Maynard Film Festival, Small Town Shorts

Maynard Film Festival is a new national platform based in Maynard, MA, for independent and community-based filmmaking. "Small Town Shorts" is the Festival's first open call for films that tell stories about how life has changed in American suburbs and rural small towns during these transformational times. *We are working on securing a theater as the Fine Art Theater Place might not be an option due to the passing of the owner. We have pushed back our deadlines to accommodate this change in programming. Grateful to FilmFreeway for being so accommodating. The focus will be on documentary storytelling and community involvement to record how small town culture is changing and coping with social unrest, pandemic, wildfires, and economic recession. Why small towns?...for the access. From town hall meetings to the local farmstand, these communities already know each other. Also, the consequences of the fate of our time will hit harder in smaller communities. Documenting the solutions to hardships, revealing the resiliency, and sharing the struggle are all part of what will be filmed and archived for history. A small town is defined as a population under 100,000 as of 2020. Filmmakers will make a 2-5 minute short, adhering to themes about small town life. The best short films will be presented on the big screen at the Fine Arts Theatre in Maynard, MA, and released online later. MFF supports emerging and established voices; curates innovative and interactive experiences and the use of smartphone filmmaking. MFF will be soliciting jurors from museums to judge and archive the best shorts for their collections that focus on these historic times.