For the 26th year of the Maryland Film Festival, organizers have moved the springtime stalwart to fall, with dates set in early November.

With the fall dates Nov. 5 to 9, the Baltimore event hopes “to align with the academic calendar, greatly enhancing our interaction with students and educational institutions,” the festival said in a statement Friday.

The previous springtime tradition was so ingrained that last year, Gov. Wes Moore declared May 2 to be Maryland Film Festival Day. This May 2, the festival will hold “special activities” to celebrate but didn’t announce any specific plans.

Moving the festival in accordance with the academic calendar is intended “to better engage with student filmmakers and college film programs in Baltimore and beyond,” said KJ Mohr, the new director of the festival and programming at the SNF Parkway Theatre, in the release.

The 2025 event will have a dedicated student film sidebar, Mohr said. Organizers also plan to play short films on the festival’s opening night.

The SNF Parkway Theatre at 5 W. North Ave. in Charles North will host many of the festival’s screenings, as well as panels and other events, the release says.

The film festival’s return wasn’t guaranteed either. In 2023, organizers canceled the festival and all regular screenings at the Parkway, citing financial difficulties. In the festival’s absence, the New/Next Film Festival sprang up to fill the gap and has continued.

This past year, the New/Next Film Festival ran in early October. New/Next organizers are planning a 2025 festival but haven’t announced dates yet.

The Maryland Film Festival isn’t the only classic city event changing dates this year. Artscape, one of Baltimore’s signature summer festivals, will be held over two days on Memorial Day Weekend in 2025, as opposed to its previous slots in July and August.

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