FESTIVAL PROGRAM
THURSDAY-SUNDAY
AUGUST 25-28, 2016 middfilmfest.org
We Can’t wait see you at thE MNFF
Dance Party! W/ ELI ‘PAPERBOY’ REED
SATURDAY NIghT
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8/27 9-11:30pm
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A place to reset, relax and refuel Regular Hours: TUES – SAT, 4PM – LATE • 388-8209 • 51 Main Steet, Middlebury b 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
WELCOME TO THE FEST! Welcome, everyone! We are thrilled to return to Middlebury for our second edition of the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival! Our inaugural event was successful beyond our dreams. We’ve worked to create an even more expansive event for 2016, with special guests including Russell Banks and two-time Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple. We’re also looking forward to an engaging morning coffee with distinguished actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard, greatly anticipated panels on the new currents in documentary filmmaking, film as journalism - and much more.
Also on Saturday, we’ll present two timely on-stage dialogues. FILM AS JOURNALISM: OP DOCS AT THE NEW YORK TIMES will feature Lindsay Crouse, Coordinating Producer for The New York Times’ ground-breaking Op Docs series that takes readers behind the scenes of today’s headlines. Our NEW CURRENTS IN DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING panel will include Barbara Kopple and emerging doc makers Tony Stone [Peter and The Farm], Todd and Jedd Wider [God Knows Where I Am], Amy Geller and Allie Humenuk [The Guys Next Door], and John Stanton [The Last Bay Scallop?].
We’ve been inspired by a terrific array of submitted and curated films that promise to take you into illuminating cinematic worlds. Our commitment to first and second time filmmakers remains strong – and it clearly resonates for a rising generation that appreciates this opportunity to screen their work in our intimate settings where filmmakers can connect with audience members and draw inspiration from peers.
On Festival Sunday, Barbara Kopple will screen her 2015 film, Hot Type: 150 Years of The Nation, a penetrating examination of America’s longstanding progressive magazine. Barbara will be joined on stage after the screening by John Nichols, national affairs correspondent for The Nation.
The Festival received more than 370 film submissions this year, up 16% from our 2015 total. Our 2016 selections include work from Iran, Germany, Australia, South Africa, UK, Canada – and every corner of the United States. We also have more than a dozen strong films with deep connections to Vermont. We’ve got whimsical comedies, provocative dramas, and powerful documentaries that will change our conversations about pressing issues. We’ve also renewed our commitment to family-friendly films, including a rare screening of Charlie Chaplin’s first feature film, The Kid. Also on tap, Life, Animated, a warm and stunning documentary for all ages that will color how you think about autism. Our Festival schedule is organized into THREE-HOUR TIME BLOCKS and, within each block, you will typically find one, two or, occasionally, three short films that precede each feature film. These short films are satisfying in their own right and bring attention to their visionary directors. Shorts provide a special pleasure and they were a big hit last year. Based on input from last year, we have eliminated our 4:30 pm film blocks. Many of you said you wanted more time to eat, drink and generally chill out in the late afternoon. So, between 4-7 pm on Festival Friday and Saturday, we have created a “film-free” time slot where you can attend our PANELS AND CONVERSATIONS, drop in to a scheduled HAPPY HOUR, and/or just shop, eat, and drink in one of our many fine and friendly Middlebury restaurants. We hope this will make your Festival experience more relaxed and give you a chance to recharge your batteries before the evening centerpiece films that start at 7:15 pm. Be on the lookout for SPECIAL EVENTS, starting with our OPENING NIGHT FILM, Walk With Me: The Trials of Damon J. Keith, an affecting documentary about still-serving 94-year old Detroit Federal judge, Damon J. Keith, whose 50 years on the bench have produced a myriad of landmark rulings. We’re pleased to announce that Judge Keith will attend the Festival and appear on stage with director Jesse Nesser following our screening.
And please take note of a special appearance by HAMILTON BOARDMAN, Senior News Editor at The New York Times, who has played a key role in the development of the Times’ online edition. Hamilton will present Page One: Inside The New York Times, a 2012 Sundance Grand Jury nominee for Best Documentary Film. He will answer questions after the screening—then appear on-stage with an outstanding panel of journalists to discuss the CHANGING FACE OF JOURNALISM IN THE AGE OF NEW MEDIA. Participating journalists will include Hamilton Boardman and Lindsay Crouse from The New York Times; John Nichols from The Nation; Paula Routly, publisher of Seven Days, Angelo Lynn, publisher of the Addison Independent; John Van Hoesen, News Director at Vermont Public Radio; and Anne Galloway founding publisher and editor from VT Digger. On Saturday night, absolutely do not miss our FESTIVAL DANCE PARTY, featuring the rocking soul sounds of ELI “PAPERBOY” REED. Hosted by American Flatbread, the party starts at 9 pm and will carry on till 11:30 pm outdoors at the MARBLE WORKS. Food and beverages will be available from our good friends at Flatbread. The event is FREE and open to all. In case of rain, the Party will move inside the restaurant. To wrap it all up, please join us on Sunday evening for the CLOSING NIGHT CEREMONIES where we will present the VTeddy Awards to our six winning films, including our new “Audience Favorite Awards” selected by our attendees. Also new this year is the special VERMONT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA VTEDDY AWARD FOR “BEST INTEGRATION OF MUSIC COMPOSED FOR FILM.” The VTeddies are our cool custom statuettes created exclusively for MNFF by our friends at Vermont Teddy Bear. Festivities begin at 6:30 pm at Town Hall Theater. And just as we did for our inaugural MNFF winning films, this year’s award winners will be given valuable additional exposure as part of our six-state New England Tour in the spring of 2017. After the award ceremonies, we’ll go out in style when we screen our Sunday Night CLOSING FILM, Barbara Kopple’s new award-winning documentary Miss Sharon Jones! about legendary singer Sharon Jones who leads the Grammy-nominated band, SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS, spearheads of the movement to revive the funk and soul sounds of the 1960’s and 70’s.
On Festival Friday, two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee RUSSELL BANKS will appear for a BOOK TO FILM Conversation with Jay Parini, the always-fascinating writer and Middlebury College Professor of English. Both Russell and Jay have had their novels made into acclaimed films, so this promises to be a lively exchange. On Festival Saturday, catch our MORNING COFFEE with outstanding actors MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL AND PETER SARSGAARD who will talk informally on their filmmaking experiences and more.
Please join us in thanking our growing group of sponsors, without whom none of this would be possible. You’ll find their logos on the inside back page of our program. Many have been with us from the beginning, several have come aboard this year, but all share in our vision for an event that we believe can become a cultural annuity for the town of Middlebury—and all of Vermont. And a tip of the hat, as well, to all the companies that have donated items for each filmmaker’s Swag Bag!
And don’t miss this year’s special VTeddy honoree, two-time Academy Awardwinning filmmaker BARBARA KOPPLE. Barbara will present three of her films, including Saturday’s 40TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE SCREENING OF Harlan County, USA, her first feature film and the 1976 Oscar-winner for Best Documentary. Following the screening, we will talk to Barbara about the making of this groundbreaking film.
So check out the films, stay for the Q&As, mingle with our visiting filmmakers, and enjoy our many Special Events and the rockin’ Saturday Night Dance Party. Check out Middlebury for all it has to offer. Take in our surrounding countryside here in the beautiful Champlain Valley. And, most of all, please accept our sincere gratitude for coming out to experience the 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival! See you at the movies! Lloyd Komesar Producer
Jay Craven Artistic Director
1 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS WHERE DO I PICK UP INFORMATION?
CAN I JUST BUY SINGLE TICKETS TO MOVIES?
There is a Festival Information Tent on the Soldier’s Monument triangle opposite the Town Hall Theater on Merchants Row. Our staff will be on site from 9:00am to 6:00pm on Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29 and from 9:00am to 4:00pm on Sunday, August 30. Printed film and event schedules will be available here—and at venues.
Single tickets for any and all films are available for $12 at each of the three venues’ lobby box offices – at any time during the Festival. A single ticket is good for any film at any venue on any day. Single ticket seating begins 10 minutes prior to listed showtime after all Passholders have been seated.
WHERE ARE THE FILMS BEING SCREENED? Our Opening Night Film will be screened at Town Hall Theater at 7:00pm on Thursday, August 25. On Friday, August 26 and Saturday, August 27, films will screen at Town Hall Theater, Marquis Theater, and Dana Auditorium at Middlebury College. Screening times are 10:30am, 1:30pm and 7:15pm. No films will screen between 4-7pm but the 4pm slot will feature special panels and on-stage conversations. Check the daily schedule grid for details. On Sunday, August 28, films will also screen at all three venues but start times will be 10am, 1pm and 4pm. The presentation of the VTeddy Awards at the Closing Ceremony will be on Sunday, August 28 at 6:30pm at Town Hall Theater followed by our Closing Night Film at 7:30pm.
