News and Press

The MNFF is pleased to present the online edition of the 2016 Festival Schedule. In it you will find a detailed outline of films, panels, parties, and more. Hard copies of the program will be available in establishments in Middlebury the week of the Festival, and will be distributed throughout the greater Addison County thanks to the generosity of the Addison County Independent. Please click here for a full list of all 2016 films and their screening locations and times. And don't forget to book your passes today! Opening Night is nearly sold out - the few remaining tickets are available here. Three weeks…

Here at the MNFF we were fortunate enough to welcome Festival Formula to our Inaugural Festival last year, with founder Katie McCullough speaking on a panel about crowd-funding and festival strategy to a packed MCMC (for non-Middlebury residents, that's the Middlebury Community Music Center, a gorgeous old home in the center of town). Festival Formula is a great resource for filmmakers about to hit the festival circuit, as they work with…

The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival is pleased to announce its Opening Night Film, feature documentary Walk With Me: The Trials of Damon J Keith. The film will screen on Thursday August 25, at 7pm at Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater. Director Jesse Nesser will speak with MNFF Artistic Director Jay Craven following the screening. Speaking of Nesser and his film, Craven said, “It wasn’t planned this way—but I’m pleased to say that Jesse Nesser was a recent student of mine at Marlboro College. I’m very proud of him and his ambitious, moving, and compassionate film that so finely captures the animating spirit…

MNFF is pleased to announce that nearly 370 films from 27 countries were submitted for consideration in 2016, a 15% increase over last year’s inaugural festival. “This significant uptick in submissions,” said Lloyd Komesar, Festival Producer, “provides a wonderful validation of our Festival’s basic mission, namely to support the work of first and second time filmmakers. (more…)

Vermont Symphony Orchestra to present “Excellence in Music Composed for Film Award”  at the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival in August PRESS RELEASE, 6/23/16 – Beginning August, 2016 at the 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival [MNFF], the Vermont Symphony Orchestra [VSO], will present its “Excellence in Music Composed for Film Award” to one filmmaker whose selection and incorporation of original music into their film displays the highest potential for future success. The partnership highlights the orchestra's commitment to empower and nurture new commissions continuing the mission of innovation and exploration. “The Vermont Symphony Orchestra is committed to blanketing our state with exceptional…

Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival Announces Special Guest Russell Banks for August Festival We are thrilled to announce the first of our planned 2016 special guests, with the scheduled appearance of two-time Pulitzer Prize fiction finalist Russell Banks at 4pm, Friday, August 26th, at Edgewater Gallery at the Falls. Banks will explore the subject of “Book to Film” in a dialogue with Jay Parini, noted writer, poet, screenwriter…

Our film submission window has now closed for the 2016 season. We received more than 365 films this year, an increase of nearly 15% from our inaugural year. Filmmakers from 27 countries were kind enough to enter their work. We are now in the process of selecting the films we will be screening at the Festival this August 25-28, 2016. We intend to offer 85-90 films and getting down to this level is not without its challenges. So many fine films to choose from. . . We will notify our filmmakers by July 1 and will likely announce our 2016 MNFF…

Promises made, promises kept! We successfully completed the very first MNFF New England Tour with a strong screening at the great Amherst Cinema in Amherst, Massachusetts on May 22. Preceded by screenings in Brattleboro, VT, Wellfleet, MA, Waterville, ME, Brunswick, ME, New Haven, CT, Portsmouth, NH and Providence, RI, the Tour brought our award winning films to appreciative audiences all over the region. To all our venues, thank you for your terrific support. And to all our filmmakers, it was a pleasure to provide this additional exposure and we hope that it boosted awareness of your fine work. We genuinely look forward…

Addison Independent: Film festival launches tour; entries for 2016 are up By John Flowers Staff Writer | April 28, 2016 The second annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival (MNFF) is still four months away, but anticipation for the event is already starting to build with what have been an increasing number of film submissions and the kickoff of a New England tour featuring last year’s winners. “We are absolutely delighted with the quality of work that has come in,” said Lloyd Komesar, chairman of the MNFF Board of Directors. “The word has gotten out in a positive way about our festival and…

Rutland Herald Article By Patricia Minichiello Staff Writer | December 31,2015 Back in 1988, Lloyd Komesar, a young television exec working for the Walt Disney Company, began what he calls “a long love affair with Vermont.” He would drive from Burlington to southern Vermont, evenacross to White River Junction, pitching films and TV programming and taking in the idiosyncrasies of small-town life along the way. “I became very fond of Vermont as a result of those travels,” he said. Often he found himself exploring Green Mountain State beyond work obligations. “I was in Montpelier,” he said. “And I remember thinking, 'Montpelier…

MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival (MNFF) was a hot ticket during its inaugural run this past August, and organizers want to make sure the enthusiasm for the event does not cool off during the frigid Vermont winter. To that end, MNFF officials on Tuesday confirmed a 2016 Winter Screening Series featuring four films that will be shown at Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater from January to April. “Our goal is continuity,” MNFF Producer Lloyd Komesar said through an email exchange. “Even though the 2nd Annual MNFF is still some months away, we want to keep our commitment to new…