Special Event Includes a Film Screening, Q&A with Sarsgaard and Cocktail Reception
The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival is excited to announce a special pre-festival film screening event with Emmy-nominated actor, Peter Sarsgaard, to take place Friday, August 15 at 6:00 pm at the Middlebury Town Hall Theater’s historic main theater, with a cocktail reception to follow in Town Hall Theater’s new wing.
An Evening with Peter Sarsgaard features a ticketed 6:00 pm screening of the award-winning film, Shattered Glass, an on-stage post-screening Q&A with the actor following the screening, and an intimate post-film reception for guests who purchase a separate reception ticket. Proceeds from the event will benefit the festival’s programs and initiatives.
In Shattered Glass, Sarsgaard plays New Republic magazine editor, Chuck Lane, who finds himself in the unenviable position of having to investigate a young journalist, Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen), who fell from grace after he fabricated more than half of his articles for the publication. Sarsgaard received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in the film, along with awards from The Boston Society of Film Critics, The National Society of Film Critics, The Toronto Film Critics Association and others.
Peter Sarsgaard is widely respected as one of America’s premiere character actors, delivering consistently surprising and complex performances that display deep conviction, a wide range of emotion, an unguarded naturalism and an ability to access what is behind the often-complicated facades of the characters he plays.
“Peter can play multiple emotions simultaneously, even those that would seem to be in opposition to each other,” says MNFF Artistic Director Jay Craven. “Directors love him for this rare quality–and many others.”
It may be this quality that has caused Sarsgaard, in a 2005 New York Times interview, to note his interest in Catholicism, in which “you’re supposed to love your enemy.”
“That really impressed me as a kid,” said Sarsgaard, “and it has helped me as an actor. The way that I view the characters I play is part of my religious upbringing. To abandon curiosity in all personalities, good or bad, is to give up hope in humanity.”
Sarsgaard attended the Actors’ Studio Program at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri before rising to prominence playing distinctive, always memorable and sometimes villainous roles in film and television.
The actor recently starred in director Tim Fehlbaum’s September 5, which was nominated for a 2025 Golden Globe and premiered at the Venice Film Festival. He can also be seen portraying the character Tommy Molto in Presumed Innocent, an Apple series inspired by the novel by Scott Turow, and he starred in Michel Franco’s 2023 film Memory, opposite Jessica Chastain. The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival where he was awarded the Volpi Cup for Best Actor.
In 2021, Sarsgaard was integral in the Gotham Award-winning film, The Lost Daughter, written and directed by his wife and actress, Maggie Gyllenhaal, based on the novel by Elena Ferrante. In that same year, he starred in Dopesick, loosely based on the The New York Times bestseller of the same name by Beth Macy. Sarsgaard received his first Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor for this film.
Previous notable films include: Kimberly Pierce’s Boys Don’t Cry; Matt Reeves’ The Batman; Pablo Larrain’s award-winning film, Jackie, where he played Robert F. Kennedy; Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, opposite Cate Blanchett; Kelly Reichardt’s Night Moves; Year of the Dog directed by Mike White; An Education, starring opposite Carey Mulligan; Kinsey, starring opposite Liam Neeson; and Jarhead directed by Sam Mendes and starring alongside Jake Gyllenhaal. Sarsgaard also made his Broadway debut portraying Boris Alexeyevich Trigorin in the revival of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull.
This season’s special tribute to Sarsgaard is not his first visit to Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival. In 2016 he attended MNFF’s second annual festival, alongside his wife and actress, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and both contributed to a morning coffee conversation for festival guests.
“We’re thrilled to have Mr. Sarsgaard return to Middlebury for this year’s special tribute to him,” said MNFF Executive Director, Cailtin Boyle. “He has roots in Vermont, and his work showcases a vigorous commitment to independent filmmaking, which resonates deeply with our mission and focus.”
Event Details
An Evening With Peter Sarsgaard
August 15, 2025
Doors 5:30 pm
Film Screening: 6:00 pm
Cocktail Reception: 8:00 pm
Tickets to Screening and Q&A Only: $65
Additional Cocktail Reception Ticket: $95
Tickets and information at middfilmfest.org
Direct ticket purchase link: https://bit.ly/mnff11-sarsgaard
Guests may purchase a ticket to the screening and Q&A only, or may choose to purchase a second reception ticket to attend the cocktail reception in addition to the screening. Reception tickets include a complimentary cocktail and are limited to the first 90 ticket buyers.