WHERE CAN I BUY FESTIVAL & DAY PASSES? Festival Passes and Day Passes can be purchased directly at our website middfilmfest.org, or in person at the Town Hall Theater Box Office on the corner of S. Pleasant Street and Merchant’s Row. Festival Passes are $75 and admit you to any film any of the three main screening days. Day Passes are $28 and admit you to any film on a specific day, either Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Online purchasers: bring your photo ID and confirmation number or print-at-home ticket to exchange for your actual Pass at the Town Hall Theater Box Office. Passes are not mailed but can be picked up from Town Hall Theater Box Office beginning 12noon on Monday, August 22. Town Hall Theatre Box Office hours during the Festival are 10:00am-6:00pm on ThursdaySaturday and 9:30am-2:00pm on Sunday. We encourage you to pick up your pass at least THIRTY MINUTES before your first screening.
WHY BUY A PASS? When you purchase a Festival Pass, you receive some special perks. Festival Pass holders will be seated first at all screenings. Day Pass holders will be seated following the seating of all Festival Pass holders. No seats are reserved, but your place will be held until 10 minutes before showtime. Also note that the Friday Night Party at Edgewater Gallery at The Falls is open only to Festival Pass holders.
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DOES MY FESTIVAL PASS ADMIT ME TO THE OPENING NIGHT FILM? No. Sorry. Opening Night is a separately ticketed event and can be purchased at our website middfilmfest.org, or in person at the Town Hall Theater Box Office. Admission to both the Film Screening and the After Party at Swift House Inn is $50. Cost for attending just the film alone is $25.
WHERE CAN I BUY FESTIVAL MERCHANDISE? Festival merchandise will be available at the Information Tent. Items for 2016 include a Danforth Pewter custom-designed “Director’s Chair” keychain, colorful mugs, specially-bottled maple syrup from Bread Loaf View Farm, and MNFF decals.
ARE THERE FREE EVENTS AT THE FESTIVAL? Absolutely! We have gone to great lengths to ensure that there is something for everyone. All of our panels and presentations with filmmakers and industry professionals are free and open to the public. Additionally, the big Saturday Night Festival Dance Party at Marble Works is free for all to enjoy. For times and details on panels and parties, visit middfilmfest.org or our printed Festival Schedule.
WHERE DO I FIND PARKING? There are many parking options throughout the town of Middlebury and the Middlebury College campus. Street parking is available throughout downtown. There are municipal lots below the Cross St. Bridge and in Frog Hollow at the base of Mill Street. There are many additional spaces in the lot behind the Mahaney Center for the Arts at Middlebury College (72 Porter Field Rd.).
CAN I SPEAK WITH FILMMAKERS & PRODUCERS AT THE FESTIVAL? Of course! This is one of the special benefits of the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival. Attending filmmakers will be available to audiences through post-screening Q&A sessions, Filmmaker Mingles and panels. Or feel free to approach them individually. Don’t hesitate to say hello! Filmmakers genuinely appreciate your interest in their work and life stories.
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2 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
SCHEDULE THURSDAY 8/25 DOORS OPEN @ 6:00 PM
OPENING NIGHT @ TOWN HALL THEATER
WALK WITH ME: THE TRIALS OF DAMON J. KEITH
NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE W/ JUDGE KEITH IN ATTENDANCE He was an ordinary “colored” man from Detroit. He became a controversial federal judge who would shape civil rights law and challenge a sitting president. Decades later, his rulings resonate in a nation still arguing about “which lives matter.” It may be the greatest story you’ve never heard.
DIRECTOR: JESSE NESSER PRODUCER: JESSE NESSER Feature Documentary 103m
ON-STAGE CONVERSATION TO FOLLOW
Jesse Nesser will attend the festival
Director Jesse Nesser and Judge Damon J. Keith talk with Federal District Judge Jeff Crawford and MNFF’s Jay Craven.
9:00 PM
AFTER PARTY @ SWIFT HOUSE INN ––Opening Night Ticket Holders Only––
FESTIVAL MAP SWIFT HOUSE INN
Elm St Seymour
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INFO TENT
High St
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Supporting the Arts in Addison County Communities
OPENING NIGHT PARTY!
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AL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design byNew The Filmmakers Image FarmFestival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm 3 2nd Annual Middlebury
SCHEDULE FRIDAY 8/26
THT = TOWN HALL THEATER MARQ = MARQUIS THEATER
DANA = DANA AUDITORIUM SCRN = MARQUIS - SCREENING ROOM
= DIRECTOR WILL ATTEND MNFF
10:30 AM THT MARQ DANA SCRN
Clean
Bloom of Youth
Girl Asleep
5m
17m
77m
Flight
Mr Ready
The Magic Shoes
The Kid
10m
14m
19m
53m
Still Gay
Suicide Kale
13m
78m
The Sweet Hereafter 112m
1:30 PM THT MARQ DANA SCRN
The Graveyard Shift
Circle
Life, Animated
3m
11m
89m
Small Talk
Drug Mule
Legend of Swee’ Pea
7m
9m
80m
Whisper
Black Canaries
Krisha
11m
19m
82m
No Signal
The Prison in Twelve Landscapes
6m
90m
4:00 PM EDGEWATER GALLERY AT THE FALLS
BOOK TO FILM: A Conversation with the noted author Russell Banks and Middlebury College’s Jay Parini; Book Signing by Russell Banks to follow at The Vermont Book Shop ––OPEN TO ALL––
5:00 PM SPARKLING
CHAMPAGNE RECEPTION ––Filmmakers Only, Please––
MARQUIS THEATER CAFÉ
FESTIVAL HAPPY HOUR ––OPEN TO ALL––
7:15 PM THT
The Best and Worst Days of George Morales’ Unnaturally Long Life 24m
MARQ DANA SCRN
Coming Through the Rye 95m
Pony
Busking Turf Wars
31m
73m
Elegy
God Knows Where I Am
22m
97m
Hold It Down
Takin’ Place
30m
85m
9:00 PM EDGEWATER GALLERY AT THE FALLS
FRIDAY NIGHT PARTY - Music by COOPER AND LAVOIE ––Passholders Only, Please––
4 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
SCHEDULE SATURDAY 8/27
THT = TOWN HALL THEATER MARQ = MARQUIS THEATER
DANA = DANA AUDITORIUM SCRN = MARQUIS - SCREENING ROOM
= DIRECTOR WILL ATTEND MNFF
9:00 AM Coffee with MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL and PETER SARSGAARD ––OPEN TO ALL––
MIDDLEBURY INN
10:30 AM THT MARQ DANA SCRN
The Last Bay Scallop?
Tested
30m
72m
Blind Date
The Laughter Life
35m
76m
Lambing Season
Legs: A Big Issue in a Small Town
24m
77m
Child For Sale
The Left Behind
13m
78m
1:30 PM SPECIAL EVENT
THT
40TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE SCREENING
ON-STAGE CONVERSATION with Barbara Kopple and Jay Craven
Harlan County, USA 103m
MARQ DANA SCRN
Partners
Oasis
My Blind Brother
6m
9m
85m
Man in Ceiling
(Dis)honesty: The Truth About Lies
16m
89m
The Deal
Zephyr
15m
79m
4:00 PM THT
FILM AS JOURNALISM: OP DOCS AT THE NEW YORK TIMES with Lindsay Crouse, Coordinating Producer, Op Docs
MIDDLEBURY INN
NEW CURRENTS IN DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING with Barbara Kopple, Tony Stone, Todd Wider, Jedd Wider, Amy Geller, Allie Humenuk and John Stanton
5:00 PM FESTIVAL HAPPY HOUR on the Porch ––OPEN TO ALL––
MIDDLEBURY INN
7:15 PM THT MARQ DANA SCRN
How You Look At It
Year By The Sea
10m
114m
Here
Captain Fantastic
6m
118m
One Last Sigh Before Nightfall
Peter And The Farm
28m
91m
This Modern Man Is Beat
And Then I Was French
17m
106m
9:00 PM AMERICAN FLATBREAD
SATURDAY NIGHT DANCE PARTY featuring the music of ELI “PAPERBOY” REED Hosted by American Flatbread ––OPEN TO ALL–– FREE ADMISSION!
