The tenth Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, (MNFF), concluded last Sunday. We have supported this festival and attended it every year since it began. In 2018, Ashley’s brother, Steve, screened his film here, filmed by Tommy Hyde, entitled, Wild and Precious, about growing up gay in the 60s and 70s. Steve died in August of 2019 of brain cancer.

Every year the festival team selects wonderful films from many applicants from all over the world…some shorts, some feature length, some documentaries, and some narrative films. The special thing about this five-day Festival is that it supports and opens the door to first-and second-time filmmakers. It also brings in acclaimed directors, costume designers, writers, and cinematographers as honorees and shows their films. This year Oliver Stone was here and spoke after his films that were featured: Platoon, Wallstreet and Chapter 2 of a documentary, An Untold Story of the United States .

The themes of the Festival this year were endurance and perseverance. The films that I most loved and appreciated, all documentaries, focused on creating beauty and joy during terrible life situations. I saw the arts again as providing humanity, dignity, purpose, and joy in the most difficult of circumstances.

The Quilters tells the story of a group of men in a maximum-security prison in rural Missouri who spend their days designing and sewing birthday quilts for every foster child in the surrounding counties. It is moving to hear their stories and to see their dedication to the mathematics and the aesthetics of making quilts from beginning to end. It is inspiring to enter the sewing room with them and to witness the pride and collaboration among this group, some in prison for life. The website tells us: THE QUILTERS provides us with a unique opportunity to observe how art can restore an individual’s view of themselves and others.

Sierra Lion Refugee All Stars follows a group of musicians who make some instruments out of throw away hub caps, eventually find other instruments, and start to play together and for others. They are refugees from a brutal civil war in Sierra Leone in 1999-2002 who flee to neighboring Guinea. We see them rise from sadness and find a way to put their nightmares aside by making music and bringing it to others. They eventually tour other refugee camps with the support of the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. Witnessing displaced and suffering people begin to find joy in music and dance is uplifting beyond words. The cinematographer of this film is Andy Mitchell, a filmmaker living in Middlebury who was honored for his work at the Festival.

From *Sierra Lion Refugee All Stars* and the MNFF website

Playing the Changes-Tracking Darius Brubeck documents a period in the life of Darius Brubeck, son of famous jazz musician, Dave Brubeck. Darius and his wife Cathy decide to brave living in South Africa during one of the most challenging periods of Apartheid. Their mission was to bring talented black and white musicians together to make music. And they succeed. Making music triumphs over prejudice. We witness again the uplifting power of the arts to transcend boundaries, to ignite purpose, to bring dignity and joy to everyone. The film was released in April of 2024 and was written and directed by Michiel ten Kleij who participated in a Q and A on the phone from the Netherlands.

From *Playing the Changes-Tracking Darius Brubeck* and MNFF website

We are grateful to MNFF for all it brings to the community of Middlebury. We are grateful to Lloyd Komesar who conceived of the idea of the festival and has worked tirelessly to bring it to this successful place. We are grateful for Laurie Patton, president of Middlebury College, and other loyal, local sponsors for the full support of the festival since its inception.

We would not see these films if it were not for the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival. The films broaden and deepen our perspective and they change the way we see the world, every time.