(East Coast Premiere)

Screening Time: Friday, May 2, 6:00 PM, Charles Theatre 2

Director: Michael Burke

Cast: Emile Hirsch, Richard Jenkins, Thomas Guiry

Country: U.S.
Year: 2002
Running Time: 90 minutes
Format: 35mm

The Mudge Boy is a delicate but oddly blunt tale of a young boy quickly growing up in rural Vermont. Following the death of his Mom, young Duncan Mudge (played by Emile Hirsch, Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys) has to learn to cope with the world around him without the special guidance she provided. The challenges include finding his place amongst the various other children who inhabit rural Vermont, as well as providing some comfort for his distant and now emotionally damaged father. Protected by the unqualified devotion of his pet chicken, Duncan bravely confronts a variety of puzzles and obstacles that come his way. The Mudge Boy was developed at the Sundance Labs and won the Producers Club of Maryland Filmmakers Fellowship in 2000. It was produced with the help of actor Stanley Tucci, was in competition at Sundance 2003, and will air on Showtime.

--Jed Dietz

Presented By: Michael Burke

Michael Burke received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU and is a special education teacher. His short, Fishbelly White, screened at the Maryland Film Festival 2002, and won the NYU Wasserman Award.