5 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
SCHEDULE SUNDAY 8/28
THT = TOWN HALL THEATER MARQ = MARQUIS THEATER
DANA = DANA AUDITORIUM SCRN = MARQUIS - SCREENING ROOM
= DIRECTOR WILL ATTEND MNFF
9:00 AM CAROL’S HUNGRY MIND CAFE Filmmaker Mingle ––OPEN TO ALL––
10:00 AM THT MARQ DANA SCRN
Between The Lines
In-between
8m
90m
Ribbons
Saving Jamaica Bay
9m
76m
Hot Type: 150 Years of The Nation 93m
ON-STAGE CONVERSATION with Barbara Kopple and John Nichols [National Affairs Correspondent for The Nation]
Freedom & Unity TV Collection 72m
1:00 PM THT MARQ DANA
Soliloquy
Sonita
14m
90m
Freakwave
Concealed
21m
87m
Page One: Inside the NY Times 92m
SCRN
ON-STAGE CONVERSATION “The Changing Face of Journalism in the Age of New Media” with Hamilton Boardman [Sr. Editor, NY Times] and Jay Craven; Panel also includes Lindsay Crouse [Op Docs, New York Times], Angelo Lynn [Addison Independent], Paula Routly [Seven Days], John Van Hoesen [VPR]
Selling Rosario
Wallabout
16m
102m
4:00 PM THT MARQ DANA SCRN
Genesis
Phil’s Camino
Radical Grace
3m
27m
75m
Unspoken
The Guys Next Door
15m
74m
Real Ethereal
Huntwatch
10m
88m
Sunday 1287
Broke
10m
95m
6:30 PM
VTEDDY AWARD CEREMONY & CLOSING NIGHT FILM TOWN HALL THEATER
MISS SHARON JONES! DIRECTOR: BARBARA KOPPLE PRODUCERS: BARBARA KOPPLE, DAVID CASSIDY Feature Documentary 93m
Barbara Kopple will attend the festival
On the eve of the release of her new album, internationally recognized soul singer Sharon Jones was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Tour dates were cancelled, the album pushed back and Sharon entered into a fight for her life and career. Miss Sharon Jones! intimately follows this intense and courageous year in Sharon’s life.
ON-STAGE CONVERSATION TO FOLLOW The latest documentary feature from Barbara Kopple closes the 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival with a flourish. Barbara Kopple and Jay Craven will appear on-stage following the screening for a final Q&A.
6 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm 6 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
MNFF EVENTS FRIDAY, AUGUST 26 BOOK TO FILM: A CONVERSATION WITH RUSSELL BANKS 4PM @ EDGEWATER GALLERY AT THE FALLS 1 MILL STREET Nancie Battaglia
Join distinguished American author Russell Banks for a conversation with Jay Parini on the subject of the novel as source material for feature films. Find out how one’s book actually does get made into a film – or not, in many cases. Russell Banks is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for “Continental Drift” and “Cloudsplitter” and is a winner of the Literature Award from The American Academy of Arts and Letters. Two of his novels, “The Sweet Hereafter” and “Affliction” have been made into widely acclaimed films, with “The Sweet Hereafter” having won the Grand Prix and International Critics Award at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. Jay Parini is a poet, novelist, critic, screenwriter and the Axinn Professor of English at Middlebury College. His novel, “The Last Station,” made it to the big screen in 2009 with leads Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren. Both Russell and Jay will be signing their books at Vermont Book Shop following this event – a great opportunity to meet them personally. Open To All!
FILMMAKERS CHAMPAGNE RECEPTION 5PM @ SPARKLING, 56 COLLEGE STREET Filmmakers Only, Please.
FESTIVAL HAPPY HOUR 5PM @ MARQUIS THEATER, 65 MAIN STREET Enjoy the great food and full bar in the Café at the Marquis. Open To All!
FRIDAY NIGHT PARTY 9-11PM @ EDGEWATER GALLERY AT THE FALLS, 1 MILL STREET Great way to wrap up the day. Music provided by local favorites Cooper and Lavoie. Passholders Only, Please.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 27 COFFEE WITH . . . MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL & PETER SARSGAARD 9AM @ THE MIDDLEBURY INN [ON THE PATIO] 14 COURT SQUARE Join actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard for conversation and coffee in a lively exchange with Jay Craven. Coffee provided by the Middlebury Inn. Open To All!
7 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
MNFF EVENTS SATURDAY, AUGUST 27 [continued] 40TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE SCREENING OF “HARLAN COUNTY, USA” 1:30PM @ TOWN HALL THEATER The epic “Brookside Strike” of 180 coal miners and their wives against the Eastover Coal Company in Harlan County, Kentucky became the subject of Barbara Kopple’s first feature documentary. By living with the striking miners for years, Kopple passionately portrays the miners’ struggle to establish more secure lives. Oscar-winning Harlan County, USA is a true landmark in the history of American documentary filmmaking. Barbara Kopple will join Jay Craven on-stage following the screening.
NEW CURRENTS IN DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING 4PM @ THE MIDDLEBURY INN [ON THE PATIO] 14 COURT SQUARE Documentary filmmakers are widening their influence in American society. Join an outstanding panel of prominent filmmakers as they explore the diverse aesthetics being employed in creating documentaries, the wide ranging outcomes and impacts their work has on societal issues and legal cases, and their ability to make a living in the midst of all this increased attention. Panelists include Barbara Kopple [“Harlan County, USA,” “Hot Type: 150 Years of The Nation,” and “Miss Sharon Jones!”]; Tony Stone [“Peter And The Farm”]; Todd Wider and Jedd Wider [“God Knows Where I Am”]; Amy Geller and Allie Humenuk [“The Guys Next Door”]; and John Stanton [“The Last Bay Scallop?”].
FILM AS JOURNALISM: OP DOCS AT THE NEW YORK TIMES 4PM @ TOWN HALL THEATER Begun by The New York Times’ opinion section in 2011, Op Docs is a series of short, interactive and virtual reality documentaries. Each film is produced with wide creative latitude by both renowned and emerging filmmakers and offers a unique point of view. Now a staple of the Times’ online platform, Op Docs is part of the growing “Film As Journalism” phenomenon. Lindsay Crouse, The Times’ Coordinating Producer of Op Docs, will present several of these excellent short documentaries and offer background and context on the entire initiative and its impact at America’s leading newspaper.
Enjoy the Shows!
FESTIVAL HAPPY HOUR 5PM @ THE MIDDLEBURY INN [ON THE PORCH] 14 COURT SQUARE
Courtyard by Marriott • Rt. 7 South, Middlebury 802-388-7600 www.middleburycourtyard.com
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Breakfast: Monday – Friday 6-10 a.m. Saturday & Sunday 7-11 a.m. Dinner daily 5-10 p.m.
8 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
MNFF EVENTS SATURDAY, AUGUST 27 [continued] SATURDAY NIGHT DANCE PARTY, FEATURING ELI “PAPERBOY” REED 9-11:30PM @ THE MARBLE WORKS HOSTED BY AMERICAN FLATBREAD Open To All! FREE ADMISSION! Come enjoy food and drink and the rockin’ soul sounds of Eli “Paperboy” Reed. On the lawn facing Otter Creek Falls. Rain location – inside American Flatbread.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 28 FILMMAKER MINGLE
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ABSOLUTELY THE BEST VALUE IN CHERRY FURNITURE
4PM @ DANA AUDITORIUM After the screening, Hamilton Boardman, Sr. Editor of The New York Times and publisher of the online edition, talks with Jay Craven on how The New York Times has further evolved since the film’s release in 2011. Panel (to follow) also includes “The Changing Face of Journalism in the Age of New Media,” with participants including Hamilton Boardman; Lindsay Crouse, Coordinating Producer, Op Docs, New York Times; John Nichols, The Nation; Angelo Lynn, Publisher, Addison Independent; Paula Routly, Publisher, Seven Days; John Van Hoesen, Senior VP/Chief Content Officer, VPR. Moderated by Jay Craven.
VTEDDY AWARD CEREMONY 6:30PM @ TOWN HALL THEATER Join us for the joyful VTeddy Award Ceremony for Best Feature Narrative, Best Short Narrative, Best Feature Documentary, Best Short Documentary, Audience Award/Feature, Audience Award/Short and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Award for Best Integration of Music Composed For Film.
CLOSING NIGHT FILM: “MISS SHARON JONES!” 7:30PM @ TOWN HALL THEATER The latest documentary feature from Barbara Kopple closes the 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival with a flourish. Barbara Kopple and Jay Craven will appear on-stage following the screening for a final Q&A. 9 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
MNFF STAFF & FRIENDS LLOYD KOMESAR – FESTIVAL PRODUCER
Todd Balfour
Lloyd Komesar spent nearly 30 years as a sales, research and distribution exec in the film and television programming industry, first at Blair Television in New York, then, for the next 25 years, at the Walt Disney Company in New York and Los Angeles. Having acquired extensive knowledge of the distribution models of film and television over his rewarding career, he brings a considerable amount of perspective and insight to the MNFF endeavor.
JAY CRAVEN – ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Matt Kiedaisch
Artistic Director and filmmaker Jay Craven has made eight feature films, four documentaries, and an Emmy Award-winning comedy series (Windy Acres) for public television. He directs Kingdom County Productions (w/ Bess O’Brien) and teaches at Marlboro College, where he directs the biennial “Movies from Marlboro” program where 20 professionals mentor and collaborate with 32 students from multiple colleges to make a feature film for national release. His newest film, the noir thriller Wetware, stars Jerry O’Connell, Cameron Scoggins, and Morgan Wolk. Watch for its New England release in 2017!
