As always for the past 13 years, the GMFF was a highlight of my year, educating, enlightening, and exciting me. I saw 11 films (and am eagerly awaiting retirement when I can see them all!!), volunteered on 2 days and hope to do more next year. The festival generates an excited downtown where conversations are sparked between strangers, friends, and people from greater Vermont who come to Montpelier for the GMFF. Many thanks for all the hard work by festival organizers!
I saw 11 movies during the festival (8 with my husband and the rest on my own), including documentaries and foreign features. I loved every one of them, and honestly would have seen everything the festival had to offer if it were humanly and financially feasible. (My work schedule dictated my choices, so I missed some of the films offered during weekdays.) The talks/Q-and-A with some of the filmmakers and film subjects was a wonderful bonus. I can't thank the festival organizers enough for all you do to screen, select, and schedule the films and then smoothly herd all of us through the venues. All three locations were great. I only wish we could bring food and drink into the Pavilion and City Hall. Sustenance is required if one is sitting through multiple movies in a row.
The three venues worked well, and the charming restaurant in between provided a relaxed atmosphere for talking about and enjoying films.I block off this week in my calendar every year, and it certainly makes sometimes dreary March go much faster. Terrific films. I especially enjoy the documentaries, and all the discussions after the films.
I enjoyed this years film festival more than ever. I volunteered plus saw about 20 films. It was a tremendous week, a way to submerge myself in film,with documentaries, music and other types. I like all the venues; the new ona at the Pavilion is very comfortable. I plan to volunteer next year to help keep this enjoyable, enlightening and community festival going.
My husband and I look forward to this festival every year. We get our yearly movie fix by watching about 6 great films in one weekend. There are always too many movies to choose from!! We really love the documentaries and always learn something new to bring back and share with our families and friends. The people of Montpelier are wonderful, hospitable, kind and genuine during our visit.
The Green Mountain Film Festival is a treasure. Each year I look forward to the most provocative and inspiring films and the shared experience with friends and neighbors. If a great film, the audience responds with such enthusiasm at the end. This year I viewed, "The Most Dangerous Man in America" about Daniel Elsburg and the Pentagon Papers. A truly remarkable film which benefits from all the released documents and audio tapes today. Also, the beautiful and haunting "Seraphine" introduced this remarkable artist to me. Thanks GMFF. You had another fabulous festival. I can't wait until next year. Jana Bagwell, Adamant, VT
As always, a great festival. I was disappointed that there were no films from Africa, but I enjoyed "The Lemon Tree" quite a bit. I LOVE the fact that the Savoy is a 35mm venue and I wish there could be another 35mm venue for the TRUE CLARITY of silver nitrate. I really enjoyed "The Heretics" and "Secret of Kells" as well. The Pavillion had nice seating, but the projection cut off about 1/3 of the film image. Sacrilege! Thanks to EVERYONE--organizers, volunteers, board, and all, for a great 10 days in Montpelier! I look forward to it every year.
Once again, I was treated to my cultural highlight of the year. This festival is the best complement to living in Vermont. It's warm, accessible, intriguing, educational and transports me far and wide. I spend a couple of hours in a completely different place and then get dropped back into my friendly, beautiful home, sometimes with the benefit of a formal or informal discussion to bring the two worlds together. It's a departure and a homecoming with each film.
The Green Mountain Film Festival is a highlight of the year for me. I see films I would never see otherwise here in central Vermont; there is a wide range of kinds of films; often directors, actors and others come to lead discussions about their film after its showing. These are all reasons why I am so very grateful for this event. It is a gift to the community of film-goers. Thank you!!
The annual Green Mountain Film Festival is one of Vermont's premiere cultural and educational events. It seems to be curated with an eye toward bringing both a wide and deep selection of film experiences to the community, with the movies themselves and with various events (lectures, meet-the-artist sessions, etc.) planned to coincide with them. I also love the range of films, which runs from socio-political to arts-oriented, to just plain fun. The GMFF makes me proud to live here.
