The Cecil County Independent Film Festival
Presented by the Milburn Stone Theatre at Cecil College

The Milburn Stone Theatre at Cecil College is proud to present a film festival for those who are independently minded.

Since its debut in 2019, the Cecil County Independent Film Festival has showcased over 300 films—with submissions coming from as far away as China and as close as Rising Sun, Maryland.

This three-day celebration of independent cinema brings together filmmakers and film lovers from across the region. The festival highlights bold voices and new perspectives, featuring a diverse lineup of narratives, documentaries, shorts, experimental films, and more.

The 2026 festival runs May 29th, 30th & 31st at the Milburn Stone Theatre.

A Festival with a Local and Global Vision

While we proudly accept submissions from filmmakers around the world, the festival is also deeply committed to supporting local artists across Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

Local filmmakers are invited to share their stories and engage directly with audiences during the festival weekend. In addition, a series of awards and prizes will recognize outstanding work from both local and international filmmakers.

🎬 Submit your film: milburnstone.com/filmfestival
🎟️ Purchase tickets: milburnstonetickets.universitytickets.com

About the Milburn Stone Theatre

The Milburn Stone Theatre proudly brings theater, music, dance, film, and art to Cecil County and the greater Northeast Maryland region. Conveniently located just off I-95, Exit 100B, the theatre serves as the area’s leading performing arts venue.

A vital part of Cecil College, the Milburn Stone Theatre supports a wide range of college, community, and public events. The venue also provides community organizations with access to a high-quality rental facility to present their own programming.

The theatre is named in honor of Milburn Stone, beloved for his portrayal of “Doc Adams” on the long-running TV Western Gunsmoke. His wife and daughter have been longtime benefactors of the theatre, helping preserve his legacy and passion for the arts.

Awards & Prizes

How will films be awarded?

There are two different type of awards: committee selections and audience choice. the committee will make selections in advance and during the festival, while the audience will be allowed to vote during the blocks that they attend.

Rules & Terms

A full list of rules, terms, and frequently asked questions can be found at: https://www.milburnstone.com/festivalfaqs
39 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
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Networking
  • Daryl Hrdlicka

    A very nice festival. I was unable to attend in person, but thank you for selecting and showing my movie!

    June 2026
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  • David Helfer Wells

    Though i could not attend they were very good with communication and updates!

    June 2026
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  • Goat Houze

    The Cecil County Independent Film Festival is the first in-person film festival i've ever attended. Im a filmmaker from Atlanta, GA and my feature film 30-Year-Old Freshman was nominated. It was a pleasure to travel to another state and just witness our film on a screen outside of our own city. Maryland is such a beautiful state btw and the weather was perfect. Learned some history about Milburn and the Theater, it was all such a blast and family friendly. Now, I can't make this post without mentioning the most delightful part of the entire trip... THE CRAB CAKES ARE TO DIE FOR. I suggest Woody's!

    June 2026
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  • Dan Fried

    We were excited to be accepted into this festival as it seemed like a fun opportunity to participate in a smaller indie located on a college campus. Closer to the date, we learned that we were accepted to another festival on the same date. I reached out to the programmer to see if any changes could be made to our screening date and received no reply. We figured he was busy and remained committed to Cecil County since they accepted us before the other festival. We drove over three hours and paid for hotel rooms in Maryland thinking it would be worth it, only to show up to a mostly empty theatre. No one greeted the filmmakers when we arrived and the programmer barely spoke before or after the screening. There was no Q&A after the short film program either. If we had known it was merely a screening, with absolutely nothing else surrounding it, we never would have come. It was obvious, the festival had done absolutely no promotion for the event. Furthermore, they advertised giving out awards on their website, but never did so. The theater was beautiful, and it was a shame no one was there to see the films. I would not recommend this festival to anyone. It was a complete waste of my time and money.

    December 2024
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Hello Dan. Sorry to disappoint, the festival has *mostly* been a one person labor of love, and certainly attendance was down this season. There was promotion, including a postcard to patrons, local press and an advertisements but there can also be more. I’m certainly not trying to make excuses or invalidate your criticism, I agree more can be done and hope that with outreach I can get a few volunteers to help with planning and promotion. Thank you.

  • Venessa M. Diaz

    Thank you for selecting THE ROAD TO LILITH! We wish we could have attended in person! Congratulations to all!

    November 2024
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