< Back Terra Luna A scientist working alone finds herself in a situation...something is not right... Annie is the lone inhabitant of a lunar research facility with nobody to talk to but the AI robot programmed to monitor her health and annoy her. In the midst of her increasing loneliness, she discovers something on her computer that changes everything. https://www.lentzfilm.com/terraluna Previous Next

< Back The Ugly Chickens Upon learning that the supposedly extinct dodo bird might still exist, ornithology professor Paula Linberl sets out on a cross-country expedition to unravel the mystery. Starring Felicia Day, the film is an adaptation of the late Howard Waldrop's award winning story about the unexpected discovery of the last living dodos in rural America. This powerful narrative of one person’s quest to discover the truth about the dodo deeply resonates with Producer George RR Martin’s own passion for conservation and the groundbreaking de-extinction work of pioneers like Colossal Bioscience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU6S-K5ugk8 Previous Next

Short Film Presentations Balticon 60 Film Festival Winners First Place: "The Ugly Chickens" Second Place: "A Bear Named Wojtek" Third Place: "Star Quest!" A Bear Named Wojtek Displaced by World War II, a troop of Polish soldiers find an inseparable bond with an orphaned brown bear they name Wojtek. Read more Bear Portrait A music video for the Shipmate’s Music song, Bear Portrait. Read more Beyond the Score When a conductor of the stars tries to enforce order, an innovative star leads him to discover the beauty of creativity within structure. Read more Give My Regards A Starship Crew with a fondness for Musical Theatre is in danger. Read more Star Quest! An aging actor (Patrick Bergin) in hospice reflecting on his favorite role of Starship Captain meets a 9 year old cancer patient who is a faithful fan. Read more Help Me Tom Set in a small town in the future, a military robot is transformed into a human service robot Tom. But the war is still coming, and the robot Tom must make a choice. Read more How to Prepare for Time Travelers in the Workplace A quirky set of safety guidelines for encountering time-traveling infiltrators in your workplace, presented by the Organization for Time Travel Oversight. Read more Life On Mars The first human landing on Mars does not go as expected Read more The Lights Above Months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, a series of unidentified aircraft sightings over Los Angeles lead a determined journalist to reluctantly pair up with a Japanese American photographer to prevent another attack. Read more Terra Luna A scientist working alone finds herself in a situation...something is not right... Read more Love_Proxy A love story in a world where a person can stay in many places at the same time thanks to a new invention of a robot-doppeller. Read more Sleep|Walking In a Dystopian Earth 600 years in the future a lone Sleeper awakens to a now unpopulated earth and with the help of the last working orbital AI satellite... Read more The Beneath A mystery begins in a young woman's garden; something is alive and running amuck. Read more The Visitor A failing actress is haunted by a silent double that seems intent on taking her place—forcing her to confront what it means to be seen, remembered, or erased. Read more Pearls Tony and Linda are struggling to grow their family. When Tony is forced to face his fertility issues, he turns to a mysterious oyster dealer. Read more Are You A Human Being Lucie and Jean-Michel grapple with an existential crisis and a computer crash. In this dark comedy blending poetry and artificial intelligence, they search for meaning. Read more Weird to Be Human The year is 2194. Transfers between the digital and physical worlds are routine. In specialized facilities, bodies are cultivated for artificial intelligences seeking human form. At one such facility, an officer from the Department of Embodiments arrives to speak with a being completing its transformation. Read more The Ugly Chickens Upon learning that the supposedly extinct dodo bird might still exist, ornithology professor Paula Linberl sets out on a cross-country expedition to unravel the mystery. Read more Honorable Mention "Snow Bear" Hand drawn animation. (This film will not be shown in the Film Festival.) Read more

< List of Vendors Maryland Writers' Association Dealer's Room MWA's diverse membership ranges from professional freelancers and published authors, to writers aspiring to be published and those who write as a creative outlet. Members produce both nonfiction and fiction, including novels, short stories, poetry, plays, scripts, speeches, feature articles, and essays. Some work in specific genres such as romance, science fiction, thriller, fantasy, children's literature, travel writing, or biography. MWA strives to: Bring together aspiring, emerging, and established writers of all genres and disciplines Serve as an information and networking resource Help members make contacts that lead to publication Encourage writers to reach their full potential, and Promote writing within Maryland communities The Maryland Writers' Association (MWA) is a voluntary, not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting the art, business, and craft of writing in all its forms. https://marylandwriters.org/index.php

