The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival is delighted to add three superb and distinguished Honorees to the program for its milestone 10th Anniversary Fest: acclaimed playwright and screenwriter John Patrick Shanley, outstanding Native American film star Gary Farmer and gifted costume designer Paul Tazewell. Each one has compiled a marvelous list of accomplishments in their respective careers and MNFF welcomes them all to the Festival.
John Patrick Shanley
Let’s start with this: John Patrick Shanley is from The Bronx. His theatrical work is performed extensively across the United States and around the world. For his riveting play, Doubt, Mr. Shanley received both the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. His other plays include Prodigal Son, Outside Mullingar (Tony nomination), Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Welcome to the Moon, Four Dogs and a Bone, Beggars in the House of Plenty and his newest play Brooklyn Laundry.
In the arena of screenwriting, Mr. Shanley has ten films to his credit. For his script of the immensely popular Moonstruck (1987), starring Cher and Nicolas Cage, he received both the Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, and the Writers Guild of America Award. In 2009, his film adaptation of Doubt, with Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis, which he also directed, was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay. Other films include Joe Versus the Volcano (which he also directed), Alive, Congo and Live From Baghdad for HBO (Emmy nomination). The Writers Guild of America awarded Mr. Shanley their Lifetime Achievement In Writing.
At MNFF10, Mr. Shanley will screen Doubt on Friday, August 23 at 715pm at Town Hall Theater and Moonstruck at a Saturday, August 24 matinee at 2pm at Town Hall Theater. He will also be present for the world premiere of a new short film, After the Deluge, directed by Tara Young, for which he wrote the screenplay. The film will show Saturday, August 24 at 1130am at Dana Auditorium. Q&As will follow all these screenings.
The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival warmly welcomes John Patrick Shanley and honors him for Outstanding Writing and Directing.
Gary Farmer
Gary Farmer is a celebrated actor and musician, born on Six Nations along the Grand River, Ohsweken, Ontario. He is widely recognized as a pioneer in the development of Indigenous media in Canada and was the founding director of Aboriginal Voices Radio Network.
Mr. Farmer has been nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards for Best Supporting Male in the films: Powwow Highway (1989); Dead Man (1995), which won the 1996 European Film Awards Screen International Award; and Smoke Signals (1998).
Recent credits include: Resident Alien, Reservation Dogs, The English, The Curse and independent films Quantum Cowboys, The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw, Run Woman Run, Hey Viktor!, An Ode For Leviticus and Major Barbara.
And attention music fans: the Gary Farmer and the Troublemakers album, Fool For Love, won Best Americana Album at the 2023 New Mexico Music Awards. The Troublemakers seventh album, Lucky 7, released June 12, 2023, on Gary’s 70th birthday, features two-time Juno Award winner Derek Miller. Their music can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube.
At MNFF10, Mr. Farmer will screen a pair of episodes from the multi-Emmy nominated series Reservation Dogs [Season 1] on Thursday, August 22 at 1130am at Twilight Hall, along with a screening of Dead Man, directed by Jim Jarmusch, on Sunday, August 25 at 4pm at Town Hall Theater. Q&As will follow these screenings.
The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival is so pleased to welcome Gary Farmer and honors him for Sustained Excellence in Acting.
Paul Tazewell
Having designed costumes for film, television, Broadway and regional theaters for more than three decades, Paul Tazewell is one of the industry’s most revered designers. From his Academy Award-nominated work in West Side Story (2021) to creating costumes for the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of Hamilton, his creations have captivated audiences across the globe.
On Thanksgiving 2024, the highly anticipated Wicked film, featuring Tazewell’s designs, will be released, showcasing the reimagined world created by Director John M. Chu and starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Most recently, Mr. Tazewell received a Drama Desk Award and Tony Award nomination for his work in the 2024 Broadway production of Suffs. He is also the 2024 NAACP Theatre Award recipient for Best Costume Design for Ain’t Too Proud.
In 2016, he received an Emmy Award for NBC’s The Wiz! Live. Other screen credits include Harriet (Focus Features), The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (HBO) and Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (NBC).
In 2021, Mr. Tazewell designed Fire Shut Up In My Bones, the Metropolitan Opera’s first performance of an opera by a Black composer, Terence Blanchard, and his adaptation of Charles M. Blow’s moving memoir.
Paul Tazewell holds an MFA from New York University and a BFA from North Carolina School of the Arts. He currently resides in New York City.
At MNFF10, Mr. Tazewell will screen West Side Story (courtesy of Disney+) on Friday, August 23 at 2pm at Dana Auditorium, followed by an extended on-stage discussion of his work with MNFF Artistic Director Jay Craven.
The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival warmly welcomes Paul Tazewell and honors him for Excellence, Imagination and Flair in Costume Design.