The Festival is held annually at the Meighan theatre, the only historic theatre in Pasco County, Florida. The festival provides a venue for local and talented artists to showcase their work in the community with hopes to inspire and advance a greater appreciation for independent film and digital art. The event will help raise awareness of the preservation of historic cinematic landmarks and the cultural identity of New Port Richey.

The Thomas Meighan Project / Film Festival is based on the historical past of New Port Richey becoming the next Hollywood. Thomas Meighan was a famous Hollywood silent movie star of the twenties. In 1919, he hit stardom in one of his best known films at the time, The Miracle Man,unfortunately it is now lost in small fragments due to film deterioration. Today, Meighan’s most recognizable role is in the film, Male and Female, directed by one of Hollywood’s legendary directors Cecile B. Demille. Meighan’s popularity continued through the Roaring Twenties with him starring in several pictures. During this time, Meighan visited Florida and fell in love with New Port Richey leading him to build a home and became a resident. The Meighan’s entertained the Hollywood crowd and attracted celebrities to the area. He believed that New Port Richey would be the ideal location for motion picture studios, shortly after representatives of Paramount Pictures came to town to discuss such plans. However, the Great Depression along with the invention of talkies ended his dreams.

-Due to time constraints, all entries must not exceed 30 minutes in duration.
-Entries must be submitted no later the January 15, 2016 in order to be reviewed & accepted.
-Festival selections will be announced Early March 2016.

Awards & Prizes

Winners will receive a TMFF Festival Plaque.

Rules & Terms

I Understand That TMFF Reserves the right to decline any entries that may not be in accordance with theatre policies. Subject matter is at the discretion of the Richey Suncoast Theater and TMFF committee. All films will become the property of the PBIFF, will not be returned and will remain in the festival library for 6 months. Once accepted, the number of screenings, dates and locations are at the discretion of the TMFF. Permission for TMFF to use and excerpt from any accepted film for promotional purposes is hereby granted unless otherwise noted. It is understood and agreed that no compensation will be received for participation or submission of materials, including without limitation, appearances or broadcast footage, or webcast by the TMFF or Richey Suncoast Theatre, sponsors or partners. Additionally, the applicant will defend, indemnify, and hold the TMFF, its representatives, assigns, employees or any other person(s) or corporation(s) harmless in whole or part, from and against any liability that might occur related to the broadcast or webcast of and matters including, but not limited to, copyright and any other similar claims pertaining to the submitted project/film. If applicant is under 18 years of age, signature must be obtained by a parent or legal guardian. I represent and warrant that the description provided above is true and accurate and that I own the submitted material, free of any lien or encumbrance; that the procurement, use, transfer and exploitation thereof was not done unlawfully nor will it violate or infringe any third party rights; and that I have the right to submit and to offer such material to you without obligation to any third party. I further represent and warrant that I have obtained all necessary rights and permissions to grant you the right and/or to permit you to use the submitted material in connection with TMFF, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, throughout the universe in perpetuity, and that I have all production, distribution and/or exploitation rights in and to the submitted material, including, without limitation, all rights to the likenesses, names, voices, biographical information and performances of any actors or other persons incorporated in the submitted material, any locations, any artwork, any logos or other intellectual property, and any and all other elements or content in the submitted material. I further represent that I have obtained all necessary rights to grant you the right and/or to permit you to use all music and scoring incorporated in the submitted material as set forth here.

All entrants will be notified by email, if their submission is selected for the TMFF Program. Selected films will also be posted on our website. The Festival will make no cuts or changes.
(The festival does not pay rental fees for submitted work, travel reimbursement, nor provide any compensation for screening the entrants submission). *
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  • wendy hacker

    There were two festivals held on the same night in the same theater, Richey Suncoast Theater, The Black Maria Touring Festival and the Thomas Meighan Film Festival.

    The theater is a beautifully restored historic building in the downtown area of New Port Richey.

    The web site announcing the selections (winners) for the Thomas Meighan Festival posted the name of the film and filmmakers with no links or snapshots of the films.

    The quality of the projection was very poor. It was heartbreaking to watch our work on a big screen look washed out and the sound not bouncing off of the walls.

    Due to time constraints, we left after our director did the Q +A for our experimental film. We were the only filmmakers in attendance. The audience for the Thomas Meighan Festival was poorly attended and we don't know if additional folks came later for the Black Maria films.

    May 2016
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