This event is mis-characterized as a great Montpelier event. It is truly a phenomenal regional event, and it does draw from other areas of New England and New York. It is one of the best things about Central Vermont each year. The selections are very thoughtful and diverse, with something that will appeal to almost anyone. Although it is a separate event and organization, it continues and amplifies the great work done by the Savoy (in admittedly smaller and less frequent doses than the festival is able).
Simply...the best Fest in Vermont. I think of it as the States Film fest. While some may say there are too many festivals, in fact there too many mediocre events and too few honest, ernest ones such as this.
These dedicated people pull together an amazingly special cultural experience and enliven Montpelier, a city of only about 9000 - but during the film festival it feels like we're a city of 100,000 people from all over the world. They brighten up the winter in the Green Mountains, and that's saying something!
This is a great, well-balanced film festival. The organizers take a lot of care in selecting the very best documentaries and feature films, and their winning programs are comparable to much larger festivals.
Ten years ago I moved to Montpelier Vt., from Buffalo, NY, which had several very good film programs (at the university and in a downtown location), but none better than the Savoy Theater (home of Focus on Film's Green Mountain Film Festival). I was happily surprised. I've donated to the film festival ever since, sponsoring several movies I am proud to have my named attached to. This is a wonderful, warmly welcoming festival. I will continue to donate to it and attend.
Every March this organization brings a fantastic and diverse range of films and guest lectures to Vermont's capital city. While I don't always love every film I see, I do love the excitement generated as film buffs descend from the hills and gather to share this perfect antidote to Bowling Alone. It's lasted 13 years through the efforts of a small and dedicated staff, long-lasting volunteers, local financial support and consistently high quality management.
Focus on Film brings to Vermont a great event. The film selection, lectures and life that you see in Montpelier is great. The atmosphere is comparable to festivals in Montreal and Switzerland. Plus, this event generates a income for the city!.
I have been going to the Green Mountain Film Festival for about six years. They make the entire Montpelier community come to life with people from all over Vermont and beyond enjoying cinema at its best. I have been moved, delighted, surprised, shocked and overwhelmed with some of the offerings there. I particularly enjoy the workshops and special lectures and talks they plan each year with industry insiders and professionals. Restaurants are full, stores are buzzing and the sidewalks full of people talking cinema and culture and life. It has become the spring renewal I look forward to every year.
The Green Mountain Film Festival is one of the best film festivals in the region and without a doubt the best in Vermont. The quality of the programming is fantastic. The festival has had a great line up of film makers and critics like Al Maysles, Les Blank, Christine Vachon, Robin Swicord, Kenny Turan, Godfrey Cheshire and David Thomson. It's just a great festival.
Here's an arts organization that makes a whole town happy! Whoever thought march in Vermont could be so much fun and so enlightening? The folks who run Focus on Film and the Green Mountain Film Festival put on 10 days of films and events that keep MOntpelier's downtown filled with lively discussion. The buzz is electric, the films range from hilarious to thought-provoking and the speakers add depth and sparkle to it all. Local nonprofits sponsor films so they get their messages out to a wide audience at the same time.
Focus on Film, parent of the Green Mountain Film Festival in Central Vermont, is one of the unusual arts organizations, in that it is solidly community-based. the input is city-wide (Montpelier, Vt) if not state-wide and a bit beyond. I've been one small part of the exciting growth of this festival from a local effort to a regional force in film. One of the perks for a film lover in this endeavor is seeing a lot of independent and documentary films one otherwise would not have access to. The educational aspect is very strong, for filmmakers and knowledgeable speakers often accompany the screenings. It's great fun for those of us engaged in the festival, and brings together an amazingly diverse group of workers behind the scenes, people with skills beyond normal expectations.
Every spring. Focus on Film brings scores of great films to Central Vermont audiences at the Green Mountain Film Festival. It's a fantastic celebration of the art of film, and it draws the whole community together. No better way to get rid of the winter blues!
Focus on Film is a non-profit in the smallest capital, Montpelier, Vermont. It provides a dynamic and wonderful film festival for 10 days every year that enriches our community and brings people together with unique and sometimes rarely seen films. The Green Mountain Film Festival is a welcome addition to our Vermont "mud season" and people look forward to it for months ahead.