Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival

Schedule

Saturday, August 23, 2025

Inside the Edit: Shaping Indie Film

9 - 10:30 AM @ Crooked Ladle

How does a film come together in the editing room? Join a panel of acclaimed documentary and narrative editors as they reflect on the invisible craft of shaping raw footage into finished films. Through conversation and clips, we'll explore how editors build structure, deepen character, and find the emotional heartbeat of a scene - and of a film. A revealing look into one of the most essential and least understood roles in independent filmmaking.

Gone Guys

9 - 10:30 AM @ Dana Auditorium

Set in rural Vermont, Gone Guys explores the current national crisis facing boys and young men, supported by data brought to life through animation.

Jack and Lou: A Gangster Love Story

11 AM - 1 PM @ Axinn Center at Starr Library

In the 1970s, old gangster moll Lou Rolfe is confronted with her involvement in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre orchestrated in 1929 by her former husband, Al Capone's main hit-man, Jack McGurn.

Student Film Program: Narrative Shorts

11 AM - 1 PM @ Dana Auditorium

A program of six student narrative shorts, including Fallacies , New York Day Women , Into Dust, Vas Mar, Cats and Dandelion. | In a world where carrots are illegal, a young man losing his sight seeks to find a cure, leading him to see more than he could have ever wished.

Vision Portraits

11 AM - 1 PM @ Middlebury Marquis Theatre

An in-depth exploration of the creative paths of blind and low vision artists including a photographer, a dancer, a writer and the filmmaker.

Been Here Stay Here

11 AM - 1 PM @ Town Hall Theater - Main

Facing the climate crisis, locals on Tangier Island - located in the Chesapeake Bay of the eastern U.S. coast - stay connected through their faith in the face of rising sea levels and the forthcoming sinking of the island.

The Making of the Saltmarsh Sparrow

11 AM - 1 PM @ Twilight Hall

There's a war going on: birds are disappearing from our backyards, our prairies, our marshes, our wilder forests - the places we call America. This provocative series uses the intensely emotional and skillful process of making a wildlife film to help us understand why this is happening.

Shoot Like a DP; Think Like An Editor

2 - 4 PM @ Axinn Center at Starr Library

Join us for this masterclass in documentary cinematography and editing. What goes through the mind of a cinematographer as split second choices are made while shooting a documentary? In this workshop, Daniel B. Gold, in conversation with MNFF Senior Programmer Simeon Hutner, uses clips from feature documentaries to illustrate what he calls the Golden Rules of Digital Cinematography. 

To a Land Unknown

2 - 4 PM @ Dana Auditorium

A Palestinian refugee living on the fringes of society in Athens gets ripped off by a smuggler and sets out to seek revenge.

The Encampments

2 - 4 PM @ Middlebury Marquis Theatre

Students flood Columbia University's lawn to create the Gaza Solidarity Encampment in order to pressure their university to divest from the US and Israeli weapons companies.

Poetry & Story: Why It Matters

2 - 3:30 PM @ Town Hall Theater - Anderson Studio

Join Vermont Poet Laureate Bianca Stone and Vermont-based author and filmmaker Melanie Finn as they discuss the intersection of poetry, cinema and story. This event is made possible with the generous support of Vermont Book Shop.

Student Film Program: Narrative Shorts

2 - 4 PM @ Twilight Hall

A program of four student narrative shorts, including The Custodian , Sunshine City , Kosher Test and My Father's Wedding. | With his Abuela’s life on the line, Pablo, a desperate custodian at a corrupt boxing gym must risk his morals and his life in a fight to win it all. | Siblings Stellar and Max are living out of their car and trying to get back on their feet. When Max puts their livelihood on the line, Stellar finds herself questioning how much longer she can support him.

Fresh Currents in Film Criticism

4 - 5 PM @ Middlebury Inn - Courtyard

Join us for an intimate conversation with Alissa Wilkinson, movie critic at The New York Times, as she reflects on current trends in film criticism at the Times and beyond.

How Deep Is Your Love

5 - 7 PM @ Dana Auditorium

In the last unknown territory on Earth, time is running out for biologists to study undersea wildlife as deep sea mining threatens fragile ecosystems.

Saturday Happy Hour

5 - 6:30 PM @ Jean's Place at Town Hall Theater

Come and enjoy some wine from Lincoln Peak Vineyards and light bites at Jean's Place in Town Hall Theater.

Gaucho Gaucho (with Camille A. Brown: Giant Steps)

5 - 7 PM @ Middlebury Marquis Theatre

Follow the 5-time Tony-nominated director and choreographer Camille A. Brown (Gypsy, Hell’s Kitchen) as she elevates the possible with bold explorations of everyday movement and African Diasporic dance. | A celebration of a community of Argentine cowboys and cowgirls, known as Gauchos, living beyond the boundaries of the modern world.

Mr. Nobody Against Putin

5 - 7 PM @ Town Hall Theater - Main

As Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, primary schools across Russia’s hinterlands are transformed into recruitment stages for the war. Facing the ethical dilemma of working in a system defined by propaganda and violence, a brave teacher goes undercover to film what’s really happening in his own school.

Predators

5 - 7 PM @ Twilight Hall

“To Catch a Predator” was a popular television show designed to hunt down child predators and lure them to a film set, where they would be interviewed and eventually arrested. Predators is an exploration of the scintillating rise and staggering fall of the show and the world it helped create.

Music in the Courtyard

5:30 - 7 PM @ Town Hall Theater - Maloney Performing Arts Plaza

Come to Maloney Plaza and enjoy a live performance from the Allman Brothers tribute band Soulshine Revival, presented by Town Hall Theater's Summer Sounds.

Black Snow

7:30 - 9:30 PM @ Axinn Center at Starr Library

In a remote Russian mining town, black snow falls due to the extreme pollution. A Siberian eco-activist and mother, dubbed the "Erin Brockovich of Russia", steps up as a citizen journalist and fights for her community.

Tatami

7:30 - 9:30 PM @ Dana Auditorium

Iranian judoka Leila and her coach attend the World Judo Championships, aiming for Iran's first gold medal. During the event, they face an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic government.

The Player

7:30 - 9:30 PM @ Middlebury Marquis Theatre

A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected. Certain that the anonymous threats he's been receiving are the work of David Kahane (Vincent D'Onofrio), producer Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) tries to fix things over cocktails. Instead, Griffin ends up murdering the screenwriter and courting the dead man's girlfriend (Greta Scacchi).

Checkpoint Zoo

7:30 - 9:30 PM @ Town Hall Theater - Anderson Studio

A heroic team of zookeepers and volunteers risk their lives to save thousands of animals trapped in a zoo behind enemy lines during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Speak.

7:30 - 9:30 PM @ Town Hall Theater - Main

Five top-ranked high school oratory students spend a year crafting spellbinding spoken word performances with the dream of winning one of the world's largest and most intense public speaking competitions.

Seeds

7:30 - 9:30 PM @ Twilight Hall

An exploration of Black generational farmers in the American South reveals the fragility of legacy and the significance of owning land.

Festival Afterparty

8:30 - 11 PM @ Crooked Ladle

Join us for a blowout party at Crooked Ladle, featuring food trucks, custom cocktails and the amazing DJ Serena Kim. Pass holders only, please.

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