“Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore” profiles a trailblazing actor still in the game

Learn more about the Academy Award winning Deaf actor Marlee Matlin from Jay Craven’s review — then go see the film on April 15 at the Middlebury Marquis.

Bob Mackie on Film – More than a parade of glitter and feathers

Jay Craven gives a review of “Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion” that will screen on March 11 in Middlebury as part of the MNFF Selects series.

“Ask E. Jean:” Listening to a voice America tried not to hear

MNFF Selects brings “Ask E. Jean” to the Marquis Theater in Middlebury on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Don’t miss a talk-back with the film’s editor Ferne Pearlstein after the screening.

MNFF to bring images, ideas and conversation to Middlebury this week

In mysterious ways, each year’s MNFF selections tend to fall into clusters, thematically. Artistic Director Jay Craven says this year’s crop of films includes characters acting on deeply principled stands — win or lose.

Don’t Miss These Films: Jay Craven’s MNFF Recommendations

This year’s Middlebury New Filmmakers Festivals features 107 films. Here are a few from Vermont filmmaker Jay Craven’s must-see list.

Film festival guests offer highlights, insights and ideas

Jay Craven offers a look behind the curtain of the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival guest-list.

‘Winter’s Bone’ breaks ground as a rural film noir

Winter’s Bone,” Debra Granik’s 2010 four-time Academy Award-nominated rural film noir, won multiple awards and it introduced the larger world to fast-rising star, Jennifer Lawrence, who plays teenage, poverty-stricken Ree Dolly in the neglected rural Ozar … (read more)

Screening of ‘Lost Nation’ to be held in New Haven

The film is a Revolutionary War-era action drama set in the early upstart Republic of Vermont. It features Vermont founding father and rebel schemer, Ethan Allen, who leads resistance to New Yorker land claims, launches an ill-fated attack on British forc … (read more)

‘No Country for Old Men’ to screen March 16 at THT

Last week, before Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, Washington Post film critics reviewed Oscar choices over the last 50 years, weighing in on which films they thought should have won Best Picture. They mostly chose nominees that didn’t win.

Ferrisburgh to host director Jay Craven

The Friends of the Union Meeting Hall in Ferrisburgh will present a special screening of Jay Craven’s award-winning 1997 film, “A Stranger in the Kingdom,” based on the novel by Howard Frank Mosher. 

MNFF to screen noir doc ‘The Thin Blue Line’

‏I remember the surprise I experienced in 1988 when I first saw Erroll Morris’ pioneering true crime documentary, “The Thin Blue Line.” I’d never seen anything like it, with its relentless questioning, probing interviews, tense recreations, shadowy detect … (read more)

MNFF to debut neo-noir film series with screening of ‘Chinatown’

The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival will try something new this winter and spring, with a Selects Series we’re calling “Lost Chances: Neo-Noir Here and Now.”

‘Jim Henson: Idea Man’ to play on Dec. 19

Film director Ron Howard’s five-time Emmy-winning documentary film, “Jim Henson: Idea Man” will screen at 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 19, at the Town Hall Theater, as part of the Midddlebury New Filmmakers’ year-round Selects Series.

Movie review: Using film to ask the right questions

“The Teachers’ Lounge” was one of this year’s Best Foreign Film nominees — though its closely observed drama set inside a contemporary seventh-grade German classroom could have easily been American.  The film’s protagonist, idealistic young teacher Carla … (read more)

Jay Craven remembers Kristofferson fondly

‏Like many people, I was sad to learn the heartbreaking news that Kris Kristofferson passed away on Sept. 28. Kris was a rare figure in popular culture — supremely talented, successful, modest, and always generous and kind.

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