72 Film Fest: 72 Hours to Make a Movie.

The Teams are out making their films!

Turn In:
Online by Oct 4th 9pm Online in Team Portal
In Person Oct 4th 6:30pm-9pm at 7th Sister 228 N Market St

More Info on the FAQ
Join the Discord, Instagram, Frederick Filmmaker Facebook Group

72 FILM FEST Oct 16-17th 2026
WEINBERG CENTER
Oct 16th Friday Night Premieres
6:30pm – Block One
8:30pm – Block Two
Tickets

Oct 17th Saturday Night Main Event
12:30pm – Selections from SilverVox Film+Music Festival
3pm – LEDA Frederick Premiere w/ Q&A Director Samuel Tressler
7pm – Finalist and Award Nominees Screen
~9:45pm – Award Ceremony!
~10pm – After Party
Tickets

ONLINE

subject to change

Visit/Join Facebook Group

Let’s bring together all the filmmakers, writers, editors, actors and other screen artists in Frederick! Whether you’ve participated or even helped out on 72 Film Fest, or you’re a creative wanting to meet other likeminded folks, let’s make some connections and have some fun. Check the Frederick Filmmakers Meetup or Frederick Filmmakers FaceBook Group for casual meet ups, movie trips and more! If you’d like to host an event, let us know and you can share to the group.

2026 HOSTS

Mikael Johnson has been writing and performing in the DMV for over 20 years. He has been a part of the 72 Film Fest team every year except one or two. A native of Middletown, Mikael got his start taking classes at the Maryland Ensemble Theater (MET), where he eventually joined the company and was cast in several productions. Currently, he resides in Fairfax, Virginia, and is the proud father of the world’s greatest almost eleven-year old girl. Mikael couldn’t be prouder to be a part of the 72 Film Fest team and wants to thank all the teams that come back year after year to participate—we couldn’t have done it without you. He’s currently in recovery from 72-Chew addiction.

Doug Powell is a Frederick local with a background in standup, storytelling and writing. As an actor, Doug has been a part of several short films over the past 20 years including shorts by 72 Fest alum, Star Wipe Films. As a master electrician, Doug proudly co-owns Lumen Brothers Electric Company, a Frederick-based, family-owned electrical service company. Since 2010, he has been a part of the 72 Fest production team, serving as co-host alongside Mikael Johnson.

GUEST JUDGE

JEFF KOBER is an Emmy Award-winning actor with credits that include recurring stints on Shameless, New Girl, Big Sky, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, Truth Be Told and General Hospital. Jeff was nominated for a 2026 prime time Emmy for his work on The Pitt. His series, Brothers, with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, just dropped on Apple TV. Recent movies include Self Reliance, opposite Jake Johnson, which premiered at SXSW and the film Grassland which closed the 2024 LALIFF. Other recent work includes the recently-released movies Break, Cash for Gold, Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace, Sully, directed by Clint Eastwood and Beauty Mark. Jeff also wrote, appeared in and did the photography used in the movie Lie Exposed, starring Leslie Hope and Bruce Greenwood.

Jeff has been a teacher of Vedic Meditation since 2007, and has recently published his book, Embracing Bliss: 108 Daily Meditations (available at fine online bookstores everywhere), and produces a companion to the book, Embracing Bliss Podcast with Jeff Kober, and recently has begun a podcast, Day Shift, on the @SoulBoom YouTube channel, with Rainn Wilson.

In his spare time, Jeff makes large format tintype and ambrotype wet plate collodion photographs.

Website: jeff-kober.com
Book: EMBRACING BLISS: 108 Daily Meditations
Podcast: Embracing Bliss podcast

2026 JURY

Richard Jefferies grew up in Frederick, Maryland where he graduated from Frederick High School in 1974. After 36 years of building a career in Hollywood, Richard returned to live in the Frederick area. During his time in Hollywood, Richard delivered 28 feature film writing assignments to major studios including Tron: Legacy, Cold Creek Manor (which he also executive produced) and Man of the House at Disney, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer at Fox, Searchers and The Bad Place at Warner Bros. Richard has done uncredited writing work on many movies including sci-fi features Virus, Species and lmposter. Richard wrote, directed and produced Organizm aka Living Hell, which premiered on Syfy Channel and wrote the cult horror classic Scarecrows. Richard joined Wiseacre Films in 2010, where he co-wrote and produced the Christmas comedy Elf-Man and China Bigfoot: Legend of the Yeren, which was shot in the remote mountains of central China. Jefferies was a creative consultant to Sam Tressler's "Leda" and Danielle Weinberg's "Invasion '53

DAN SILVER is a music producer and sonic storyteller whose work lives at the nexus of artist albums and blockbuster visuals. For over 3 decades, his mission has been to craft the exact emotional frequency and sonic fingerprint a moment demands—whether in the recording studio with an artist, or placing songs, music supervision, and composing
original music for film, TV, games, ads, and trailers.
His career defies easy categorization, moving fluidly from producing records with icons like Paul Simon and Jeff Beck to producing sessions with rock legends at Rancho De La Luna, and a Gold Telly Award Winner scoring sync placements for brands from Nike, Apple, and Netflix. This unique path is guided by a singular focus: the power of music to define character, elevate narrative, and create iconic cultural moments. Silver’s curatorial ear reaches beyond the studio and the screen: he co-founded the Southwest Invasion music festival, launching emerging artists alongside legends, and now leads music programming as Head of Music and Board Member for the SilverVox Film + Music Festival, a Frederick, Maryland event where film and music share the same stage.

