Brookfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, situated within the southern foothills of the Berkshire Mountains. The two largest lakes in Connecticut border the Town, Candlewood Lake to the west and Lake Lillinonah to the east. Brookfield is located 43 miles northeast of New York City, making it part of the New York metropolitan area. The Brookfield Film Festival takes place in the historic Brookfield Theatre for the Arts.

Event Date & Time: March 27 – 30, 2025

Submit here: https://filmfreeway.com/brookfieldfilmfestival

Submission deadline is February 14.

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In our 17th year, The Brookfield Film Festival features four separate blocks:

“Music Indie Evening” features music videos of original music from bands located in Connecticut and its bordering states of New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

“Regional Indie Afternoon” is a block of the Brookfield Film Festival which was created to provide a platform for local filmmakers to introduce their work and discuss topics from their films as well as the filmmaking process. Submissions from filmmakers residing in Connecticut and its bordering states of New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, or films having been shot in these states, are invited to submit to the afternoon screening. Filmmakers accepted to the festival are also invited to be part of a Q&A panel discussion immediately following the screening.

“Read-Through Indie Morning” is a block of the Brookfield Film Festival created in conjunction with the Brookfield Theatre for the Arts providing screenwriters an opportunity to showcase a scene from a script and to network with actors and filmmakers. The table reading is an organized reading of scripts in which the speaking parts and stage directions are read aloud. It is an essential part of script development and the writing process. Many writers use it to fine tune their stories and sharpen dialogue. Join us for complimentary coffee, tea, and pastries.
Screen writers must be present for their submission to be read.

“Shorts and to the Point” is a hand picked collection of Oscar nominated, and other award winning short films. There are three viewings throughout the festival: Friday evening, Saturday evening, and Sunday afternoon.

The Brookfield Arts Commission is an all volunteer organization. All proceeds from the film festival go to “The Brookfield Arts Commission Arts Scholarship Award”. This scholarship is awarded yearly to a graduating high school student from Brookfield, CT pursuing a degree in the arts.

Rules & Terms
• Your submission confirms that The Brookfield Arts Commission (BAC) has permission to exhibit your film during the Brookfield Film Festival
• You give permission for BAC to use titles, images, copy and other production information from your film for promotional purposes.
• You agree that your submission is not subject to any litigation nor is threatened by any litigation and you hold BAC harmless from any and all claims of liability resulting from your entry.
• You own or have authorization to all necessary copyrights and licenses and will provide documentation upon request.
• You agree to take on all copyright liability in regard to your film submission.
• You give permission for BAC to provide copies of your film to their film jurors for the purpose of determining acceptance to the film festival.
• You also give BAC permission to provide excerpts from your film to the media for promotional purposes and copies of your film for review purposes only.
• All entries must be in English or subtitled in English.
• To qualify for student entry fee rates, entrant must include proof of student status at the time of production (copy of student ID).
• Entrants must submit an ONLINE digital version of their film for viewing consideration
• BAC and The Brookfield Film Festival retains the right to accept or decline any film, for whatever reason, without notice or explanation.
• BAC and The Brookfield Film Festival retains the right to move your film to a different block of the festival if it is believed to be more appropriate.
• Only complete entries (including fee payment and screener) will be considered.
• You may submit multiple entries but must fill out a separate entry form and pay an entry fee for each.
• Once a film has been submitted it can not be withdrawn.
• Films are selected for the Brookfield Film Festival by the Brookfield Arts Commission (BAC). If a film is selected, the BAC will contact the entrant by email.
• The decision of the organizers of Brookfield Film Festival, as to the interpretation of these rules, is final.
• Upon completion of the festival selection process, BAC will attempt to contact you using the email contact information provided on the submission form to notify you of the project’s acceptance status. BAC disavows any responsibility for, and will not be held responsible for, any failure to contact you using the email contact information provided on the submission form. It is your sole responsibility to ensure that the email contact information provided on the submission form is correct throughout the entirety of the festival selection period.
• Submission fees are non-refundable.

Brookfield Film Festival March 21-24

The Brookfield Film Festival has grown!  Proceeds of the film festival go toward scholarships for a graduating high school senior from Brookfield who is pursuing a career in the arts. New this year is the festival kick off, Music Indie Evening, an evening of Music Videos from local bands at 7:30 PM on Thursday March 21^st.

Friday, March 22^nd at 7:30 PM is the first screening of the always popular Shorts & to the Point, a curated selection of award winning films from across the country.

Saturday, March 23^rd begins with Read Through Indie Morning at 10 AM. This section of the film festival allows actors, directors, and writers to connect while reading through and critiquing scripts. Read Through Indie Morning is followed by Regional Indie Afternoon at 2:00PM. Regional Indie Afternoon is a screening of short films directed by filmmakers from CT, MA, NY and RI. A second screening of Shorts & to the Point at 7:30 PM rounds out the activities for March 23^rd. Sunday March 24^th is the festival’s closing showing of Shorts & to the Point at 3PM.

If you have questions or are interested in tickets, please contact the Brookfield Arts Commission by email at brookfieldartscommissionct@gmail.com.

Starting on February 20th there will be a Sandra Cointreau Art Exhibit at Brookfield Town Hall!

Since graduating as the sole female in her civil engineering class of 1,000 males, 50 years ago, Sandra has been painting. Mostly she painted nights and weekends, while she worked as a civil engineer on hazardous waste remediation, infrastructure strategic planning, and climate change mitigation. 

Her projects took her from army arsenal sites to post conflict zones, and into the slum areas of the world’s poorest areas…to over 65 countries. Traveling about 30% each year to do the field work, and able to be home in the countryside of Connecticut for the research, analysis, and report writing. 

Painting and meditation helped her balance her analytical work with intuition and creativity…and she learned to consider these activities an important part of her work. Sandra learned that this balance of art, meditation and engineering allowed the subconscious to help find creative solutions and see how they mapped out strategically. And watercolor traveled well, becoming her primary medium. No matter where she was in the world, her paintings were based on her personal and genetic memory and love of Connecticut, where her family has been based for over 400 years. Her paintings were her home away from home. She hopes you enjoy the color and serenity of these works.

Come by Town Hall to check them out!

Brookfield Arts Commission will host a reception for Sandra Cointreau at Brookfield Town Hall on Tuesday, March 12 at 5:00 pm.  Sandra plans to do a painting demonstration during the reception.  Come along to see her wonderful art and enjoy some refreshments. Town Hall is at 100 Pocono Rd, Brookfield.