(Enlarge) One of the animated sequences in the featured documentary “Blind Love” offers a fanciful vision of one interviewee’s words.

The 11th annual Maryland Film Festival brings the world of film -- and then some -- to Baltimore this weekend.

There will be more than 40 feature-length fictional films and documentaries, 80 short films, panel discussions and additional events attracting film buffs to the Charles Theatre, Maryland Institute College of Art and University of Baltimore (see map, following page).

For a sense of the independent visions permeating this festival, you can rely upon the opening night program of short films by mainly young filmmakers from all over the world. It takes place Thursday, May 7, at 8 p.m. at the Maryland Institute College of Art's Brown Center.

Hosting this opening event is an established name, comedian Bobcat Gold-thwait, who also has an amusingly titled short film of his own on the evening's program: "Goldthwait Home Movies!"

If you can't get enough of the comic, Goldthwait also gives local audiences an early look at his new feature-length comedy, "World's Greatest Dad," starring Robin Williams. It screens Saturday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Charles.

The opening night program also shines a spotlight on short films typically made on a shoestring. The festival then builds to a closing night program that couldn't provide more of a contrast. It's a big-budget, mainstream Hollywood movie.

Director Kathryn Bigelow returns to the public eye to introduce her new film drama here. It's titled "The Hurt Locker," and it's a tense work of fiction about the American soldiers who specialize in defusing roadside bombs in Iraq. This screening will be Sunday, May 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the Charles Theatre. "The Hurt Locker" gets its nationwide commercial release in June.

It's always worth checking out these opening and closing programs to see what the festival has flagged as something special -- and also as a way to enjoy the accompanying parties.

Big name guests

The many films sandwiched between Thursday night and Sunday night include return appearances by the two filmmakers most closely associated with Baltimore: native sons Barry Levinson and John Waters.

Levinson presents his brand-new documentary film, "Poliwood," which he shot during the 2008 Democratic and Republican presidential conventions. It has been described as a film essay about the merger of media and celebrity. The film's celebrity subjects include Matthew Modine, Ellen Burstyn and Anne Hathaway. "Poliwood" screens Sunday, May 10, at 5 p.m. at the Charles.

John Waters does not show his own movies at the festival, but instead returns each year to host a film that he finds to be of unusual interest. His choice this year is French director Christophe Honore's 2007 "Love Songs," an edgy romantic story with music that stars Chiara Mastroianni. It has been described as the anti-"Umbrellas of Cherbourg," and screens Friday, May 8 at 7 p.m. at the Charles.

Subtitles, no extra charge

The many remaining documentaries and fictional films are quite an assortment, with foreign films representing a larger share than in any previous edition of the festival.

Among documentaries, some to consider are Slovakian director Juraj Lehotsky's "Blind Love," about the love lives of blind people; French director Agnes Varda ("Cleo from 5 to 7"), with the autobiographical "Beaches of Agnes"; director Mai Iskander's "Garbage Dreams," about a community of Egyptian garbage collectors living on the outskirts of Cairo; and musician Ian MacKaye of the band Fugazi introducing a rare screening of the 1992 documentary "Nina Simone: La Legende."

Also on the documentary front, Marshall Curry's "Racing Dreams," about teen-aged go-kart drivers; and Wendy Keys' "Milton Glaser: to Inform and Delight," about the influential American graphic designer.

Of the fictional films, surely one of the most disturbing comes from Rwanda: director Lee Isaac Chung's "Munyurangabo," concerning two teen-aged friends traveling through a country ravaged by ethnic tensions.

Eduardo Sanchez, who co-wrote and co-directed "The Blair Witch Project," has a ghost story, "Seventh Moon," about a couple whose honeymoon in China takes a horrible turn.

Other features to consider include South Korean director So Yong Kim's story about two kids, "Treeless Mountain"; English director Shane Meadows ("This Is England") with the tale of two young outcasts titled "Somers Town"; and director Joe Swanberg's "Alexander the Last," about an actress whose career and marriage are tested by her tangled relationships.

The festival's annual 3-D presentation is the 1953 thriller "Inferno"; and its annual silent movie with live musical accompaniment by the Alloy Orchestra is Soviet director Dziga Vertov's remarkable 1929 documentary "Man with a Movie Camera."

The Maryland Film Festival runs May 7- 10 at the Charles Theatre, Maryland Institute College of Art and University of Baltimore. Tickets are $65 for the opening night short films and party; $25 for the closing night screening of "The Hurt Locker" and party; and $15 for the Alloy Orchestra with "Man with a Movie Camera." Individual ticket prices for all other movies are $10, $8 for senior citizens and students. Call 410-752-8083 or go to www.mdfilmfest.com.

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