PHOEBE LEWIS – PRESS, PUBLICITY & SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Phoebe Lewis is pleased to return to the MNFF for a second year. She graduated from Kenyon College in May and will manage Social Media for the Mill Valley Film Festival in Marin, CA. She feels incredibly fortunate to have called Middlebury home for the past two summers. Thanks to our incredible team, Jay, Lloyd, Matt, and Celia - you’re the best!
CELIA WATSON – FESTIVAL INTERN Celia Watson is a rising senior at Middlebury College where she studies theatre, english, and education studies. Celia previously interned for Tectonic Theater Project, and currently co-produces Cocoon, an annual storytelling event in collaboration with Mahaney Center for the Arts. She is excited for the opportunity to bring film and the arts to Middlebury this summer.
MNFF 2016 FESTIVAL JURY VANESSA DOWNING Managing Director and Film Curator, Wellfleet Preservation Hall, Wellfleet, MA.
ERIC FORD Senior Manager of Local Content, VT PBS. Co-founder, Burlington Film Society.
KATE HEARST Visiting Professor of Film Genre Studies, Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, Brooklyn College.
RICK KISONAK Film Critic, Seven Days.
JENNIFER LATHAM Documentary film producer. Credits include Michael Moore’s Sicko and Capitalism: A Love Story.
HILARY NERONI Associate Professor of Film and Television Studies, University of Vermont.
BILL PHILLIPS Screenwriter and Visiting Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies, Dartmouth College. Screenwriting credits include John Carpenter’s Christine.
FRED STRYPE Professor and Chair, Filmmaking and Moving Image Arts, Sarah Lawrence College.
NAT WINTHROP Principal, Vermont Archive Movie Project, and documentary film producer. Credits include The Vermont Movie.
HEATHER REED – SENIOR PROGRAMMER Heather Reed is an award-winning short film director and educator based in Provincetown, Massachusetts. She previously worked for The Provincetown Film Society, managing Waters Edge Cinema, and as a print traffic, venue manager and projectionist for The Provincetown International Film Festival. She is currently the Public Access Director for Provincetown Community Television, where she teaches filmmaking and assists the creation of locally-made media.
MATT HEYWOOD – LEAD DESIGNER Matt Heywood is an award-winning designer and illustrator based in Middlebury, Vermont. He is cofounder of The Image Farm -– a small studio that employs a multidisciplinary approach to foster community, create change, and market innovative products, services, and events. Matt is an agile communicator with nearly 20 years of experience and a distinct knack for distilling information. He also loves to make things. The Image Farm works in diverse styles and across all mediums, from traditional to digital to physical.
Proud to support the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival
FOURWAYS TO ENJOY
breakfast | lunch | dinner | take out Breakfast starting at 9am, Lunch at 11am & Dinner at 5pm
3 MILL STREET • FROG HOLLOW • MIDDLEBURY • 388.1063 10 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
FILMS A-Z
= DIRECTOR WILL ATTEND MNFF
And Then I Was French
The Best and Worst Days of George Morales’ Unnaturally Long Life Saturday MARQ 7:15 pm 106M
Between the Lines
Friday THT 7:15 pm 24M
Sunday THT 10:00 am 8M
Sensitive wallflower Cara exists quietly in her humdrum life until the appearance of charismatic Jay unlocks powerful desires within her. When Jay’s beautiful French lover arrives, Cara’s journey to self-discovery takes a dark and unexpected turn, with tragic consequences, as Karma rears its head once more.
George and Susie Morales own a restaurant in East Los Angeles and have been happily married for nearly forty years. They are also immortal. Their secret lies in a recipe for chicken mole. It has kept them from aging. It has kept them together. But when Susie decides that she would like to finally end her life, George is forced to make a difficult decision: join her in death, or face eternity alone.
Two young actors, strangers, are thrown together in a casting before spending a fleeting summer rehearsing and learning to fall in love on stage. As they are gently guided by their director (cupid), their own feelings take over.
Narrative
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Director: Claire Leona Apps
Country: UK
Directors: Benjamin Dohrmann, Seth Cuddeback
Country: USA
Director: Rollo Hollins
Country: USA, UK
EAST COAST PREMIERE
Producers: Lizzie Goodman, Jack Goodman
NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE
Producers: Amy Thornton, Claire Leona Apps
US PREMIERE
Black Canaries
Producers: Benjamin Dohrmann, Seth Cuddeback
Blind Date Friday DANA 1:30 pm 19M
Bloom of Youth Saturday MARQ 10:30 am 35M
Friday THT 10:30 am 17M
Isolated, desperate, and haunted by his coal-stained birthright, Clarence Lockwood continues his daily descent into the accursed Maple mine—even after it has crippled his father and blinded his youngest son. Set in 1907 and based on director Jesse Kreitzer’s own coalmining ancestry, “Black Canaries” is a powerful meditation on patrimony, loyalty, and love.
Technology is transforming the way we date and find love. Mobile apps like Tinder and websites like OkCupid are whetting our appetite for instant visual gratification. But, if you’re single and blind, you face a distinct set of challenges in finding love. A digital divide has emerged between sighted and blind people in search of longlasting partnerships. “Blind Date” is a short documentary following three blind New Yorkers on their quests for lust and love in the digital age.
A young man returns home after graduating from college to propose to his sweetheart and open a school to better their small Chinese village. However, a mother’s dreams and senseless violence create obstacles that love must overcome.
Narrative
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Narrative
Director: Jesse Kreitzer
Country: USA
Country: USA
Director: Hanching Howard Zheng
Producer: Jesse Kreitzer
VERMONT PREMIERE
Directors: Maya Albanese, Nicole Ellis
Broke
Producers: Maya Albanese, Nicole Ellis
WORLD PREMIERE
Busking Turf Wars Sunday SCRN 4:00 pm 95M
Language: Chinese (English subtitles)
Producer: Hanching Howard Zheng Country: China
Captain Fantastic Friday MARQ 7:15 pm 73M
Saturday MARQ 7:15 pm 118M
A disgraced sports star earns a second chance through the support of his number one fan.
For Steven Lockmoore, busking is a way of life. He’s worked hard for his place on the street and is passionate about the community of which he is a part. And whilst he may not be the most gifted musician on the street, he has a love for what he does and a yearning to entertain. But when a rival musician appears on the scene, Steven must fight to protect his territory or else lose it forever.
Ben Cash and his wife Leslie raise their six children deep in the wilderness of Washington state. Isolated from society, Ben and Leslie devote their existence to educating their kids to think critically, training them to be physically fit, guiding them in the wild without technology and demonstrating the beauty of coexisting with nature. When Leslie dies suddenly, Ben must take his sheltered offspring into the outside world for the first time.
Narrative
Language: English
Mockumentary
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Director: Heath Davis
Country: Australia
Director: Peter Trifunovic
Country: UK
Director: Matt Ross
Country: USA
NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE
Producer: Mark Trifunovic
EAST COAST PREMIERE
Producers: Monica Levinson, Jamie Patricof, Shivani Rawat, Lynette Howell Taylor
Producer: Heath Davis
11 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
12 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
FILMS A-Z
= DIRECTOR WILL ATTEND MNFF
Child For Sale
Circle Saturday SCRN 10:30 am 13M
Clean Friday THT 1:30 pm 11M
Friday THT 10:30 am 5M
In the United States alone, roughly 300,000 children are bought and sold for sex. Sex slavery is a growing and lucrative epidemic that is often more profitable than the drug trade. The perception is that these girls (and also boys) are prostitutes who entered sex work out of necessity or by choice. This concept didn’t make sense to high schooler Fiona Bock. Why would someone her own age “choose” to be a sex worker? The truth is, they didn’t.
The short film “Circle” depicts a young woman in despair, who after experiencing a tragic loss escapes into the seemingly perfect past. She loses herself in vivid memories and starts to neglect her real life. A constant inner struggle emerges between past and present, distorting her perception of reality. Ahmad Saleh, a young Palestinian screenwriter wrote “Circle” to cope with the losses he endured during the crises in Palestine.
A young man battles his compulsions on his way to school in New York City.
Narrative
Language: English
Narrative
Narrative
Language: English
Directors: Fiona Bock
Country: USA
Director: Alexander Heringer
Language: English (Silent)
Director: Gabriel Wilson
Country: USA
Producer: Daniel Piechocki, Alexander Heringer
Country: Germany
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producer: Brittany Northcross
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producers: Fiona Bock
FAMILY-FRIENDLY
Coming Through The Rye
Concealed
Friday THT 7:15 pm 95M
The Deal Sunday MARQ 1:00 pm 87M
Saturday SCRN 1:30 pm 16M
Inspired by the filmmaker’s own true story, the film – set in 1969 – follows a 16 year old boy who is desperate to be a worldly adolescent. After stumbling through disastrous relationships at boarding school, and, accompanied by a local town girl, he travels the mountains of New Hampshire in search of J.D. Salinger, the reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye.
