Dramas, Docs and Shorts in Annapolis

Childs, 38, also directed and produced "The Shovel," which he adapted from a Steve Hamilton short story. He has created corporate films for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company and written scripts for HBO Films.

"The overall thing to me is that you work hard but there is sheer dumb luck," Childs said. "Having all the actors makes such a difference. They are huge actors. When they sign on, you feel lucky."

'Murder Game'

Baltimore filmmaker Robert Harari is a fan of horror films, so he decided to make one for fun. It also was a way for Harari, 30, to break into the competitive and highly saturated film industry.

"Horror is the path that is most likely to give you success early on, because there is a huge market for it," he said.

In his first feature film, a group of teenagers play a game in which murder is the object. The movie includes the standard elements -- blood, gore, suspense and even a spooky, troubled teen.

"Murder Game" has appeared in genre-specific film festivals including the Freak Show Horror Film Festival in Hollywood, Fla., Terror Film Festival in Philadelphia and Salem Independent Horror Film Festival in Salem, Mass. Annapolis is the first non-horror festival to showcase the film.

"My film is very genre specific. The fact that Annapolis accepted it is a huge honor," Harari said.

'Across the Hall'

Producer Gary Gimelfarb said he was lucky with his film "Across the Hall." Unlike most independent filmmakers, Gimelfarb, 28, secured funding for his suspenseful short before it hit the festival circuit.

It has won awards at the Red Bank, Harlem, Palm Springs, Chicago and San Francisco film festivals. Gimelfarb and director Alex Merkin said they never received that kind of exposure when they were creating music videos.

"The film festival circuit has given us a lot of exposure to cross over into feature films. A lot of studios have contacted us offering us other projects," Gimelfarb said.