Official Selection Filmmaker Reactions
With the announcement of the 2026 New Bedford Film Festival Official Selections, filmmakers shared their reactions across various channels, and the board feels like they should be shared with the filmmaking community!
The New Bedford Film Festival celebrates the art of filmmaking, storytelling, and sharing those experiences in the amazing Whaling City.
Our 3rd annual festival commences on April 9th, 2026, with our official opening ceremony, followed by 3 days of screenings, panels, workshops, and networking events, culminating in an award ceremony like no other. See you there!
“Second year being selected for the New Bedford Film Festival! Our team is super excited to experience the magic of this art filled city!”
Derick Lozano-Walker | A Peanut in Palm Beach
“We are thrilled to have our final screening of A Trapdoor at New Bedford Film Festival. It’s been a powerful journey sharing this story for the past year. And one of our producers, Kira DeLand, was born in the New Bedford hospital (St. Luke’s ) as was my mother and grandmother. They lived in the town over, in Dartmouth. So this is all very special. Kira DeLand will be in attendance.”
Angela DiMarco | A Trapdoor
“I'm super excited to once again be a part of the New Bedford Film Festival. In the past, I've been given amazing networking opportunities, and the community fostered through the festival is extremely creative and welcoming. I can't wait to see everyone else's work and meet new people this year.”
Julien Elliot | After the Reading
“New Bedford Film Festival is doing something really special, and we’re honored to be part of this year’s fest!”
Kyle Kuchta I Always On
“The entire Bath Bomb team is excited & honoured for our film to screen at the 2026 New Bedford Film Festival! We know other filmmakers who have attended in previous years, and have heard nothing but glowing reviews!”
Colin G. Cooper I Bath Bomb
“This has been a very emotional festival season for "Blue." As the director and writer, this film means a lot to me as I wrote it from experience. I am honored to showcase this film at the New Bedford Film Festival. Thank you for giving this small film a chance.”
Marco Sandoval I Blue
“Excited to be back in the Whaling City with our newest doc, Chasing Kilimanjaro. New Bedford is where my passion for both documentary work and running began, so it's great to have both combined and celebrated in the festival.”
Mike Grasela | Chasing Kilimanjaro
“The Daydream Team is incredibly honored to have our film selected for the New Bedford Film Festival! Thank you to the festival team for creating a space that celebrates independent voices and storytelling. We are so excited to share this work with the New Bedford community and take this local New England made film to a local screen!”
Gwenn Hope | Daydream
“We could not be more excited to be part of the New Bedford Film Festival's lineup! Thank you so much to the judges for choosing our videos as your official selections this year. Here's to a fantastic festival! We can't wait to come see you all in April!”
Challen Carter | Devils & Angels
“We are thrilled and excited to be part of New Bedford Film Festival that, as the wonderful communication and great comments show, is a true standout on the festival circuit - one of those (in the best sense of the word) truly "old-fashioned" film festivals that is run by dedicated film lovers and enthusiasts who take great care of attending filmmakers.”
Hannes Rall | Dobrina
“As a past attendee of the New Bedford Film Festival, I'm honored to have both Galilee and The House of the Seven Gables screen at this year's festival. The attention to detail from staff and volunteers, as well as the commitment to creating a welcoming community, have made NBFF a major voice in the New England filmmaking scene.”
Mike Pratt | Galilee
“My art can be a bit risky to program but the team of NBFF are also bold and their programming demonstrates that. Happy to be included in the early years of what I see becoming one of the top festivals on the east coast.”
Steven Schloss | Gimme
“As artists we create for art's sake. But it is so much more satisfying to be able to share the finished work and also view what our fellow creatives are accomplishing. Thank you for bringing us all together for the betterment of the arts and ourselves.”
“So thrilled to be selected for the New Bedford Film Festival! Ladybugs is a Massachusetts made student short and couldn't be happier to be screening it in its home state and sharing it with a local audience. I hope it brings some resonance! Greatly looking forward to the festival! ”
Angela Gould | Hell
Stella Little | Ladybugs
“We are so thrilled that Meat Cute is an Official Selection in the upcoming New Bedford Film Festival! We are honored, and grateful to NBFF for championing emerging filmmakers. The fact that New Bedford’s dramatic whaling history gives the city this... otherworldly energy, it makes the place feel cinematic in itself, and it really amplifies the magic of gathering there to celebrate film. Thank you!”
Cameron Moquin | Meat Cute
“It is an honor for RUN WILD to screen at New Bedford Film Festival 2026 – a highly energized community of devoted artists and audiences who treat storytelling as a practice of listening, exchange, and care. Counting down!!”
Roxanna Lewis | Run Wild (16mm)
“Being from Massachusetts, I am incredibly honored that the New Bedford Film Festival is the first in my home state to select Signalman. Sharing this story with a community with such a deep maritime heritage makes this premiere especially meaningful.”
Brian Colby | Signalman
“We are beyond proud to be an official selection of the New Bedford Film Festival, a showcase celebrating independent storytelling in the heart of Massachusetts’ South Coast. The festival highlights bold voices and diverse perspectives from filmmakers around the region and beyond. Being selected is an honor and an exciting opportunity to share our work with a passionate film community.”
Eli Sherman | The Last Don of Providence
“I am honored to have The Lonely Doryman screen in the city where my love for maritime stories began. Growing up in New Bedford, I was surrounded by the history and community that shaped this film’s exploration of isolation and self-discovery, and I am thrilled to bring it home and share it with audiences here.”
Noah Duarte | The Lonely Doryman
“Thrilled, and over the moon to be part of this festival and have my series recognized on an international platform!”
Jennifer Monk | Slightly Cracked
“We are truly honored to have Women of Wampum selected for the 2026 New Bedford Film Festival. To share this film in the Whaling City, on the homelands of the Wampanoag, feels especially meaningful. This story is not abstract—it is rooted in the land and waters of this region. It comes from Indigenous women who carry knowledge of law, responsibility, and truth-telling, and who continue to affirm justice in a society navigating monumental change. Presenting Women of Wampum in New Bedford feels like a homecoming—an opportunity to situate the film within the living, contested, and enduring coastal histories. This festival creates space for us to be bold, to dream beyond imposed narratives, and to reclaim our stories, homelands, and home waters through film. Thank you to the New Bedford Film Festival for championing films that connect place, people, and purpose. We are proud to be part of this year’s program.”
Dr. Kelsey Leonard | Women of Wampum
“NBFF is one of the best festivals in the Northeast. They are filmmaker first and it's easy to see the care and attention that goes into the festival!”
Ted Omsley | The Waiting