Max, a struggling actor living in South Africa, has flown into Sydney, Australia for the audition of his life. As soon as he lands things start to go horribly wrong when his girlfriend Sallie disappears. Frustrated with the police’s lack of progress in finding her, Max embarks on a desperate search with the help of childhood friend Richard. The pair’s search pushes them to both external and internal extremities in their desperate plight to find Sallie.
Before his debilitating car accident Bryce was the star quarterback. Monica was his prom queen and James was a loser. But high school was a lifetime ago, and now everyone’s changed: Becca’s skinny, Hector’s a star and James is everyone’s best friend. But when Monica suddenly disappears at James’ party, Bryce knows exactly who to blame — but in order to find the truth he might lose more than he bargained for.
Narrative
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Director: James Sadwith
Country: USA
Director: Shane T. Hall
Country: Australia
Director: Daniel Kaminsky
Country: USA
Producers: James Sadwith, Stan Erdreich, Teddy Grennan
Producers: Jacqui Fifer, Jo McNulty-Clark, Lyall Sumner
NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE
Producers: Michael Klein, Brett Young-Fountain
VERMONT PREMIERE
(Dis)honesty: The Truth About Lies
Drug Mule
Saturday DANA 1:30 pm 89M
Elegy Friday MARQ 1:30 pm 9M
Friday DANA 7:15 pm 22M
It’s human nature to lie. We all do it! From scandalous headlines to little white lies, “(Dis)Honesty – The Truth About Lies” explores the complex impact dishonesty has on our lives and everyday society. This is a fascinating look at the forces behind our collective behavior and the many truths behind lies.
Mexican drug enforcement agents get an unwelcome surprise when they suspect an American mother with a 10-year old son of smuggling.
An old man, an expectation, a hope…
Documentary
Language: English
Narrative
Narrative
Language: Turkish
Director: Yael Melamede
Country: USA
Director: David Spaltro
Director: Yousef Kargar
Country: Iran
Producer: Iranian Youth Cinema Society
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producer: Dan Ariely
Language: English, Spanish
Producer: Sharon Lesser Maguire Country: USA
VERMONT PREMIERE
13 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
P
150 YEARS OF THE BICYCLE
H
THE COLLECTION OF GLENN EAMES June 21 - OctOber 16, 2016
HENRY SHELDON MUSEUM
ONE PARK STREET, MIDDLEBURY 802.388.2117 • HenrySheldonMuseum.org
TUES. - SAT. 10AM - 5PM SUNDAYS IN SUMMER & FALL 1PM - 5PM
Founding Premier Sponsor
Welcome to the Festival
We are here to help you find what you need and help make your shopping experience pleasant! Please stop by for a visit and discover a store like no other. We may have something special you will not want to miss!
Downtown Middlebury
802.349.8803
14 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
FILMS A-Z
= DIRECTOR WILL ATTEND MNFF
Flight
Freakwave Friday MARQ 10:30 am 10M
Freedom & Unity TV Collection Sunday MARQ 1:00 pm 21M
Sunday SCRN 10:00 am 72M
When a snowy owl shows up in Connecticut, a young bird watcher is determined to find it–and she won’t let a busy mom, a broken bike, or a bully get in her way.
When a rule-abiding official, responsible for the issuing of identity cards and passports, is confronted by a mysterious shipwrecked hobo she is drawn into a wave of surreal events that soon brings her orderly world crashing down upon her.
“Freedom & Unity TV Collection” is an annual film contest for young Vermonters who have made short films about their lives, passions and interests in their home state of Vermont. The films are judged by professionals in the film industry and awarded prizes. In 2016, 94 films were submitted. This is a selection of some of the winning films.
Narrative
Language: English
Narrative
Documentary, Narrative
Language: English
Director: Naomi Saito
Country: USA
Director: Pennie Hunt
Language: German (English subtitles)
Country: USA
Producer: Hannah Ryan
WORLD PREMIERE
Producer: Stefan Roesch, Punakaiki Productions
Directors: Various (Young Adult, Middle School, High School)
EAST COAST PREMIERE
FAMILY-FRIENDLY
Genesis
Country: Germany
Girl Asleep Sunday THT 4:00 pm 3M
Producers: Various (Young Adult, Middle School, High School)
FAMILY-FRIENDLY
God Knows Where I Am Friday THT 10:30 am 77M
Friday DANA 7:15 pm 91M
From chaos, matter flows and creates a structure.
In this vibrant portrayal of Australian adolescence, Greta Driscoll’s bubble of obscure loserdom is burst when her parents throw her a surprise 15th birthday party and invite the whole school! Content being a wallflower, suddenly Greta’s flung far from her comfort zone into a distant, parallel place — a strange world that’s a little frightening and a lot weird, but only there can she find herself.
The body of Linda Bishop, a homeless woman, is found in an abandoned New Hampshire farmhouse. Beside her lies a diary that documents a journey of starvation and the loss of sanity, told with poignancy, humor and spirituality. For nearly four months, Bishop, a prisoner of her own mind, survived on apples and rain water, waiting for God to save her, during a brutally cold winter. A powerful story about our systemic failure to protect those who cannot protect themselves.
Experimental
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Director: Roman Hill
Country: France
Director: Rosemary Myers
Country: Australia
Country: USA
EAST COAST PREMIERE
Producer: Jo Dyer
Directors: Jedd Wider , Todd Wider
The Guys Next Door
Harlan County USA
The Graveyard Shift Friday THT 1:30 pm 3M
Producers: Jedd Wider, Todd Wider
Sunday MARQ 4:00 pm 74M
VERMONT PREMIERE
Saturday THT 1:30 pm 103M
It’s long past midnight when the tired and jumpy waitress decides to go and investigate the ominous noise she hears right outside the roadside coffee shop she’s working at. She discovers that a she is being attacked by a Zombie! The zombie lazily wobbles inside the shop and corners the poor waitress behind the counter. How will she save herself? What will it take?
Meet Erik and Sandro, a gay couple whose friend Rachel is a surrogate for their two daughters. Rachel, who is in her mid-40s, is married to Tony and they have three children. Together, they all form a unique, extended modern family. Elegantly shot and edited, told with candor and humor, “The Guys Next Door” is an inspiring story of family, friendship and gay rights.
The epic “Brookside Strike” of 180 coal miners and their wives against the Eastover Coal Company in Harlan County, Kentucky became the subject of Barbara Kopple’s first feature documentary. By living with the striking miners for years, Kopple passionately portrays the miners’ struggle to establish more secure lives. Oscar-winning “Harlan County, USA” is a true landmark in the history of American documentary filmmaking. Barbara Kopple will join Jay Craven on-stage following the screening.
Animated
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Director: Lara Arikan
Country: USA
Directors: Amy Geller, Allie Humenuk
Country: USA
Director: Barbara Kopple
Country: USA
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producer: Barbara Kopple
40TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE SCREENING
Producer: Lara Arikan
FAMILY-FRIENDLY
Producers: Amy Geller, Allie Humenuk
15 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
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16 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
FILMS A-Z
= DIRECTOR WILL ATTEND MNFF
Here
Hold It Down Saturday MARQ 7:15 pm 6M
Hot Type: 150 Years of The Nation Friday SCRN 7:15 pm 30M
Sunday DANA 10:00 am 93M
A relationship unravels over an unmade bed.
One in 68 Americans are living with autism and 1% of the world has a type of Autism. Mute until the age of three, the film tells the story of Justin Fisher a battle rapper in Denver who is using music to overcome his struggles with autism.
A vivid look at The Nation, America’s oldest continuously published weekly magazine. Centered around Editor Katrina vanden Heuvel, as well as an impressive array of passionate writers, the film is a remarkable journey into the soul of American journalism that also captures the day-to-day pressures and challenges of publishing a weekly magazine.
Narrative
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Director: Lisa Bass
Country: USA
Director: Jacquelynne Causey
Country: USA
Director: Barbara Kopple
Country: USA
Producer: Joshua Fu
WORLD PREMIERE
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producers: Barbara Kopple, Suzanne Mitchell
How You Look At It
Huntwatch Saturday THT 7:15 pm 8M
In-between Sunday DANA 4:00 pm 88M
Sunday THT 10:00 am 80M
How You Look At It is a Silent Comedy short film inspired by the Carl Jung quote, ‘It all depends on how we look at things, and not how they are themselves.’ The story is about how love at first sight changes a man’s perspective of the world around him. With a little help from his inner theme songs, his environment comes together to support his quest to be with his new sighted love…or at least, say hello to her.
Violent confrontation boils over in Canada as activists, fishermen and politicians battle over the fate of baby seals. In 1969, a charismatic activist, Brian Davies, set out on a personal crusade to save them. Little did he know the fight would last the rest of his life. All sides are fighting dirty. Davies hopes that he will live to see a victory for his seals, while the sealing industry scrambles to keep the hunt alive.
