Middlebury VT New Filmmakers Fest at Bethel Cinema Tomorrow!

Wednesday, April 5- ONE NIGHT ONLY - Bethel Cinema - The BEST OF THE FEST NEW ENGLAND TOUR Middlebury (VT) New Filmmakers Festival

• 6 Award Winning Films, 2 Theaters, 4 Shows
• 6:00pm VIP Meet n Greet For All Ticket Holders
• Sponsored By: Community Health Inc & WPKN
• Catering By: Michael Bick's: Some Things Fishy Catering
• Tickets: $9:00 & $10.50

Feature Documentary
7:15 pm "The Guys Next Door" Director: Amy Geller and Allie Humenuk 74m - "The Guys Next Door" is an intimate portrait of a real "Modern Family:" 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 form a unique extended family. Elegantly shot and edited, told with candor and humor, "The Guys Next Door" is an inspiring story of family, friendship and gay rights. [Note: this feature doc won the MNFF Audience Award for Best Feature and was immensely popular. Very, very well done. It is currently screening at the DOC NYC festival.

7:25pm THE BEST SHORTS
Phils Camino 1 "Phil's Camino" Best Short Documentary - Director: Annie O'Neill and Jessica Lewis 27m - Free spirit Phil is a man living with Stage 4 cancer and dreaming of walking the 500 mile spiritual pilgrimage 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 to walk, and traces his progress on a map. Phil's journey is one of hope, acceptance, and freedom, and is sure to inspire anyone who has ever dreamed of doing something that sounded impossible. Upon reaching 'Santiago de Compostela' - without ever leaving his backyard - Phil gets a clean scan and his doctors grant him a 'chemo holiday', or permission to miss one chemo treatment. He now has 28 days to go and walk the ancient route in Spain. Along the way he realizes his true pilgrimage is the one he travels within.

"Pony" Director: Candice Carella 31m - Claudia, a hardworking single mom, has to go out of town on an important last minute business trip, forcing her to leave her 5 year old daughter Miko with uncle Jeff, a rock musician in his 50's who is still running on the 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. Miko is the catalyst for him to re-evaluate his life and reconnect with the inspiration that originally led him to music and he is able to gently guide her to a nascent understanding of life's vicissitudes. [Note: this short won the MNFF Audience Award for Best Short and audiences thoroughly enjoyed its mix of humor, warmth and sentiment.

"The Best and Worst Days of George Morales' Unnaturally Long Life" Director: Seth Cuddeback and Benjamin Dohrmann 24m - 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. A lovely, allegorical film written and shot in a style that is a throwback to a gentler version of storytelling. Elegant, tender and slyly humorous all at the same time.

Feature Documentary
9:15pm "Walk With Me: The Trials of Damon J. Keith" Director: Jesse Nesser 103m - Damon J. Keith 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, Judge Keith's rulings resonate in a nation still arguing about "which lives matter." Now 94 years old and still a sitting U.S. Circuit Court judge, Judge Keith is BROKE POSTER a fascinating figure and his story may be the greatest story you've never heard.

Narrative Feature
9:25pm "Broke" Director: Heath Davis 95m - A compelling redemption story of a disgraced Australian rugby star whose bottomed-out life haltingly turns around when he is "adopted" by a widower and his daughter. A quite moving portrayal of working class Sydney not typically seen by American audiences. https://vimeo.com/205276802