Jed Dietz: Director of the Maryland Film Festival
President of the Producer's Club of Maryland
The Executive Producer of the Fox Network's movie Rise and Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story, Jed Dietz is the founder and general partner of Film Development partners. FDP is a limited partnership investing in ideas for feature film production. The fund has been used to develop ideas into screenplays for a variety of producers ranging from the actor Kevin Bacon to Larry Turman (The River Wild), and now has 15 projects in various stages of development. Mr. Dietz is involved with Parting the Waters, an eight hour mini-series for ABC.

In 1993, Mr. Dietz founded the Producers Club of Maryland, Inc., a not for profit corporation to help the Maryland Film Office attract more film and television production to Maryland. The organization represents business leaders from around the state and has been instrumental in a significant increase in the film business in Maryland in the past few years.

The Producers Club owns the Maryland Regional Production Guide, the only comprehensive "yellow pages" for film and television production companies; has its own Web site geared to the Guide (www.mdrpg.com); publishes a newsletter, ReelNews; and organizes an annual production conference, REELMaryland. The Producers Club funds and administers the Production Club of Maryland Filmmakers Fellowship each year in partnership with Sundance Labs. The Producers Club has organized numerous premier screenings and marketing events on both coasts.

The Producers Club is organizing the Maryland Film Festival, funded by the Rouse Company, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, the City of Baltimore, and First National bank, among others. Mr Dietz graduated from Deerfield Academy, the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill where he was a Morehead Scholar, and he holds an M.B.A. from the University of Rochester.

Skizz Cyzyk: Programming Manager
Skizz is a filmmaker, and founder of MicroCineFest, the four-year-old fall festival that has introduced countless underground films that could not be seen elsewhere in the Baltimore area. As a filmmaker, Skizz is known for the documentary Little Castles, that he directed and edited, and an award-winning short called 4 Films in 5 Minutes. Skizz serves as a Jury member and projectionist at Slamdance, and consults with various other festivals. A founding member of the Maryland Film Festival's Programming Advisory Board, Skizz has made important programming contributions to each of the first two Festivals. The Maryland Film Festival will become the lead sponsor of MicroCineFest. Skizz will coordinate our Festival's active Program Advisory Board and the new Filmmakers Advisory Council.

Dan Krovich: Programming Administrator
Dan Krovich has volunteered for the first two Maryland Film Festivals, and worked tirelessly on the printed program and projection logistics before and during the Festival. The universal praise about how Festival films were handled and projected owes a great deal to Dan's diligence and commitment to the best experience for our audience. A long time film lover, Dan is an honors graduate of William and Mary and has just completed his PhD in Pharmacology and Molecular Science at Johns Hopkins. (his thesis is "Actomyosin: Proteins in the Nuclear Matrix: Implications for Structure," in case you want a copy). Dan will be part of the Program Advisory Board and will co-edit the Festival Program. He will help administer the web page and the expanded Between the Festival Events.

Erin Jakowski: Sponsorship Coordinator and Filmmaker Liaison
Before joining the Festival staff, Erin Jakowski worked as executive assistant to both the Director and the Director of Development at the Johns Hopkins University Press. A graduate from the Baltimore School for the Arts, Erin also served as Box Office Assistant and Dramaturgy intern at Center Stage, the State Theatre of Maryland, from 1999-2001. Her Box Office experience included maintaining the subscriber database and handling subscriber sales and inquiries for the '99-2000 season. As a dramaturg, Erin has written extensive program notes, articles, conducted audience discussions and artist interviews for Center Stage, Everyman, and Action Theatre. Erin also worked as assistant producer for Center Stage's 2000-2001 Off Center Season. She holds a BA in Liberal Arts from St. Johns College in Annapolis, Maryland. Erin will work closely with the Director of the Festival to develop more corporate marketing sponsorship opportunities.

Mary Kerr: Chair, Filmmakers Advisory Council
Mary Kerr has held an array of positions in the fields of film, radio, television, and the Internet. She has been involved with the Sundance Labs and was a programmer for the Sundance Film Festival where she continues to be active in the selection process. She is currently a programmer for the Los Angeles Film Festival and looks forward to becoming involved with the Maryland film community after having done her "time" in LA. Mary was born in Baltimore and graduated from the University of Maryland at College Park with a degree in Journalism. Mary will help organize the Filmmakers Advisory Council for the festival.