< Back Christiana Ellis Literary Author Christiana is an engineer, podcaster, writer and streamer from the Boston area. She is the author of the fantasy novel, "Nina Kimberly the Merciless", the creator and star of award-winning audio drama "Space Casey", the Dungeon Master of the "So Many Levels" D&D Stream, and the podcaster behind more projects you can shake a stick at. Most recently, she is the author of the slipstream noir novel: "Phyllis Esposito: Interdimensional Private Eye". Other Socials

< List of Vendors Caezik SF & Fantasy Dealer's Room Caezik SF & Fantasy publishes exciting new fiction in the speculative fiction genre by well-known or new authors An award-winning small press based in Rockville, Maryland. http://arcmanorbooks.com

< Back Sarah Avery Literary Author Sarah Avery's first book, Tales from Rugosa Coven, won the 2015 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. Her short fiction has appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Nowa Fantastyka, Space and Time, Fantasy Scroll, and Black Gate, where she was also a regular contributor on series fantasy and teaching fantasy literature. With David Sklar, she coedited the Trafficking in Magic, Magicking in Traffic anthology. Thanks to a hundred-odd (and perhaps also just plain odd) Kickstarter backers, you can read her novella, The Imlen Brat. Grants from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County helped her to design and release much of her short fiction backlist in ebook form. An escaped academic, she lives in Maryland. Other Socials

< Back Dr. Gillian Polack Literary Author Dr Gillian Polack is an award-winning Jewish Australian speculative fiction writer. She was the 2020 recipient of the A. Bertram Chandler (lifetime achievement in science fiction) award. Her most recent novel is The Green Children Help Out. Her next (much-delayed) novel will be released in 2025 and contains chocolate. In 2023, her short story from Other Covenants was a finalist for the Sidewise Award, which is wildly appropriate because she is also an ethnohistorian with a special interest in how story transmits culture, both Medieval and modern. Her current research is into how Modern western Germany sees its Jewish past, and also into what speculative fiction novels tell us about world building. Her study of culture in speculative fiction, Story Matrices: Cultural Encoding and Cultural Baggage in the Worlds of Science Fiction and Fantasy was released in 2022. Gillian and her books can be found on much social media under her own name. Other Socials

< Back Naomi S. Literary Author Naomi S. is a writer, crafter, and mother of twins (one of which is a self-proclaimed dragon). She resides in Maryland where she fills her crazy life with work, and her non-existent spare time with too many crafting projects, collecting random crafting items and tools (a totally different hobby than crafting), reading, and writing. Other Socials

< List of Vendors Art By Brittany Cole Dealer's Room About The Artist Brittany Cole I am a self taught artist. I love to paint whimsical, vibrant pieces that make people smile. I work mostly with acrylic but I tend to dabble in other media for short bits here and there. Random fun facts: I’m a total nerd that loves to play Dungeons and Dragons. If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life it would be sushi. My favorite color is pink. My art goal is to make people smile when they look at my work. Original fantasy, sci fi and whimsical art and art prints. http://www.artbybrittanycole.com

< Back A Bear Named Wojtek Displaced by World War II, a troop of Polish soldiers find an inseparable bond with an orphaned brown bear they name Wojtek. A Bear Named Wojtek brings to life the extraordinary true story of a Syrian brown bear adopted by Polish soldiers during World War II. This half-hour animated short follows Wojtek from the Persian Desert to the Battle of Monte Cassino, where he becomes both a soldier and a symbol of resilience. As the soldiers forge an unbreakable bond with Wojtek, the film explores themes of friendship, identity, and the search for belonging in times of upheaval. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Er-xDtXnw Previous Next

< Back Gail Z. Martin Literary Author Gail Z. Martin writes epic fantasy, urban fantasy & more for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, and Falstaff Books. Series include Darkhurst, Assassins of Landria, the Chronicles Of The Necromancer, the Fallen Kings Cycle, the Ascendant Kingdoms, Deadly Curiosities & the Night Vigil. The Spells Salt and Steel, Joe Mack Adventures & Wasteland Marshals series & Iron & Blood are co-authored with Larry N. Martin. She also writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance as Morgan Brice, including the Witchbane, Badlands, Treasure Trail, Fox Hollow, Sharps & Springfield, and Kings of the Mountains series. Other Socials