The Longest Continuously-Running Film Festival in Northeast Pennsylvania!

Submit Your Film on FilmFreeway!

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

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