Baltimore Rising

Heroin King of Baltimore: The Rise and Fall of Melvin Williams

2013

Baltimore City officials asked drug kingpin Melvin Williams to stop the riots happened following Martin Luther King's assassination. After helping the authorities out, Williams was then labeled a threat, framed and incarcerated by a hypocritical society.

The Screen Painters

1988

Maryland folklorist Elaine Eff is a champion of Baltimore culture and traditions. In her documentary film The Screen Painters, she sets her sights on a much-loved Baltimore icon: the painted window screen and the artists who created them. This delightful documentary film chronicles the beginnings, the heyday, and the decline of an urban folk art unique to Baltimore -- the practice of painting landscape scenes on window and door screens. It profiles seven artists who have spent much of their lives embellishing the bricks and stones of the inner city with a touch of enchantment. The film reveals how this unpretentious art form embodies the ethnic spirit of urban America and is a testament to the need for art in daily life. -Direct Cinema Limited

Heavy Metal Parking Lot

1986 · ★ 6.9

Heavy Metal Parking Lot documents heavy metal music fans tailgating in the parking lot outside the Capital Centre (since demolished) in Landover, Maryland, on May 31, 1986, before a Judas Priest concert (with opening act Dokken).

Braddock's Road: A Legacy Unearthed

2022 · ★ 7

Built in 1755 at the height of the French and Indian War, Braddock's Road was one of the nation's most infamous military roads. Traces of this historic route, in western Maryland, still remain, buried beneath soil and brush, and a team of archaeologists is on the hunt.

Hiding in the Walls

2022

Hiding in the Walls unwinds the fraught history of lead poisoning in Baltimore and follows the adult survivors who are on a mission to reclaim the narrative.

The Last Season: The Life and Demolition of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium

2002 · ★ 9

"The Last Season" follows the stadium's last year, the fans' communal last look, the witnessing of the wrecking ball and the great fall of the Memorial Wall.

Charm City

2018 · ★ 9

During three years of unparalleled violence in Baltimore, Charm City delivers an unexpectedly candid, observational portrait of those left on the frontlines. With grit, fury, and compassion, a group of police, citizens, and government officials grapple with the consequences of violence and try to reclaim their future.

Last Days Here

2011 · ★ 7.4

Documentary follows Bobby Liebling, lead singer of seminal hard rock/heavy metal band Pentagram, as he battles decades of hard drug addiction and personal demons to try and get his life back.

Throw

2016

The story of an outsider from East Baltimore, an area challenged by gang violence and poverty. Often misunderstood, Coffin Nachtmahr found acceptance among a subculture of “throwers” and it turns out, he’s a virtuoso. He now helps others find a creative and social outlet by sharing the very toy that inspired him.

Not in Service

In cities across the U.S., public transit is an afterthought - consistently stuck behind the needs of roads and cars. Using Baltimore and its Red Line project as an example, Not in Service unwinds the realities of an urban-suburban culture war that seems to permanently stand in the way of American public transit. The film highlights the perspectives of residents, activists, and local leaders, and examines how decades of neglect created the disappointing system that exists today.

12 O'Clock Boys

2013 · ★ 6

Pug, a wisecracking 13 year old living on a dangerous Westside block, has one goal in mind: to join The Twelve O'Clock Boys; the notorious urban dirt-bike gang of Baltimore. Converging from all parts of the inner city, they invade the streets and clash with police, who are forbidden to chase the bikes for fear of endangering the public. When Pug's older brother dies suddenly, he looks to the pack for mentorship, spurred by their dangerous lifestyle. Pug's story is coupled with unprecedented, action-packed coverage of the riders in their element. The film presents the pivotal years of change in a boy's life growing up in one of the most dangerous and economically depressed cities in the US.

Historic Maryland

1941 · ★ 7

This Traveltalk series short highlights such Maryland destinations as Baltimore, Johns Hopkins, Annapolis, and Fort McHenry.