BETHEL - The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival announces its second annual Best of the Fest New England Tour. In keeping with the festival's promise to its winning filmmakers, the Vermont-based MNFF will take its outstanding films on the road to share them with audiences across each of the six New England states.

The tour will make its exclusive Connecticut stop at Bethel Cinema on Wednesday, April 5, for a one-night only screening event.

The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival wrapped its second annual event in August 2016, welcoming more than 3,000 moviegoers as well as special appearances from documentary filmmaking legend Barbara Kopple and prominent working actors Peter Sarsgaard and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

The winning films include three features and three shorts, an eclectic mix of documentary and narrative works that have collectively screened at Traverse City Film Festival, Denver Film Festival, NYC Docs, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, and Nantucket Film Festival, among many others.

The six-film program will be divided between two screens in Bethel, with screenings at 7:15 (The Guys Next Door) and 9:15 pm (Walk With Me: The Trials of Damon J. Keith) in Theater #1, and at 7:25 (the shorts Phil's Camino and Pony, The Best and Worst Days of George Morales' Unnaturally Long Life) and 9:25 (Broke) in Theater #2.

is 74-minute film from directors Amy Geller and Allie Humenuk, who offer an intimate portrait of a real "Modern Family." Meet Erik and Sandro, a gay couple whose friend Rachel is a surrogate for their two daughters. Rachel, who is in her mid-40s, is married to Tony and they have three children. Together, they form a unique extended family. It won MNFF's 2017 Audience Award, Feature honor.The Guys Next Door

Best Documentary Feature winner Walk With Me: The Trials of Damon J. Keith, from director Jesse Nesser, shares the story of Damon J. Keith, a 94-year-old federal judge still sitting on the US Circuit Court. The "ordinary colored" man from Detroit became a controversial figure who shaped Civil Rights laws and challenged a sitting president. Decades later, Judge Keith's rulings resonate in a nation still arguing about "which lives matter."

Phil's Camino, named Best Short Documentary, is a story about a free spirit named Phil, who is living with Stage 4 cancer and dreaming of walking the 500-mile spiritual pilgrimage Camino de Santiago across Spain. Directed by Annie O'Neill and Jessica Lewis, the film has a 27-minute running time.

Pony, from Director Candice Carella, begins when Claudia, a hardworking single mom, has to go out of town on an important last-minute business trip and needs to leave her 5-year-old daughter with uncle Jeff, a rock musician in his 50s who is still running on the fumes of his glory days. Spending the weekend looking after a spirited 5-year-old, Jeff must suspend his delusions of grandeur and face reality.

The 31-minute film won MNFF's Audience Award, Short honor.

In The Best and Worst Days of George Morales' Unnaturally Long Life, Seth Cuddeback and Benjamin Dohrmann introduce audiences to George and Susie Morales, who own a restaurant in East Los Angeles and have been happily married for nearly 40 years. They are also immortal. When Susie decides that she would like to finally end her life, George is forced to make a difficult decision: join her in death, or face eternity alone.

The 24-minute tale won Best Short Narrative honors.

Broke, from Director Heath Davis, is a 95-minute film that won Best Dramatic Feature. The film is a compelling redemption story of a disgraced Australian rugby star whose bottomed-out life haltingly turns around when he is "adopted" by a widower and his daughter.

MNFF Artistic Director and Vermont filmmaker Jay Craven will host this event and conduct a Q&A session with MNFF awardees Amy Geller and Allie Humenuk, co-directors of The Guys Next Door. Also attending are Sally Davis and Patrick Lane, co-producers of Walk With Me: The Trials of Damon J. Keith.

Ticketholders are invited to a 6 pm prescreening Meet & Greet party at the Cinema with MNFF's filmmakers; Tom Carruthers, director of FilmFest52, the weekly documentary series at Bethel Cinema; and Mark Masselli, CEO of Community Health Center. Complimentary food and beverages will be provided.

Tickets are $10.50 for adults, $9 for senior citizens (age 62+), students and viewers age 12 and under. They can be purchased in advance at bethelcinema.com/filmfest52comingsoon, or at the box office on April 5.

Bethel Cinema, at 269 Greenwood Avenue, can be reached for additional information at 203-778-2100.

The MNFF Best of New England Tour launched on March 11 in Concord, N.H. Its next scheduled stop is March 26 in Providence, R.I., then April 1 in Bucksport, Maine. Following its Bethel stop the tour will return to its home state for screenings in Brattleboro on April 15. It will then conclude in Wellfleet, Mass., on April 23.

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