FREE Virtual Film Retrospective - Best of 2019

Welcome to our Virtual Film Retrospective!

We are pleased to present ONLINE for FREE over fifteen (15) of the best films from our 2019 Columbia Film Festival, presented by Columbia Festival of the Arts, including the Best of the 48 Hour Film Festival, to provide a little entertainment, plus a sneak preview of our upcoming 2020 season. We have a unique selection of films for your enjoyment. Click on any title or image for more information about each film.

Our filmmakers have graciously agreed to participate, making their films available online from Friday, April 3rd, 2020 at 12 noon until midnight Sunday, April 5th, 2020.  Upon registration, you will receive a private link and secret password which will give you unlimited access to watch at your leisure once films are posted! We will even send you a reminder!

Thank you and Enjoy! #inItTogether
Your Columbia Film Festival and Columbia Festival of the Arts Team

ADDED NEW: TWO LIVE VIRTUAL Audience Q&A Talk Backs. Saturday April 4th 6p - Jack Gerbes, Director of the Maryland Film Office will discuss current state of the film industry and our new Virtual world. Sunday April 5th at 6pm, meet Filmmakers Matt Myslinski and Vince Eisenson to answer questions about process and their films FOUR CORNERS and HOT QUESTIONS.  Limited (40) Capacity. Register separately at https://www.showclix.com/event/virtual-film-retrospectiveuqa6JNw

Selected Short Films

Take Me To The Stars 16min 7 sec (Winner Best Student Short 2019) 

A young boy with a vivid imagination tries to understand his father while dealing with the recent loss of his mother.

Free 11 min 30 sec (Winner Best Cinematography 2019)  

Inspired by true events through the writing of Frederick Douglass, an African-American abolitionist, statesman, and social reformer.

The Pharaohs 18 min 01 sec(Audience Choice Award 2019) 

The Pharaohs is a fictional dark comedy about a woman in a senior living facility who is rejected by her former friends--a group of "mean girls"--because of her failing health

Hot Questions 8 min 42 sec

Nobody is as good at getting the truth out of suspects using a polygraph machine as Detective Dom Fante, his machine never lies.

Four Corners 24 min 

Distraught to learn that there is nowhere else in the world left to discover, accomplished explorer Nathaniel J. Lockwood frantically seeks new direction in his life.

The Charles Effect  9 min 26 sec

Charles Jones is a participant in an experiment to see if people living on the autistic spectrum (neuro-diverse) can use their special gifts to offer alternative solutions to challenges in the medical field.

Wedding Season  12 min 7 sec

The dreaded "wedding season" can be a difficult time for many.

The Tracker 22 min 47 sec

A modern day tracker with unusual abilities, AJ McLean is hired by women to find the men who have suddenly and inexplicably disappeared on them.

Desire, Obsession, Desperation 3 min 15 

An exercise in constructing cinematic tableaux, which reflects the natural progression of an experience between two subjects.

Dog Person 22 min 12 sec

A pet sitter goes to a house expecting to watch a dog but is instead greeted by a haunting man who believes himself to be a canine

Feature Documentary

The American South As We Know It  55 min 43 sec

The American South As We Know It explores the lives and experiences of African-Americans during the Jim Crow era.

Feature Film

I Like Me 82 min

In the midst of family tensions, an egocentric free spirit who hits rock bottom finds unexpected success as a self-empowerment guru after publishing a self-help book.

Special Event

The Best of the 48 Hour Film Festival  approx 60 min

A dynamic collection of some of the very best Baltimore shorts from the 48 Hour Film Project!