Eric R. Cotten
Founder and President
BIOS:
Eric founded the Baltimore Filmmakers Collective in 2016, to address the long-standing need for a resource hub for non-academic Baltimore area citizens interested in cinema and media. After college he successfully pursued several careers including the health sciences, investments and real estate. Through his real estate business, he became associated with the HBO show – THE WIRE (2002-2008). The time spent with the HBO production team reignited his long dormant creative side. He began volunteering with local film productions and with the Maryland Film Festival. Since 2005 to the present his role at the Maryland Film festival has evolved from general volunteer to Development Assistant to senior programmer. In 2019, he created the Maryland Film Festival’s BALTISHORTS program to address the local of local inclusion in the festival and to increase the number of films by BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and nongender identifying creators. He screens for a number of other festivals – Baltimore Woman in Film, Annapolis Film Festival (2014), Tampa Bay Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (2015/16), Real Sisters (2021-2023), Austin Film Festival (2018- present) and the Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation and Technology (2022-present). Additionally, he coordinated the second year of the Baltimore International Black Film Festival (2015 and the 2023 edition of the festival). In his brief film career, he has written, directed, produced an/or executive produced twenty-nine shorts with several Sundance/SxSW and Tribeca credits (AFRONAUT- 2014). His latest projects include producing a co-American/ Canadian 2 D Stop-motion animated short film (CHURCH HAT- 2025) and executive producing his first feature ( LITTLE DOORS – 2025). In 2026, the web series ASHBURTON, addressing the history and legacy of the African – American culture in Baltimore will be explored. |