Middleburg Film Festival Back for an Even Dozen

Middleburg Film Festival Back for an Even Dozen

By Ronen Feldman

Break out the popcorn and don’t forget the Twizzlers. After all, the always highly-anticipated Middleburg Film Festival is returning for its twelfth consecutive year, set to screen no fewer than 35 feature films over four days in venues all around town between Oct. 17-20.

Middleburg has become an essential stop on the fall festival circuit, and many of its films go on to win significant awards and earn critical praise. The event also has become somewhat synonymous with Middleburg itself, and since its debut in 2013, has nearly doubled in size in the number of films and audiences coming to watch them.

“It’s important to us that we have many different voices and perspectives represented,” said Susan Koch, the festival’s executive director. “The film slate is a mix of films with awards buzz, fantastic international films, thoughtprovoking documentaries, and other independent gems you might not otherwise have a chance to see.”

As Country ZEST went to press, the festival had not announced the names of the films or the schedule, with that information to be released in early October.

The festival is the brainchild of Sheila Johnson, co-founder of BET, owner of Middleburg’s Salamander Resort & Spa and a film producer herself. She had previously served on the board of Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival in Utah. She was inspired to bring the film world to Middleburg, so that people from across the globe might have a reason to visit, and perhaps even stay.

That first year, the highly-acclaimed film “Nebraska,” with lead actor Bruce Dern also in attendance, was showcased in the festival. The film went on to earn multiple accolades, including six Oscar nominations, and over the years the festival has often been a harbinger of future major award winners.

“Last year, our audience selected “American Fiction” as their favorite narrative film and it went on to win an Oscar,” Koch said. “They also selected “The Last Repair Shop” as their documentary favorite and it also went on to win an Oscar.”

Memorable guests over the years have included Hollywood boldface names like Greta Gerwig, Emma Stone, Dakota Johnson, Sterling K. Brown, Noah Baumbach, Kenneth Branagh, Damien Chazelle, Ray Romano and Brendan Fraser. Just a few months after coming to Middleburg last year, Fraser won an Oscar as best actor for his performance in “The Whale.”

Last year, as part of the festival’s Film Diplomacy initiative and partnership with the State Department, they welcomed a delegation of film-makers from Ukraine. This year they’re looking forward to hosting film-makers from Nigeria and Kenya.

“Middleburg may be one of the only film festivals in the country without a movie theater,” Koch said. “We have a fantastic tech team who transforms four venues into state of the art cinemas. We’ve never missed a year, even during Covid, when we pivoted to outdoor screenings on the Salamander lawn and a drive-in pop-up.”

The festival also includes fascinating conversations with world-renowned filmmakers, actors, and other special guests. Advance ticket packages went on sale in August and individual tickets will be available at the beginning of October.