The first days of a relationship can feel like a delicate dance – are you moving too fast? Too slow? What’s really going on inside your partner’s mind? In-between explores the vulnerabilities of falling in love as it follows two teenagers over the span of one consequential day on the streets of Copenhagen. The narrative feature aims to explore how one day can make a change for the rest of your life – because what do you do with life when you find yourself in-between?
Narrative
Language: English (Silent)
Documentary
Language: English
Narrative
Country: USA
Director: Brant Backlund
Country: USA
Director: Henrik Kolind
Producers: Brant Backlund, David Kennedy, Kerry Brandon
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producer: Lars Valentin
Director/Choreographer: Wendy Seyb Producers: Wendy Seyb, Anette Lewis
VERMONT PREMIERE
Language: Danish (English subtitles) Country: Denmark
FAMILY-FRIENDLY
The Kid
Krisha Friday MARQ 10:30 am 68M
Lambing Season Friday DANA 1:30 pm 82M
Saturday DANA 10:30 am 24M
Written, produced, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin, “The Kid” was Chaplin’s feature directorial debut and enjoyed huge success at its 1921 release. The film follows Charlie the Tramp as he finds The Orphan and takes him in, and their adventures ensue. The Library of Congress preserved the film in the United States National Film Registry in 2011.
When Krisha shows up at her sister’s home on Thanksgiving, her close and extended family greet her with a mixture of warmth and wariness. But, a palpable unease permeates the air as Krisha tries to make up for lost time. Her attempts at reconciliation are increasingly rebuffed as tensions reach their peak. Long-buried secrets and deep-seated resentments come to the fore as everyone becomes immersed in an emotionally charged familial reckoning.
“Lambing Season” pursues the idea of a man – writer, sheep farmer, and good sport Don Mitchell. Don’s golden years carry baggage and freedoms, but what lies beneath is something deeper and more richly faceted. It is a film about choosing, chasing, and losing identity, and finding a new one among mapless backroads.
Narrative
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Country: USA
Director: Trey Edward Shults
Country: USA
Director: Andrew Baker
Country: USA
FAMILY-FRIENDLY
Producers: Justin R. Chan, Trey Edward Shults, Chase Joliet, Wilson Smith
Producer: Charlie Chaplin
Producer: Andrew Baker
17 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
A Better Place to Live, Work & Play
Thanks for Visiting Middlebury! Our community is proud to host the 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival! While you are here, hit a few stops on the Middlebury Tasting Trail to sample some of the highest quality beverages from local producers, throw a line in the river, hike around Middlebury and shop the offerings of our charming merchants. Visit ExperienceMiddlebury.com for more information before exploring and experiencing Middlebury and the surrounding area. Thank you to the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival for all of the hard work it took to be able to offer such a wonderful event in our community!
experiencemiddlebury.com
The Original Drive-In...
Pull up a chair and let the show begin!
Polymer Chairs... to last a lifetime.
maintenance free • multitude of colors
Route 7 South • Middlebury, VT VT • Route 7 South • Middlebury, 802-388-6297
18 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
FILMS A-Z
= DIRECTOR WILL ATTEND MNFF
The Last Bay Scallop?
The Laughter Life Saturday THT 10:30 am 30M
The Left Behind Saturday MARQ 10:30 am 76M
Saturday MARQ 10:30 am 76M
The waters off Nantucket island support the last viable bay scallop commercial fishery on the east coast. But scientists estimate that it could fade into history within a decade. What will be lost in off-season economy and the island culture that grew up around the scallop fishery, if that dire prediction comes true? Can the town and local scientists repair the harbor’s water quality and save the bay scallop?
Follow a week in the professional life of the young comedians who write and star in “Studio C,” a popular sketch comedy television show viewed by tens of thousands of people weekly. But theirs is not your typical comedy success story, as the cast and crew behind the program are practicing Mormons living in the deeply observant community of Provo, Utah.
Set on the sprawling campus of a prestigious New England boarding school, The Left Behind closely follows the lives of John, Ismene, and Charlie as they fight to understand and reconcile the sudden and mysterious death of their best friend Finn.
Documentary
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Director: John Stanton
Country: USA
Director: Juliet Werner
Country: USA
Director: Oliver Salk
Country: USA
Producer: John Stanton
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producers: Juliet Werner, Jeff Werner
US PREMIERE
Producers: Arturo Alanis, Games Semler, Rebecca Karabus
US PREMIERE
FAMILY-FRIENDLY
The Legend of Swee’ Pea
FAMILY-FRIENDLY
Legs: A Big Issue in a Small Town
Friday MARQ 1:30 pm 80M
Life, Animated
Saturday DANA 10:30 am 77M
Friday THT 1:30 pm 89M
Lloyd Daniels’ unlikely rise to the NBA is the stuff that myths are made of. Nicknamed Swee’ Pea, he was the most sought after college basketball recruit of his generation, but got busted buying cocaine in a police sting operation, and two years later barely survived three bullets to the chest while negotiating an $8 drug deal. Yet, in spite of this, Daniels made it to the NBAwithout having played a single college game.
When a controversial piece of art gets publicly displayed, opinions start flying and feisty people take action. The film reveals a town chock full of lively characters and conflicts, as those who live there struggle to define their community. Is it an accepting, welcoming place to live? Maybe, but if you look closer, there are cracks in the veneer and the town is not all that it appears to be.
From Academy Award winning director Roger Ross Williams, “Life, Animated” is the inspirational story of Owen Suskind, a young man who was unable to speak as a child until he and his family discovered a unique way to communicate by immersing themselves in the world of classic Disney animated films. This emotional coming-ofage story follows Owen as he graduates to adulthood and takes his first steps toward independence.
Documentary
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Director: Benjamin May
Country: USA
Country: USA
Director: Roger Ross Williams
Country: USA
Producers: Daniel Burke Levin, Karl Hollandt
VERMONT PREMIERE
Directors: Beatrice Alda , Jennifer Brooke
NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE
Producers: Roger Ross Williams, Julie Goldman
FAMILY-FRIENDLY
The Magic Shoes
Producers: Beatrice Alda, Jennifer Brooke
FAMILY-FRIENDLY
Man In Ceiling Friday MARQ 10:30 am 19M
Miss Sharon Jones! Saturday DANA 1:30 pm 16M
Sunday THT 7:30 pm 93M
Los Angeles, 1992. Young Kamron and his family have just moved to the country from Iran in search of the American Dream. Left out of recess basketball games, Kamron fantasizes about impressing his classmates with high flying dunks if only he had the right shoes to pull them off! With the Persian New Year approaching, he is certain his parents will grant his wish for new Air Jordans, but disappointments arise.
Ryan, a slacker in his mid-20s, gets a temp job in a cubicle farm. He volunteers to pull an all-nighter to finish a timesensitive project. But late at night, alone in the office, Ryan discovers a dying, disheveled man hiding in the ceiling…Kafka meets computers in “Man in Ceiling,” a tale of one man at the foot of the corporate ladder meeting another at the end of his rope.
On the eve of the release of her new album, internationally recognized soul singer Sharon Jones was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Tour dates were cancelled, the album pushed back and Sharon entered into a fight for her life and career. Miss Sharon Jones! intimately follows this intense and courageous year in Sharon’s life.
Narrative
Narrative
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Director: Sahand Nikoukar
Language: English, Farsi (English subtitles)
Director: Joshua Fu
Country: USA
Director: Barbara Kopple
Country: USA
Producers: Sabrina Chammas, Bernardo Duran Jr., Eric Adrian Marshall
Country: USA
NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE
Producer: Joshua Fu
WORLD PREMIERE
Producer: Barbara Kopple
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
FAMILY-FRIENDLY 19 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
Welcome to Middlebury, a community that offers an abundance of small-town charm and some of Vermont's most beautiful scenery, as well as a vibrant cultural and artistic scene. The IPJ Real Estate team is proud to support the 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival! Thank you for visiting our community, and if you've fallen in love with Middlebury too...please give us a call!
IPJ Real Estate
MIDDVERMONTREALESTATE.COM 802.388.4242 MIDDLEBURY, VT INFO@MIDDVERMONTREALESTATE.COM
follow us! 20 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
FILMS A-Z
= DIRECTOR WILL ATTEND MNFF
Mr Ready
My Blind Brother Friday MARQ 10:30 am 14M
No Signal Saturday MARQ 1:30 pm 77M
Friday SCRN 1:30 pm 6M
It’s ‘Mr Rogers’ meets ‘The Real World’ in this short that shows definitively that kids don’t come with an owner’s manual! When Albert’s time comes to take over Mom’s shift as the ‘Man of the House’, he quickly finds himself faced with the one thing he never expected: Everything that matters…to his son. What will he do? Is he ‘ready’ for the job? Discover with him what happens when he uses the same analogy his dad used on him all those years ago…on the next generation!
Robbie is a handsome but cocky blind athlete. Bill is his less handsome, guilt-ridden brother, whose role in life is to serve as his brother’s eyes. Tensions escalate when both brothers quickly begin to fall for the same woman, Rose, who becomes the blind brother’s new guide.
