MD Film Festival: A celebration of film

Years ago, before she became president of Breakaway Ltd. in Hunt Valley, Deb Tillett worked on two films that were shot here in Baltimore: The Seduction of Joe Tynan, starring Alan Alda, and Justice for All, starring Al Pacino.

The films were in the can but not yet released, and she found herself typing up more than 1,000 W-2s.

It was amazing the number of jobs these two films created in Baltimore, says Tillett, remembering the awful job of having to type carbon copies on an electric typewriter.

When even a small film is shot in Baltimore, as many as 400 vendors are used, says Jed Dietz, director of the Maryland Film Festival, and that doesn't count hotel rooms and meals.

Several films have been made in Baltimore. Enemy of the State, starring Will Smith, was a major film, and there have been others.

One more recent (and forgettable) film was Red Dragon. I can remember a lot of streets being closed during the filming, and I also remember the excitement at my accountant's office when they rolled a flaming wheelchair down the hill that connects St. Paul Place and North Calvert Street.

Barry Levinson has memorialized Baltimore many times in such films as Avalon, Tin Man and Diner.

John Waters also has produced some great films here in Baltimore. Hair Spray has now become a huge Broadway hit. And who can forget the crime TV series, Homicide? HBO's award-winning The Wire is just about to begin shooting its third season, making it the third series about the underbelly of Baltimore street life.

Yes, films bring big bucks to the cities where they are produced, and Maryland and Baltimore are fighting to get their share.

Another culture phenomenon that can (and does) bring big business to a town is a film festival. Leigh Von Der Esch, executive director of the Utah Film Commission and chair of the Sundance Film Festival Committee for nine years, can definitely attest to the revenues that have come into Utah.

Having worked with the Sundance Film Festival since its inception, I have watched the evolution and expansion of a world class event, she says.

The Sundance Film Festival brings over 14,000 industry-related professionals to the state over the 10-day event and most recently has meant over $40 million in revenue in the state for the 10 days it is held in Park City, Utah, with screenings in other venues around the state.

The Sundance Film Festival has made Utah synonymous with film, she said. It has also provided an enormous marketing opportunity for our Film Commission.

Furthermore, she points out, it has led to projects that may have been planned for shooting in other areas, utilizing Utah as a location instead. For example, producer Roland Emmerich came to Sundance.

He called our office to see if he could scout with us for a day during the festival, recalls Von Der Esch.

Six months later Independence Day was shooting in Utah.

Jed Dietz, the director of the Maryland Film Festival, has been working for years to make this film festival one of the premier events on the East Coast.

His marketing experience and MBA from the University of Rochester have helped him start a venture capital business for film development. When his wife, a pediatrician, was offered a position at prestigious John Hopkins Hospital, Dietz came to Baltimore and brought his business.

Baltimore seemed to be a perfect place to make films. There were all kinds of neighborhoods, and the countryside wasn't far away, but for some reason the Maryland Film Commission had very little funding.

I was curious why there wasn't more film activity in Maryland, recalls Dietz.

So, he created a nonprofit organization called The Producer's Club of Maryland to solicit donations for the Maryland Film Commission Office. Curiously, nobody thought of a film as an economic engine bringing revenue and jobs to the city. There was support from private and public sector but things started slowly.

When you're talking about a truck plant, it's all about the economics, explains Dietz. When you talk about films, it's all about the glamour; the economics get lost.

Dietz and his compatriots at the Maryland Film Office decided that Maryland needed a film festival. It was hard work raising sponsors and getting films for that first festival, but in April of 1999, the first Maryland Film Festival was held at the Charles Theater, which has become such a popular site for independent films.

It was really a coincidence, says Buzz Cusack, the owner and developer of the Charles Theater. I had bought the theater, and completely renovated it with the idea of showing 'indies.' The Maryland Film Festival was the first event we ever had. It was a fitting start to our ventures.

Since then, Dietz and his dedicated staff at their small East Read Street headquarters have worked diligently to pull off one film festival after another.

In addition, they have put together The Maryland Regional Production Guide, an impressive directory listing everything about film in Baltimore. This is an invaluable tool for scouts for film, TV or commercials.

This year's Maryland Film Festival will be May 6 though May 9. During these four days more than 150 films will be shown. Several million dollars will be spent in Baltimore.

Dietz is proud of what everyone has done.

Filmmakers love Baltimore and we're gaining momentum, he says proudly. In the past year, three Academy-Award nominees have visited Baltimore because of us. At last year's festival, we introduced such notable films as 'Capturing the Friedmans,' 'Whalerider' and 'My Architect.'

It's not an easy job.

You know, there aren't too many communities that can pull this off, Dietz proudly points out.

Other states and cities are working hard to develop their own film festivals. The TriBeCa Film Festival was used as a means to help rejuvenate the lower tip of Manhattan after 9/11.

Our biggest challenge, says Dietz, is capital - getting it to help stay on filmmakers' radar.

But there is a plus.

When a film festival hits critical mass, sponsors come from outside the community, Dietz explains.

And this means revenue and jobs for Baltimore and Maryland.

Neil R. G. Young, CLU, ChFC, is president of Young & Company, a financial planning firm in Lutherville. If you have any comments or questions, you can send him an e-mail at neil@yco.com or call at 410- 494-7766. The Web site is http://www.yco.com.

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