Black Bear Film Festival

The Black Bear Film Festival, based in Milford, Pennsylvania, is a non-profit organization committed to fostering joy and fostering community through film. We seek to find and feature exceptional independent films that the general public will enjoy, celebrate the art and craft of filmmaking with varied events, and build sound, mutually beneficial relationships with our audiences.

Jerry Beaver, a well-known casting director, founded the Black Bear Film Festival in Milford in 2000 with the assistance of ten of his close friends, including Sean Strub, the mayor of Milford, and Dave Chant of Davis R. Chant Realtors. Today, the event brings 2,000–3,000 visitors to our quaint, artistic town each year.

In 2011, Jerry and Dru Whitaker, a business partner, acquired the Historic Milford Theater. Thomas Pitney built the theater between 1910 and 1920 as a silent cinema theater and to host vaudeville events. It has a classic art deco stage. 

Since Jerry and Dru purchased the Milford Theater in "as is" form from Joe Farruggio, who had acquired it in 1978, the Milford Theater has served as the location of the Black Bear Film Festival. The Milford building was rented by the Black Bear Film Festival for its first nine years, and for the final two (during which the building underwent renovation), Delaware High School hosted festival screenings.

Businessman Bill Rosado of Milford purchased the Milford Theater in 2021, completely renovated it, and has since hosted the Black Bear Film Festival there.

Since the 1910s, when Milford first attracted the attention of movie makers as a setting for their silent films, the city has a long and illustrious cinematic history. Between 1908 and 1913, D.W. Griffith produced nearly three movies each week, starring actors including Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, and Lionel Barrymore. He also introduced novel filmmaking methods like closeups, cross-cutting, and deep focus.

Since the early 1900s, Milford has been a popular weekend getaway for wealthy New Yorkers as well as a sanctuary for actors and other famous people. A music, art, dancing, and literature festival is held annually in this artistic and culturally diverse town. It seems sense to incorporate the Black Bear Film Festival as a substantial complement to this.