The Films
Little Castles
What do you see when you look at this? A little castle? The people who lived here thought so.
The film’s title comes from a quote in it. The houses, says one of the interviewees, Leon Meekins, “looked like little castles when they were finished.
—Nicole Lewis Washington Post Staff Writer
Little Castles seems at first be a filmed cultural history of a building material. Why did a particular city in a particular time chose to cover itself in a substance called Formstone? But Formstone is a key into a city and its people and beneath the surface is the real story; of character and characters, of inventiveness, tradition and belonging.
Little Castles certainly deserves to be seen, offering as it does a fine introduction to an almost uniquely Baltimore institution.
—Chris Kaltenbach The Baltimore Sun
Every building—if it lasts long enough has a story and a history.
Not a Lady Among Us
In the nineteenth century Women’s Exchanges formed a large powerful
and national network that allowed women to help themselves through
the dignity of their own work. Still continuing into the twenty-first
century the Women’s Exchanges remain true to their mission: offering
hope and help to the needy. The Foundation’s film Not a
Lady
Among Us, is the story of a philanthropic movement that began shortly
after the Civil War and is active to this day. In a time when women
had few options, this movement gave them the opportunity to support
their families through crafts such as quilting,
knitting, and dressmaking. Of the many “exchanges” that
existed, thirteen remain, still committed to their founding principles.
A quilt, a cake, a piece of lace…still mean what
they
did 125 years ago, “because I made them and have a place to sell them
I can pay my bills and feed my children.”
The Foundation's films have been shown at The Kennedy Center, The Maryland Historical Society, The Johns Hopkins University, the annual meeting for The American Institute of Architects, and public television. It has been honored by Preservation Maryland, The Rosebud Film Festival, Rochester Film Festival, and awarded a Cine Golden Eagle. It has received funding from The City of Baltimore, The Maryland Humanities Council, Preservation Maryland, numerous foundations and private donors.