From filmmakers in China, Iran and Italy to filmmakers in Greenbelt, Hyattsville and Takoma Park, 39 compelling works from near and far will screen at this year’s Utopia Film Festival, October 18 to 20. Venues include the historic Greenbelt Cinema, New Deal Café and the Greenbelt Firehouse.
The Festival, now in its 21st year, is sponsored by Greenbelt Access Television and a host of community businesses and supporters.
“Over this brief weekend, you will be entertained, educated and touched by a variety of stories which have come to us from literally around the world,” commented Utopia’s Executive Director Chris Haley. This year’s films include environmental and political documentaries, feature films about the drama inherent in human relationships, the preservation and passing-on of traditional skills, the contributions of Black activists and transformational personal journeys.
With political protest on just about everyone’s mind, the documentary Projecting Protest explores a recent dimension in fighting back: activists who use “guerrilla light projection” to express political views on the blank screens of public buildings and other sites. The new devices are affordable and, so far, the practice is largely unregulated by law.
Fighting to preserve the environment continues to compel independent filmmakers. This year’s selections include The Snake and the Whale, about the potential extinction ‒ due to overfishing and dams ‒ of a species of highly intelligent whale found along coastal Washington state, and the loss of salmon which the whales need to survive.
Another documentary, Citizen Ruth: Environmental Warrior, focuses on the life and environmental preservation battles fought by 96-year-old Ruth Wright of Boulder, Colo. Indonesian activist Rukka Sombolinggi is profiled in The Congress about her mission to confront the climate crisis by mobilizing indigenous communities in her country.
A number of this year’s films, including A Break in the Rain featuring Hollywood actor Michael O’Keefe, explore the complexities of human and familial relationships. The film is about a two-week road trip shared by a grieving limo driver and a singer which spurs a deeper relationship. The film Cameron was a Red Wings Fan looks at the story of the complicated reunion of siblings following the death of their estranged father. I Exist tells the story of a boy’s compassion for a hard-of-hearing classmate.
Maryland’s Black history is explored in the documentary Justice and Reconciliation: From Henry Highland Garnet to Harvey Johnson, which focuses on two Marylanders at the forefront of pushing for legal justice and cultural reconciliation for African Americans.
Another Marylander is the subject of Greenbelt filmmaker Lawrence Hawkins in The Hawkins STEM Chronicles: Elizabeth Ellicott Lea, Agent of STEM. Not only did Elizabeth Ellicott Lea, a 19th century author, write the first Maryland cookbook, her work made a pioneering contribution to the world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Contemporary Marylanders are featured in several short films about preserving Maryland folklife traditions through personal mentoring and events like the annual soapbox derby featured in Heritage Award: Frostburg Derby Day, when kids race homemade derby cars down Frostburg’s Main Street. Black Doll Making Folklife Apprenticeship, Sharecropper-style Quilting Folklife Apprenticeship and Kitchen Gardening Folklife Apprenticeship demonstrate how traditional crafts and kitchen skills can be handed down.
For schedule information, see the Utopia ad in this week’s paper. For more detailed Festival information, visit utopiafilmfestival.org online.
