Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival

About Us

The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival was formed to exclusively support, promote and exhibit the efforts of new filmmakers. In an independent film landscape that is often perceived as competitive and exclusive, our unwavering commitment is to offer a level playing field to emerging talent and to offer our audiences an unparalleled opportunity to discover new voices.


Each year in August, we welcome more than one hundred filmmakers and thousands of audience members to the town of Middlebury, Vermont, offering a dynamic showcase of films from emerging voices in independent film. Dedicated solely to the work of first- and second-time directors and producers, MNFF provides a unique and supportive platform for artists taking their first steps into the world of independent cinema.

We are proud to offer visiting artists a supportive setting in which to meet their peers, connect intimately with audiences and special guests, and participate in workshops, panels and events that advance their craft. Our awards, prizes, and filmmaker grants also offer financial and career support to filmmakers at the starting line of their careers.

Over its first ten years, MNFF has showcased the work of a diverse array of passionate new filmmakers from around the world, working across all genres. Our programming team seeks out compelling and memorable narratives–fiction and nonfiction, features and shorts–that embrace risk-taking and boundary-breaking and that promote and uplift underrepresented communities and stories.

Please join us for the 11th annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, taking place August 20-24, 2025 in beautiful Middlebury, Vermont.