Capturing Poe's spirit on film

Local filmmakers create shorts to accompany BMA's exhibit on the master of the macabre

Jim Lucio hadn't made a movie in years. But the combination of Edgar Allan Poe and the chance to have his work shown at the Baltimore Museum of Art proved irresistible.

"I set out to make it funny; I hope it comes out this way," says Lucio of "APE," a film "very loosely" based on "The Murders In the Rue Morgue," which will be one of 17 Poe-inspired shorts to be shown at the BMA over the next two Fridays. "I haven't really made a film in years, since the '80s. But surprisingly, when I saw the finished product, it didn't stray too much from the visions I had in the '80s. My approach, my style, what I think is funny. ...I guess I haven't changed that much."

Lucio, whose day job is visual arts coordinator for the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts, is one of more than a dozen area filmmakers whose work will be featured in "A Cinematic Celebration of Edgar Allan Poe." Put together in cooperation with the 48 Hour Film Project, a competition that regularly challenges participants to make short films with an emphasis on speed and ingenuity, BMA officials saw this as a handy film component for their exhibition, "Edgar Allan Poe: A Baltimore Icon."

Given Poe's reputation as an early master of the short story, using him and his work as the inspiration for an evening of short films seemed a natural.

"This gave us the opportunity to engage some really significant people in the Baltimore art scene," says Preston Bautista, the BMA's director of public programs. "I think Poe is sort of right for this material. My goal is that this would be a local, contemporary take on Poe."

Although organized through the 48 Hour Film Project, the Poe program bends its rules slightly. Normally, participating filmmakers sign up and have just two days to make their film, which must include a common line of dialogue or prop. For the Poe films, organizers sought out some of the area's more established filmmakers, who were then given a theme ("Love & Loss," "Fear & Terror" and "Madness & Obsession," the same themes represented in the BMA exhibit), a character and a line of dialogue to include in their finished work. While all films were shot over the last month, filmmakers were welcome to use more than 48 hours to put everything together.