Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival

The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival has a sole focus – to showcase the feature films and short films of talented first- and second-time filmmakers from around the world. Our Festival takes place in scenic Middlebury, Vermont in late August each year. Our 8th Annual event will take place in person and on the ground in Middlebury this August 24-28, 2022. Having successfully staged our 7th Annual event in person in August 2021, we have developed a template that we believe will work quite well even if the specter of another COVID surge lingers in the background.

We anticipate screening more than 120 films at MNFF8, a diverse array of features and shorts across all genres, as selected by MNFF Artistic Director Jay Craven, with screenings at Town Hall Theater, the Marquis Theatre, Dana Auditorium and Twilight Hall [both on the campus of Middlebury College]. Additionally, MNFF8 will offer nightly screenings under the tent at Swift House Inn, a well received innovation that was introduced last summer.

We encourage our filmmakers to come to the Festival, to support each other’s work and to engage in Q&A sessions with audiences following the screening of their film. More than 80 directors, producers, writers and cinematographers from around the world attended MNFF5 in August 2019 and had a wonderful time here in Middlebury. Even with the incursion of the Delta variant this past August, nearly 45 filmmakers came to town and were thrilled to see their work up on the big screen. So, as we plan for MNFF8, we anticipate a robust turnout of creative new filmmakers along with special guest appearances, insightful panel discussions and presentations and great happy hours and evening parties.