Annapolis Film Festival

Nestled on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay less than an hour away from Washington D.C., Annapolis is best known for its rich colonial, African-American, and naval history. As the sailing capital of the U.S. and a vacation destination, it charms its tourists with many restaurants, museums, and galleries.

For our big 10th Anniversary festival, we are excited to be back screening in theaters. All venues are walkable within the city center and provide filmmakers with a high-quality digital presentation.

We are seeking an approximate total of 90 films to be shown March 31 - April 3, 2022. The festival is known for its quality slate and a strong line-up of both documentary and narrative films (both short and feature-length) from emerging and established filmmakers. We present a balanced program consisting of films with a common emphasis on storytelling excellence and/or innovative vision and cinematic artistry.

In addition to our commitment to screen the newest acclaimed films and premieres, we are also interested in films with nautical and environmental themes, films highlighting diverse cultures including African American, Latino, Asian and Jewish experiences as well as LGBTQ+ and women-centric perspectives.

This year we will present Jury Awards and Audience Awards for our Best Narrative Feature and Short and Best Documentary Feature and Short. A select number of films in each category will be nominated and judged by a jury of industry professionals. Juried films will be awarded for displaying exceptional creativity, originality, and skill in script, direction, acting and high-quality production values.

Past guests have included iconic director Rob Reiner (LBJ), esteemed documentarian Albert Maysles (Grey Gardens, Gimme Shelter), actress Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey), actor Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice), actor Rory Culkin (Gabriel), Independent Spirit Award-winning filmmakers Matt Spicer (Ingrid Goes West) and Joshua Marston (Come Sunday, Maria Full of Grace), Oscar-winning screenwriter David S. Ward (The Sting), and noted speaker/writer/producer Ambassador Shabazz.

Oscar-nominated actress Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient) and director Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty) were slated to attend the 2020 Opening night with their film Military Wives, but had to cancel due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. In 2021, Emmy Award winning actress Rhea Perlman participated in a virtual Q&A for the opening night screening of Marvelous and the Black Hole. Last year's award winning feature films were: Luzzu (Jury Award for Best Feature), The Perfect Candidate (Audience Award for Best Feature), Not Going Quietly (Jury Award for Best Documentary), and Holy Frit (Audience Award for Best Documentary.

The AFF continues to strengthen the reputation of our festival by bringing top films to this beautiful city and to invite filmmakers to showcase global perspectives and independent thought to a community that truly embraces the art of filmmaking. Visiting filmmakers have been thrilled with the community's response. One filmmaker claimed, "this festival has the smartest audiences and the most community engagement we have seen on the festival circuit".

The mission of the Annapolis Film Festival is to encourage and grant the development of all aspects of the creative arts in and around Annapolis through the cinema experience. With independent films, panels and special showcases that will inspire, enlighten and entertain diverse audiences on a variety of topics, the festival will ensure the promotion of Annapolis as a cultural arts center. It will also define the economic impact on the town as community engagement broadens.

Due to the ongoing struggles caused by the Covid-19 pandemic for artists and filmmakers, the Annapolis Film Festival has reduced our entry fees again this year.