- Logline: In 1996, a group of promising Baltimore teenage actors were chosen to become the next generation of stars. Twenty-five years later, one friend uncovers what happened to their lost dreams.
- Is all the world a stage? Perhaps when played together. At Baltimore School for the Arts, they had one dream: to be an actor. Nearly 20 years later, this eclectic tight-knit high school theatre ensemble redefines "the journey" through their hilarious and often heart-breaking lives in a genre-bending, docu-fiction film questioning the meaning of accomplishments and successes to find out what life really is all about.
- Eleven characters. One dream. Endless choices and paths. Is it the journey or the destination?
Fall 1996. The first class of the millennium tread through the double doors of Baltimore's old, fancy Alcazar Hotel past its winding staircase into the ballroom with its hanging chandelier and stage now turned homeroom and into one of the nation's top arts high schools for their first day of class. They are the top 10%. These freshmen know they are a privileged few, many feeling anxious and unworthy, others feeling confident and self-assured, but none having any idea how these next four years would mold and shape them and their lives forever.
Over the next four years, they would learn how to speak, walk, eat and relate to people in all new ways. They would kiss boys, try drugs and alcohol, skip school, have abortions, get mugged, break legs and hearts, learn French, star in plays and movies. But, most importantly, they would learn intimate details about their lives, grow closer and become the best of friends.
Just like every graduating class, they are burdened with the hopes and fears of what is to come, but with an extra layer....they have a drive to be successful in one of the most elusive and hard to break into dreams in the world...show business. And just like all the rest, they would promise to keep in touch after graduation. The major difference? This group did and through it all.
What if all their hopes and dreams had come true? Which path did they end up taking?
This film will take you down two paths for each character: the one their 18 year old self thought they would go on, and the path that actually happened without the audience knowing which is real or not (See "How will it be done" for more info).
One was the charismatic star who landed huge roles in The Wire, The Corner right out of high school and got into Juilliard. On one path, he struggles to overcome bi-polar and drug addiction and on the other, his star continues to rise but what does he have to give up?
Another was a quirky, empathetic daughter of a social worker and a musician who commingled with the infamous LAByrinth Theatre under Phillip Seymour Hoffman and John Patrick Shanley - did she use her gifts to become one of the nation's most prominent drama therapists or did she get swept up in the shadows of the men she studied under?
An ambitious but practical girl went to BSA to escape private school, only to find that it was truly destiny. Post-school led to a failed relationship that ended in abortion. Did this journey lead her back to church, a new husband, marriage coaching, and to become a deacon? Or did she succumb to depression and an eating disorder?
The film culminates with a birthday party, a wedding, and their huge 20th high school reunion where the pressure is on to see if they took the right path after all...or if the pressure of success was only ever in their own minds. There is also a surprising twist where we see how deep the filmmaker's attachment to this project actually goes.
A Baltimore Dream is a docu-fiction film that explores our obsession with the American dream by chronicling the ups, downs, and what if's of the 2000 graduating theater ensemble of BSA. It not only explores the paths these characters took, but the paths they didn't take (à la Sliding Doors). Expertly mixing reality with fantasy (à la Stories We Tell), A Baltimore Dream challenges our notion of living the dream, examines what bonds are the most important, and gives us all a fearless battle cry to go after all of our dreams with gusto while never forgetting those around you.
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By what name was Through the Eyes of Others (2022) officially released in Canada in English?
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