The Longest Continuously-Running Film Festival in Northeast Pennsylvania!

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Join us as we celebrate 25 years of screening great independent films at the Milford Theater and Salon locations throughout Milford, PA!

Announcing the 2024 Poster Contest Winner

Laura Lippay!

The Board of Directors is excited to share the official 2024 Black Bear Film Festival poster! Laura Lippay’s bold and colorful bear illustration is this year’s poster image! She’s a local artist whose work can be seen at the Gamut Art Gallery of the Poconos and The Artery Gallery here in Milford.

See her bio and more of her work here:  https://www.lauralippay.com/about

Graphic Designer and Black Bear Advisory Board member, Kathleen Marinaccio-DeAngelo, developed the overall poster design and gave it Hollywood style! Check out more of her projects on her website: https://www.kathleenmarinaccio.com/about

We’re so grateful to this artistic duo for their work and proud to show off this year’s official poster!

In addition to general submission categories for local and international shorts and feature-length films, We are seeking films that entertain, educate and inspire us on topics that celebrate the unique heritage and community of Milford.

Nature & Conservation - Returning to our roots of conservancy in Milford, Black Bear is offering an award for films that inspire us to appreciate the outdoors and conserve natural spaces for generations to come.

LGBTQ+ - Black Bear Partners with Milford Tri-Versity to screen and promote films that support diversity, equity, and inclusion of LGBTQ+ filmmakers and themes.

We Are Now Welcoming Sponsors To Our 25th Anniversary Black Bear Film Festival!

Director Brian Vincent’s Statement About Screening ‘Make Me Famous’ at BBFF 2023

“Heather Spore Kelly and I loved screening at the Black Bear Film Festival and what a dance party after! & we saw a bear! Can’t wait to visit this brilliant cinema and art-loving town again. So many lovely people.”

See the story on Make Me Famous in The Journal!

BBFF Film Makes It To The Academy Awards

Last year, Celine Song’s romantic drama ‘Past Lives’ starring Greta Lee and Teo Yoo made it to the Black Bear Film Festival! Screening at Black Bear’s International Film Collection segment, the film’s overwhelmingly positive reception from audience members makes it unsurprising that ‘Past Lives’ has been nominated for both Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at this year’s Academy Awards, proving that submitting your short or feature film could very well lead to magic!

Mark Ruffalo Makes a Mark on the Black Bear Film Festival

Mark Ruffalo pictured with Christopher Thornton

Mark Ruffalo’s directorial debut, ‘Sympathy for Delicious’ - an independent film concerning an up-and-coming DJ who becomes paralyzed because of a motorcycle accident and ultimately takes up the world of faith-healing - came to be the first screening at last year’s BBFF after a special pre-recorded message from Ruffalo graced the screen to address the audience. Additionally, ‘Lakota Nation v. United States,’ which Ruffalo helped produce, screened at the festival as well!

Following the screening, actor Christopher Thornton, who wrote and starred in the film as its focus, was present on stage answering questions from the audience. Watch Wendy Stuart Kaplan’s interview with Thornton here!

Each October, for over two decades, Black Bear Film Festival attracts thousands of film lovers, filmmakers, and outdoor enthusiasts to the charming and historic Milford, PA, nestled along the Delaware river in the eastern part of the Pocono Mountains.

Join us as we screen local, national and international films on the Main Stage or at our Salon, spreading joy and building community through film.

*Video footage courtesy of Pocono Tourism