Film festival making its in-person return this month

Gil Pound, The Union-Recorder, Milledgeville, Ga.
·3 min read

Sep. 6—Annual events continue to make the transition from virtual to in-person as concern over the COVID-19 pandemic decreases.

Count the Milledgeville-Eatonton Film Festival (MEFF) among them as it is set to make its in-person return later this month after two years of going virtual. Both the Milledgeville and Eatonton communities will play host to the four-day festival, now celebrating its ninth year, Sept. 22-25.

MEFF gives filmmakers an avenue to have their work judged against submissions from around the world and also showcases the host communities as potential filming locations, according to organizers.

Festival founder and board chair Jeremiah Bennett says he's looking forward to getting the band back together, so to speak, after two years of being apart. His background includes film/TV work in Atlanta. Bennett was exposed to Milledgeville when he worked as a producer on the infamous TLC reality show, "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," a lot of which was filmed in this area.

"Milledgeville has a great liberal arts college, all these great downtown businesses and streetscape, and so much history," Bennett said. "I thought [Milledgeville] was the perfect gem, so why not start a film festival here?"

The event launched in 2014 with 64 film submissions originating from about 10 countries.

Mark Datuin, now MEFF's director of programming, was one international creator from Canada who entered that first year and earned a Best International Film nod for his film, "Basted." The Toronto native shared what stood out about the local film festival and why he became involved on the organization side.

"This one stood out because of how the team treats the visiting filmmakers," Datuin said. "They made sure that everyone felt welcome. There are mansion tours and kayaking adventures, and that's something the film festival has maintained throughout all these years, which is why a lot of filmmakers like to return."

This year's festival features over 70 film submissions in the following categories: Georgia-based shorts, documentary, comedy, horror, sci-fi, drama, and more, according to a press release.

While screenings are a big part of MEFF, Bennett made sure to emphasize that the festival's mission is about more than just showing submitted works.

"We love our audiences, we love our communities, and everyone who comes to watch a film," the festival founder said. "But if it's just about going and sitting in a seat, eating some popcorn, having some soda, and watching a film, that's just a movie theater. I love the movie theater. I'm a fan of the movie theater, but a film festival is where a community gets to interact with the creators who make the films and the creators get to interact with each other. It's a bonding experience, which is why being in person is so important."

This year there will be filmmaking workshops held at Blackbird Coffee in downtown Milledgeville the Saturday of the festival. Those are free and open to the community. Scheduled late night Saturday is a very unique type of screening as submissions in the horror category will be shown outside the Chapel of All Faiths, located on the campus of the former Central State Hospital. Other scheduled activities include industry panels, special filmmaker events, a red carpet awards show at The Plaza Arts Center in Eatonton, and a Sunday filmmakers' brunch at the old Putnam County State Prison. For events open to the community, students of all ages get in free.

Bennett said he expects this year's festival to bring up to a couple hundred people between filmmakers, crews, family members, and general fans of film. It all kicks off Thursday, Sept. 22 at a red carpet event also being held at The Plaza Arts Center.

For more information on the Milledgeville-Eatonton Film Festival, visit mefilmfest.com. The website is in the process of being updated to reflect the 2022 schedule.