MPT recognizes the importance of local and independent filmmakers and their unique ability to capture truths about the world with artistic integrity, intelligence, and balance. MPT supports these artists and gives viewers access to their voices and viewpoints. These producers' programs provide viewers with a better understanding of the world, an open door to the arts, and actionable information to improve their daily lives.

Welcome, producers! Please scroll to the bottom of this page for special information about submitting your work or program ideas to MPT.

Deconstructing the Beatles -  Ep. 6 - The Beatles Go East
Saturday, April 20th @ 7:30pm (premiere)

Even more than 50 years since the band broke up, The Beatles' influence endures, thanks to songs and records that continue to captivate audiences of all ages. As with all classic works of art, these masterpieces keep revealing new and surprising elements the closer we look. Producer/composer/entrepreneur/educator Scott Freiman dives deeply into the creative process behind these timeless records, taking us on an educational, entertaining journey through the development of the Beatles' classic songs and records, and of the band itself. The season finale explores the influence of Eastern music and philosophy on The Beatles' music and lives.

Eroding History

Monday, April 22nd @ 9pm (premiere); Tuesday, April 23rd @ 1:30am and 4:30am

"Eroding History"tells the story of two Black communities on Maryland's Deal Island Peninsula that are losing their land and their history due to the intersection of historical racism and modern climate change. Black people are often on the lowest land because that was the only land that was available to them. On the Eastern Shore, where everything is low, the lowest spot is a dangerous place. Rising water, saltwater intrusion, and marsh migration are endangering Black land at a rapid pace.

A River Called Home

Wednesday, April 24th @ 7pm  (premiere); Thursday, April 25th @ 12am

The journey of four women who launch at the headwaters of the James River in Virginia and paddle to the Chesapeake Bay. For three weeks, the team faces challenges in their journey downstream, including whitewater rapids and a river with a history of pollution. Along the way, the team conducts a water quality study, asking how our waterways are being protected and what more we have left to do.

A Passion for Oysters

Wednesday, April 24th @ 7:30pm  (premiere); Thursday, April 25th @ 12:30am and 4am

The humble oyster has inspired shooting wars, piracy, social and environmental conflict, and libraries of legislation for more than two centuries. The conflicts continue today, even with oyster populations reduced to 1% of their historical bounty. Within a few dozen square miles of its lower sections where it meets the Chesapeake, the Choptank River contains all the pieces of the oyster puzzle.  This film explores the  challenges oysters present for protection and restoration unique among Bay seafood, and  evokes the history, and cultures, the art and science surrounding the Chesapeake oyster, with an eye to explaining the roots of the never-ending conflict over its existence.

Salted Earth

Wednesday, April 24th @ 8:30pm  (premiere); Thursday, April 25th @ 1:30am

Following an intrepid team of scientists on their journey though the brackish waters of climate change, "Salted Earth" plunges us into the heart of an invisible and creeping crisis that's transforming the Mid-Atlantic: the inexorable rise of sea levels. This hard-hitting, yet tenderly woven, 20-minute documentary paints a vivid picture of an escalating environmental catastrophe, where the threat is not just the swelling sea, but the encroaching salt that kills forests and decimates arable land.  It could also signal a return to the natural order of the Atlantic Coast.

Rob & the Litter Buggie

Wednesday, April 24th @ 8:50pm  (premiere)

Maryland filmmaker Rob Simmons set out to ride 15 miles of Caroline County backroads on his bike to see just how much litter has been left alongside the roads.

Reviving the Forgotten River

Friday, April 26th @ 7:30pm (premiere)

The Anacostia River, nicknamed "DC’s forgotten river," is an infamously polluted tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. One of only three US rivers to be legally "impaired by trash," it is also plagued by toxic contaminants and sewage outflows. But after years of work from local activists, progress for the river's restoration is being made - so much that the Anacostia may soon be swimmable for the first time in over half a century.

LIFT - Connecting Humanity

Sunday, April 28th @ 9am

An exploration of the world of modern philanthropy through the inspiring stories of  a diverse collection of selfless people across the world who have devoted themselves to lifting the lives of others.

APRIL LOCAL ENCORES ( All CBW-related)

Bayou City - Wednesday, April 24th @ 8:13 PM

Cold-Stunned - Friday, April 26th @ 10:45 PM; Saturday, April 27th @ 2:45 AM

Oysterfest*  - Thursday, April 25th @ 9:30 PM; Friday, April 26th @ 1:30 AM and 4:30 AM

Power of the Paddle - Thursday, April 25th @ 10:30 PM; Friday, April 26th @ 2:30 AM

Science Matters: Backyard Bay Savers in the City  - Saturday, April 27th @ 11:30 AM

Tidewater - Thursday, April 25th @ 10:00 PM; Friday, April 26th @ 2:00 AM

Troubled Tributary: Maryland's Patuxent River - Monday, April 22nd @ 10:00 PM; Tuesday, April 23rd @ 2:00 AM

Upstream, Downriver - Monday, April 22nd @ 10:30 PM; Tuesday, April 23rd @ 2:30 AM 

Water's Way: Thinking Like a Watershed- Friday, April 26th @ 10:00 PM; Saturday, April 27th @ 2:00 AM

*This is a festival of 3 short local films about oysters: Lifeline: A Chesapeake Oyster Documentary; The Incredible Oyster Reef; and The Local Oyster Stout.

APRIL NATIONAL ENCORE

The Gettysburg Story
Sunday, April 7th @ 8pm (MPT-2/Create)

Over three days in 1863, war-weary Union and Confederate soldiers met at a backwater Pennsylvania crossroads to decide the fate of the nation. Through cutting edge cinematography that reveals the grand scale of the 6,000-acre battlefield,The Gettysburg Story tells the epic tale of the bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil and the greatest man-made disaster in American history.  Narrated by actor Stephen Lang, the documentary recounts the pivotal events and intimate stories from the iconic Civil War battle immortalized in Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address."