CAOIMHE CARTY is a Northern California-based Video Editor from Ireland, which explains the confusing name. Originally intending to be a Zoologist she moved to the US and fell into the world of film, where she was able to combine her skills as an artist and classically trained musician.
She has worked on a wide range of projects, including Green Day’s feature film Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk, broadcast shows for Animal Planet and Science Channel, TV commercials, Short Docs, and more.
When not working she enjoys sketching, boxing, and writing the plot outline for her detective show which she hopes to some day pass off to someone who can actually write.

Lee Gardner has been writing about film for 35 years. He is the former editor of the now-defunct Baltimore City Paper and is currently a senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education. He lives in Baltimore with his family. In his spare time, he’s a consultant for the Charles Theatre Revival Series.

From low budget indie sets and regional advertising to national cable networks and major streaming platforms, David P. McCauley has built a career behind the camera as a Director of Photography in television and documentaries—racking up hundreds of hours of credits with Tubi, A&E, The History Channel, Oxygen, TV One, Nat Geo, and many others. He cut his teeth as an AC on 16 and 35mm film shoots before advancing to camera op, Steadicam operator and DP, working across sports, television, music video, and corporate projects along the way. Whether on a studio set or in the field, David brings a calm, steady presence that keeps productions running smoothly—without ever sacrificing quality or creative vision.

You can find David online at IMDB (https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm1642791/credits), Youtube (@davidmccauley8872) and Instagram (@dpmccauley1).

Danielle Weinberg is a writer-director and producer from Frederick, Maryland. Her directorial debut, the sci-fi short film INVASION ’53, starring Jeffrey Combs (RE-ANIMATOR), was selected by more than sixty film festivals and won more than twenty-six awards, six of them for best of show. Danielle previously worked in development for Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (STAR TREK, FRINGE) and Orlando Jones. She recently sold an original feature screenplay, and she won The Script Lab’s 2024 Free Screenplay Contest, placing first out of more than 15,000 submissions. Danielle is currently in development on several independent features as a multi-hyphenate at Catoctin Pictures.

Adam Lemnah is a transplant to Los Angeles who grew up in Frederick. I’m a film and television editor with work on shows including Once Upon a Time, Drunk History, Amazing Stories and Lovecraft Country. Recently I was the recipient of the Best Editing award at the 2021 LA Indie Film Festival for my work on the feature film AMERICAN CHERRY, a coming-of- age thriller. When I’m not working, I am spending time with my wife and son and our two dogs Betsy and Mando. @adamlemnah (IG) @AdamLemnah (FB)

Matt Edens: In more than two decades writing for television, Matt has scripted everything from Saturday morning cartoons to true crime documentary series such as A&E’s City Confidential, Snapped on Oxygen and Murder Comes to Town for Investigation Discovery. Currently, he is the head writer for Fatal Attraction on TV One.

Dr. Juan Carlos Kase is Professor and Chair of Film Studies at University of North Carolina Wilmington. He is the author of Post-Manson Cinema: Horror, Transgression, and Susan Sontag’s America in the 1970s (University of California Press, 2026)

RONA MENSAH is an accomplished Professional Broadcaster, Emcee, and Actor. She is best known for having worked as a Radio and TV personality in Washington, DC Metro region. In addition, she serves on the Board of Trustees and is a Company Member of Maryland Ensemble Theatre where she’s just as comfortable contributing onstage as she is behind the scenes. She’s thrilled to return to 72 Fest

Matthew Smits is a film scholar specializing in the study of slow cinema. He has presented research for the Society for Cinema and Media Studies and the Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image. He has also worked as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Warwick.

Sasha Carrera is the writer, producer and star of the comedic feature Spinsters directed by Rahel Grunder with cinematography by Alexa Ihrt. The film was shot entirely on location in Frederick, Maryland.
As a series regular in the Baltimore based show Thespian, her “fiery and complicated” portrayal of Petra Antonelli won the Best Actress award at the Baltimore Next Media festival.
On stage, she regularly appears with the Endangered Species (theatre) Project, most recently as Lady Macbeth, and has been heralded by Theatre Bloom as “one of the most notable members of the ensemble.”
Sasha returned to the Mid-Atlantic after a decade in Los Angeles where, along with performing, she wrote and produced her first short film, the award-winning Mr. Hopewell’s Remedy.
She graduated from Wesleyan University with a BA in theatre, completed the New Actors’ Workshop conservatory training program with Mike Nichols and Paul Sills, and holds an Ed.M. from Harvard University.