A celebration of the uncanny. A closer look at the past four years of one girl’s life and her close encounters, highlighting a strange perspective of everyday monotony. It’s happening now. Everywhere. All of the time.
Narrative
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Experimental
Language: English
Director: John W Galvin
Country: USA
Director: Sophie Goodhart
Country: USA
Director: Kimberly Arthurs
Country: USA
Producer: John W Galvin
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producers: Tyler Davidson, Tory Tunnell
VERMONT PREMIERE
FAMILY-FRIENDLY
Oasis
One Last Sigh Before Nightfall Saturday MARQ 1:30 pm 9M
Page One: Inside The New York Times
Saturday DANA 7:15 pm 28M
Sunday DANA 1:00 pm 92M
Max is driving out to the country to spend the summer on a friend’s family ranch when he sees a beautiful girl standing in front of a roadside gas station. He imagines how awful her life must be that she should have to live in the middle of nowhere. He then imagines taking her back to the city with him, saving her from what he imagines to be her dead-end, dust-bowl life. Smitten, Max decides to go talk to her, but he quickly realizes his assumptions may have been all wrong.
To avoid compulsory retirement and the loss of their unemployment benefits, Alfons and Carl have to attend a job center initiative to improve their team working ability. They hike through Lappland in teams of two. As soon they meet, all the problems that have ruined their lives surface and the two men need to realize that there is only one way to solve them: friendship.
With the Internet surpassing print as the main news source and newspapers all over the country going bankrupt, “Page One: Inside The New York Times” chronicles the transformation of the media industry at its time of greatest turmoil. Closely examining the vibrant debates and skillful pitching required of a great news organization, what emerges is a nuanced portrait of journalists continuing to produce extraordinary work under increasingly difficult circumstances.
Narrative
Language: English
Narrative
Documentary
Language: English
Director: Aidan Kahn
Country: Canada
Director: Heikko Deutschmann
Language: English, (English subtitles)
Director: Andrew Rossi
Country: USA
Producer: Aidan Kahn
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producer: Heikko Deutschmann
Country: Germany
Producers: David Hand, Alan Oxman, Adam Schlesinger
Partners
NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE
Peter and The Farm Saturday MARQ 1:30 pm 6M
Phil’s Camino Saturday DANA 7:15 pm 91M
Sunday THT 4:00 pm 27M
Professional and life partners Kate and Leigh have shared everything for years, from their apartment to the popular bar they co-own. When a slump in their sex life forces them to reconsider their relationship they must confront how intertwined their lives have become.
Peter Dunning is the proud proprietor of idyllic Mile Hill Farm in Vermont. The land’s 38 harvests have seen the arrivals and departures of three wives and four children, leaving Peter with only animals and memories. A film crew’s arrival causes him to confront his history and his legacy. A postcard from paradise and a cautionary tale for our times, the film sifts through the potential energy of a human life, that which is used and that which is squandered.
Living with Stage 4 cancer, Phil dreams of walking the 500 mile Camino de Santiago across Spain. Unable to make the trip, he does the next best thing: he builds a camino in the forest behind his house, starts walking and traces his progress on a map. When Phil gets a clean scan, his doctors grant him a ‘chemo holiday’ to miss one chemo treatment giving him 28 days to go walk the ancient route in Spain.
Narrative
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Director: Joey Ally
Country: USA
Director: Tony Stone
Country: USA
Directors: Annie O’Neil, Jessica Lewis
Country: USA
Producers: Joey Ally, Jen Tullock, VERMONT PREMIERE Hannah Pearl Utt, T.J. Williams, Jr. Lauren Smitelli
Producers: Tony Stone, VERMONT PREMIERE Melissa Auf der Maur , Jake Perlin, Andrew Adair
Producer: Annie O’Neil
21 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
VERMONT PREMIERE
Ben Franklin’s Frame shop is becoming
middlebury
frame shop & Gallery 656 Exchange St. | Suite #2 | Middlebury VT, 05753
Come see our eclectic collection of vintage movie posters! p:802-388-6000
For and authentic American Drive-in dining experience — Come by the A&W!
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Since 1915 Co-op has been providing protection for individuals, farms and businesses with a large network of local agents, fast and fair claims service, knowledge of farm safety practices, and affordable rates. Located off Colonial Drive, Co-op has 82 employees; many reside in Addison County or just beyond the county line. Co-op serves over 44,000 members with 96 agent locations throughout Vermont and New Hampshire.
Shop Local
1396 Rte 7 South Middlebury, VT
388-2500
www.distinctivepaintvt.com
M- F 7:30-5:30 Sat. 8-1
Middlebury Farmers’ Market
Co-op continues to be the number one insurer of Vermont residential properties. However, Co-op does more than insure properties, “We support education and training for our members, employees and agency partners. We are committed to and support our communities throughout Vermont and New Hampshire with donations and volunteering.” - Marie Jewett, CEO/President
Summer Market Twice Weekly
Connect with one of our local agents:
Produce • Meat • Cheese • Wine Bread • Maple Syrup • Crafts Plants & More!
Bourdon Insurance Agency
Laberge Insurance Agency
48Merchants Row,Middlebury 388-4837 | www.bourdoninsurance.com
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Gaines Insurance Agency
NFP Property & Casualty
154Monkton Road, Vergennes 877-2878 | www.gainesinsurance.com
22B Park Street, Brandon 247-3176 | www.nfp.com
In the Marble Works – North Parking Lot Saturday & Wednesday 9am – 12:30pm • Rain or Shine www.middleburyfarmersmarket.org
22 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
FILMS A-Z
= DIRECTOR WILL ATTEND MNFF
Pony
The Prison in Twelve Landscapes Friday MARQ 7:15 pm 31M
Radical Grace
Friday SCRN 1:30 pm 87M
Sunday THT 4:00 pm 75M
Claudia, a hardworking single mom, must take an important last minute business trip, forcing her to leave five year old daughter Miko with uncle Jeff, a rock musician in his 50’s who is still running on fumes of his glory days. Spending the weekend looking after a spirited 5 year old, Jeff must suspend his delusions of grandeur and face reality. And Miko learns a bit more about life’s complexities.
A meditation on the prison’s disappearance in the era of mass incarceration, the film unfolds as a journey through a series of ordinary places where prisoners do work and affect lives: from a California mountainside where female prisoners fight the region’s raging wildfires, to a congregation of chess players in Manhattan who did their time becoming masters of the game, to an Appalachian coal town betting its future on the promise of prison jobs.
When the Vatican reprimands American sisters — citing their “radical feminism” — they become the spiritual and symbolic center of a battle for the heart of the Catholic Church. “Radical Grace” follows three fearless nuns who risk their place in the Church to follow another higher calling: social justice.
Narrative
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Director: Candice Carella
Country: USA
Director: Brett Story
Country: USA
Director: Rebecca Parrish
Country: USA
Producers: Candice Carella, Samuel Bayer, Xander Berkeley, MaryAnn Tonedo
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producer: Brett Story
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producers: Nicole Bernardi-Reis, Danny Alpert
Real Ethereal
Ribbons Sunday DANA 4:00 pm 10M
Saving Jamaica Bay Sunday MARQ 10:00 am 9M
Sunday MARQ 10:00 am 76M
Enter into a world of stop-motion animation, cotton ball bliss and otherworldly creatures. Real Ethereal transforms the everyday into a mysterious wonderland of sound, texture and everything unusual.
Ribbons explores the life of an eight year-old boy when his mother brings him to an AIDS memorial service by the sea. His community’s inspirational response to the epidemic is ever present; an event that, as an adult, helps him understand the power of forming a bond with a kindred tribe.
“Saving Jamaica Bay” tells the story of how one community fought the government and overcame Hurricane Sandy to clean up and restore the largest open space in New York City, which had become a dumping ground for garbage, sewage, sludge and bullet-riddled mobsters. Narrated by actress Susan Sarandon, the film includes interviews with the community activists who led the fight, and state and city officials.
Experimental
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Director: Evan Mann
Country: USA
Director: Brandon Cordeiro
Country: USA
Director: David Sigal
Country: USA
Producer: Otherworldly Productions
Producers: Matthew Principe, Brandon Cordeiro
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producer: Daniel Hendrick
VERMONT PREMIERE
Selling Rosario
Small Talk Sunday SCRN 1:00 pm 16M
Soliloquy Friday MARQ 1:30 pm 7M
Sunday THT 1:00 pm 14M
A family of migrant workers send their 12-year-old daughter and her outlaw cousin into the night on the promise of a stranger. “Selling Rosario” is the story of a young girl growing up in a migrant labor camp and her parents’ risky plan to get her out of an unsafe, squalid environment. At the sight of an apparent drug deal we expect the worst for Rosario, until an unexpected twist.
A young woman returns to her childhood neighborhood to document their daily activities but finds the outdoor bustle less active during winter season.
