Read Street: Edgar Allan Poe: a fresh look on film - A blog for a community of readers, in Baltimore and beyond.

Baltimore's celebration of Edgar Allan Poe continues this week with a film festival at the Baltimore Museum of Art (which also has an exhibition of Poe-inspired art). The Baltimore Sun's Chris Kaltenbach detailed “A Cinematic Celebration of Edgar Allan Poe,” a free event that features works by more than a dozen area filmmakers and begins at 8 pm. on Dec. 4 and 11. Here's an excerpt from his article:

Put together in cooperation with the 48 Hour Film Project, a competition that regularly challenges participants to make short films with an emphasis on speed and ingenuity, BMA officials saw this as a handy film component for their exhibition, “Edgar Allan Poe: A Baltimore Icon.”

Given Poe’s reputation as an early master of the short story, using him and his work as the inspiration for an evening of short films seemed a natural.

“This gave us the opportunity to engage some really significant people in the Baltimore art scene,” says Preston Bautista, the BMA’s director of public programs. “I think Poe is sort of right for this material. My goal is that this would be a local, contemporary take on Poe.”

Although organized through the 48 Hour Film Project, the Poe program bends its rules slightly. Normally, participating filmmakers sign up and have just two days to make their film, which must include a common line of dialogue or prop. For the Poe films, organizers sought out some of the area’s more established filmmakers, who were then given a theme (“Love & Loss,” “Fear & Terror” and “Madness & Obsession,” the same themes represented in the BMA exhibit), a character and a line of dialogue to include in their finished work. While all films were shot over the last month, filmmakers were welcome to use more than 48 hours to put everything together.

Comments

what does that mean? remember personal info? what personal info?

anyway:

Great article on Poe in the NYTimes- was it today? I believe- 12/1 and a new exhibit at the Poe Museum in Richmond- not to b missed-

I liked its take on Poe which was that he was something of a modernist- he poo pooed the transcendentalists and was himself, an obsessed- disturbed writer- maybe like Allen Ginsburg- without the politics.

I say Kum By Yah between B more, Philly and Richmond re Poe- we can ALL claim him.

And I still think authors- even the greatest-except for we poets- and too few of us!- shy away from the deeply honest subjects of sex and politics and death. They shouldn't. Writers of prose- like Poe, like Kleist or Joyce- they deal with honesty more- stuff we really don't want to hear.

Do you realise we are all going to lose all of our friends and loved ones?...the magnificence, perhaps OF DEATH. I think abt mine more and more.

I know this gets off the point a bit- but- what is happening around us- like war- that is "negative"- or poverty- we do not want to hear about it.

We'd rather read romance and mystery authors or Sarah Palin.
Yrs, HL Mencken Jr.

But I do like to escape to poet Wallace Stevens!

Posted by: david eberhardt | December 1, 2009 11:43 AM