5 Films to See at the 2025 Maryland Film Festival

Though traditionally held in the spring, the 2025 Maryland Film Festival (MdFF) takes place in the fall, running November 5-9 (in 2026, it returns to the spring, with dates in April). Its home is Baltimore’s restored Parkway Theater. Over the course of 5 days, the event will present 134 short films and 29 features. In addition, the festival includes a CineTech program of 11 works of emerging media. All information about all screenings (and how to get tickets) is available on the MdFF website.

Among the feature-length screenings are older films such as John Waters’ 1970 Multiple Maniacs, Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 Paths of Glory (hosted by David Simon), and Daniel Klein’s 2003 Taste the Revolution, starring Mahershala Ali in his first big-screen role. Each collection of short films is grouped by theme, with examples such as: All Ages Shorts, Amuse Bouche Shorts, Animated Shorts, “Diverging Forms” Shorts, Late Night Shorts, Maryland Marvels Shorts, “Resilience” Documentary Shorts, Scared Silly Shorts, Student Shorts for Adults, Student Shorts for Everyone, and more. A quick glance at the offerings show something for every taste and interest.

Nevertheless, we each must make our choices, and the below list of five films reflects some of mine. I have seen one of them before (and so excerpt from that review), but the rest are new to me. I look forward to watching those on the ground.

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All That’s Left of You (Cherien Dabis)

Palestinian American actress and filmmaker Cherien Dabis (Amreeka) debuted her latest feature, All That’s Left of You, at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The Jordanian entry for Best International Feature Film for the 2026 Academy Awards, the movie tells the story of one Palestinian family’s journey across three generations of the longstanding conflicts with Israel. There is no shortage of narratives about the struggles of Palestinians these days—and with good reason—but this one looks to be especially powerful.

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Coroner to the Stars (Ben Hethcoat/Keita Ideno) [excerpted from my Hammer to Nail review]

Born in Japan in 1927, Dr. Thomas Noguchi emigrated to the United States in 1952, eventually becoming a forensic pathologist and then the Deputy Medical Examiner at the Los Angeles County Chief Medical Examiner Coroner’s Office. In 1967, he was made Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner. Dubbed the “Coroner to the Stars” (given who lives in that county), Noguchi is the subject of the eponymous documentary from directors Ben Hethcoat and Keita Ideno (making their feature debuts). Both he and the film prove thoroughly engaging.

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Idiotka (Nastasya Popov)

Writer/director Nastasya Popov’s first feature, Idiotka premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival. Set in West Hollywood’s Russian community, it follows protagonist Margarita as she competes in a reality show. I’m primarily interested in this because of my own previous background, prior to studying film, as a Russian specialist, but I also very much enjoyed lead actress Anna Baryshnikov in last year’s Love Lies Bleeding.

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Listen to Me (Stéphanie Etienne/Kanika Harris)

A Baltimore-based documentary that centers Black women’s challenges in childbirth within the biased American medical system, Listen to Me—from filmmakers Stéphanie Etienne and Kanika Harris—stitches together three separate stories into one larger drama about survival and strength. Among the cinematographers is the great Bradford Young (Arrival), who also serves as an Executive Producer. Should be both moving and beautiful.

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Ricky (Rashad Frett)

Another film that premiered at Sundance, Ricky stars Stephan James (21 Bridges) in the titular role, with Sheryl Lee Ralph (The Fabulous Four) and Titus Welliver (Amazon’s Bosch series) providing support. An expansion of writer/director Rashad Frett’s eponymous 2023 short, the movie offers a portrait of a man—incarcerated as a teen—fresh out of prison in his thirties. I’m here for the cast.