The Maryland Film Festival is back for its 18th year!

An annual five-day event that takes place in early May, the Film Fest presents top-notch film and video work from all over the world. Each year the festival screens approximately 50 feature films and 75 short films of all varieties -- narrative, documentary, animation, experimental, and hybrid.

For every North American feature film screened within the festival, a filmmaker attends the festival to present their work. The hundreds of filmmakers who have hosted screenings within Maryland Film Festival include such names as John Waters, Barry Levinson, Kathryn Bigelow, Jonathan Demme, Melvin Van Peebles, Alex Gibney, Matt Porterfield, Joe Swanberg, Lisandro Alonso, Todd Solondz, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Lena Dunham.

In addition to a wide range of contemporary N. American films, each festival also includes a sampling of cutting-edge international features, a vintage silent film with live musical accompaniment, a classic 3-D film, and a feature selected and hosted by legendary Baltimore filmmaker John Waters.

Celebrity guest hosts from outside the world of film are also invited to present favorite films, including musicians such as Ian MacKaye, Branford Marsalis, Will Oldham, Jonathan Richman, Harry Belafonte, and Bill Callahan.