“Soliloquy” is a magnifying glass, an entree into the internal worlds of everyone in it. A poetic interweaving of ten movement portraits, it addresses our propensity to judge people by their physical appearance and embraces difference and the inherent isolation of being human with fierceness, frankness, and celebration.
Narrative
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Experimental
Language: English
Directors: Iana Simeonov, Michael Winokur
Country: USA
Director: Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell
Country: USA
Director: Heidi Latsky ( artistic associate will attend)
Country: USA
Producer: Emily Miller
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producer: Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell
VERMONT PREMIERE
23 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE
Location, Location, Location! And the perfect location is not just critical to the
“Choosing location is integral to the film” - Ridley Scott
value of your home, but key to the long-term satisfaction that your family will experience. When you want to know all about Addison County’s unique spots and hidden gems, work with a team of Location Experts...
... Places Please!
70 Court Street, Middlebury, VT
802-989-7522
champlainvalleyproperty.com cvpropnf@comcast.net
Your Location Scouts
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contact the MCMC office at (802) 989-7538 www.mcmcvt.org
24 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
FILMS A-Z
= DIRECTOR WILL ATTEND MNFF
Sonita
Still Gay Sunday THT 1:00 pm 14M
Suicide Kale Friday DANA 10:30 am 13M
Friday DANA 10:30 am 78M
Sonita is an 18-year-old female, an undocumented Afghan illegal immigrant living in the poor suburbs of Tehran. She is a feisty, spirited, young woman who fights to live the way she wants, as an artist, singer, and musician in spite of all her obstacles she confronts in Iran and her conservative patriarchal family. In harsh contrast to her goal is the plan of her family – strongly advanced by her mother – to make her a bride and sell her to a new family. The price right now is about US$ 9.000.
Best friends Brittany and Reed come out to their religious parents at their joint 16th birthday party, landing them on a bible camp retreat for misguided teens. Assuming that there must be others like them, they decide to pursue love interests in an attempt to have their first queer experiences. Brittany courts mysterious bad girl Mia, while Reed fawns over a flamboyant counselor named Todd. On the last night of camp, however, their advances quickly go awry.
Emotional chaos ensues over the course of one lunch when new couple, Jasmine and Penn, find an anonymous suicide note at the home of the happiest people they know, Billie and Jordan.
Documentary
Language: Farsi (English subtitles)
Narrative
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Country: Iran
Director: Allie Miller
Country: USA
Director: Carly Usdin
Country: USA
Producer: Julia Lighter
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producer: Brittani Nichols
VERMONT PREMIERE
Director: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami Producer: Gerd Haag
Sunday 1287
The Sweet Hereafter Sunday SCRN 4:00 pm 10M
Takin’ Place Friday SCRN 10:30 am 112M
Friday SCRN 7:15 pm 85M
Vanessa’s family takes her to her boyfriend’s apartment so she can leave him, this time, for the last time. “Sunday 1287” is based on the experiences of the Brooklyn-born writer/director, a former NYPD Precinct Commander who is now the Chief of Police of Burlington, Vermont.
A small community is torn apart by a tragic accident which kills most of the town’s children. A lawyer visits the victims’ parents in order to profit from the tragedy by stirring up their anger and launching a class action suit against anyone they can blame. The community is paralyzed by its anger and cannot let go. All but one young girl, left in a wheelchair after the accident, who finds the courage to lead the way toward healing.
“Takin’ Place” is an observational documentary film directed by Cyrus Dowlatshahi about ordinary people and everyday life on the South Side of Chicago. As they work, chill, hustle and survive, Dowlatshahi feels the common aspects of all neighborhoods and communities around the world: a desire to share, grow and celebrate.
Narrative
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Documentary
Language: English
Director: Brandon del Pozo
Country: USA
Based on novel by Russell Banks
Country: Canada
Director: Cyrus Dowlatshahi
Country: USA
Producer: Brandon del Pozo
WORLD PREMIERE
Director: Atom Egoyan
Producer: Yvonne Welbon
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producers: Atom Egoyan, Camelia Frieberg
Tested
This Modern Man Is Beat Saturday THT 10:30 am 72M
Unspoken
Saturday SCRN 7:15 pm 17M
Sunday MARQ 4:00 pm 15M
“Tested” looks at the lack of racial diversity at the top public high schools in New York City by following a dozen families from different racial, socio-economic and religious backgrounds as they prepare to pass the grueling entrance exam.
In a world of cultural confusion and erroneous judgment, Habib bin Habib al Fulan pawns his guitar and reconciles with his wife through self-delusion.
When Brenda and Phil make the devastating decision to take their newborn daughter off life support, they must retreat to separate corners to grieve. Once Brenda gets the go-ahead to try again, they come out fighting, wondering if they can retrieve the trust and courage they once had together to take another chance on building their family.
Documentary
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Director: Todd Sandler
Language: English
Director: Curtis Chin
Country: USA
Director: Alex Merkin
Country: USA
Narrative Documentary
Country: USA
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producers: David J Schroeder, Tom Brunstetter, Tommee May
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producers: Tamara Rabil, Micaela Tamaccio
WORLD PREMIERE
Producers: Curtis Chin, Adam Wolman
FAMILY-FRIENDLY
25 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
FILMS A-Z Walk With Me: The Trials of Damon J. Keith
Wallabout
Thursday THT 7:00 pm 103M He was an ordinary “colored” man from Detroit. He became a controversial federal judge who would shape civil rights law and challenge a sitting president. Decades later, his rulings resonate in a nation still arguing about “which lives matter.” It may be the greatest story you’ve never heard. Judge Keith will be in attendance Opening Night
Whisper Sunday SCRN 1:00 pm 102M
Friday DANA 1:30 pm 11M
A single woman struggles to rebuild her life in Brooklyn, New York after having spent 10 years in Europe as the unrecognized muse to a famous filmmaker. Wallabout is an intimate account of an overeducated and underemployed outsider who survives by her wits and determination as she navigates an often hypocritical and corrupt society. It’s an urban meditation on artistic perseverance and the eternal search for family.
A young woman travels to a remote beachside cabin in an attempt to finally quit her heroin habit. While there she accidentally sets in motion a chain of sinister events. Hauntingly beautiful, Whisper is a modern day ghost story that will keep you gripped from start to spine-chilling finish.
Documentary
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Director: Jesse Nesser
Country: USA
Director: Eric McGinty
Country: USA
Director: Jo Lewis
Country: UK
NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE
Producer: Anna Sang Park
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producers: Jo Lewis, Sam Callis, Ben Callis
VERMONT PREMIERE
Producer: Jesse Nesser
OPENING NIGHT FILM
Year By The Sea
Zephyr Saturday THT 7:15 pm 114M
Saturday SCRN 1:30 pm 79M
After 30 years as a wife and mother, an empty nester retreats to Cape Cod rather than follow her relocated husband to Kansas. Intent to rediscover herself but plagued with guilt, she questions her decision until stumbling upon a spirited mentor. Supported by her literary agent and a host of locals, including a sexy fisherman, our heroine learns to embrace the ebb and flow of life—ultimately discovering the balance between self and sacrifice, obligation and desire.
It’s summer in New England and April just turned 18. Her big plans include throwing her songwriting book in a car and flooring it. However, this birthday it looks like she’ll be watching punk-rock has-beens at her local high school. Really, the only way her life could change is if three thieves on the run crashed the concert, impersonated the warm-up band, grabbed April and took her to the place where comfort zones catch fire.
Narrative
Language: English
Narrative
Language: English
Director: Alexander Janko
Country: USA
Country: USA
Producer: Laura Goodenow
VERMONT PREMIERE
Director: Liam O’ConnorGenereaux, Natalie Nicholson Producers: Liam O’ConnorGenereaux, Patrick Sugar
26 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
27 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
Red Carpet Treatment every day at Waterfalls
802.388.0311 middleburyspa.com
L to R: Front; Amy Boise, Joan Donahue, Back; Kevin Brennan, Eben Punderson (Missing - Bonnie Brennan)
www.bpd.legal
The law firm of Brennan Punderson & Donahue, PLLC is pleased to announce the recent addition of Joan Donahue, who joins Eben Punderson in the firm’s Middlebury office. Amy Boise also serves the Middlebury office as Eben and Joanie’s legal assistant. Kevin Brennan will continue to work out of the Monkton office, along with his legal assistant, Bonnie Brennan. The firm offers quality and efficient representation in the areas of residential and commercial real estate, estate planning, land use and real estate development, business formation and transactions, selective civil litigation and family law. Please contact us at either location. 1317 Davis Road, Monkton, VT 05753 802.453.8411 | kevin@bpd.legal
99 Marble Street, Suite 10B, Middlebury, Vermont 05753 802.989.7342 | eben@bpd.legal | joan@bpd.legal 28 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm
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30 2nd Annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | 2016 FESTIVAL PROGRAM | Published by the Addison Independent, Design by The Image Farm