters' introduction and post-film Q&A, which are always worth the price of admission.
This year's offering is French director Christophe Honore's alt-musical musical Love Songs, which one critic likened to a cross between the work of Francois Truffaut and Pedro Almodovar. Sounds like the dictionary definition of "promising" to me.
The movie starts at 7 p.m. at the Charles Theatre, 1711 N. Charles St. Admission: $10.
The festival continues through Sunday at the Charles and environs. The films run from 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Sunday. More information: mdfilmfest.com or 410-752-8083.
