First held in October 2013, the festival, hosted in the town of Middleburg, Virginia was founded by Sheila Johnson and filmmaker Susan Koch.

Board members and advisory committee chairs include Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, Matt Carson, Kris Bowers, & Nicholas Britell.

[1] As the small town of Middleburg (population 650) has no movie theater, audiences screen films at the Salamander Resort ballroom as well as a nearby school, community center, and the National Sporting Library & Museum.

[4] Previous guests and speakers have included Brendan Fraser, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aldis Hodge, Emma Stone, Viggo Mortensen, Lee Daniels, Dakota Johnson, Meg Ryan, Kenneth Branagh, Greta Gerwig, and Ray Romano.

This year alone, Rian Johnson (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery), Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once), Noah Baumbach (White Noise), Brendan Fraser (The Whale), Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King), and more were in attendance to support their films and receive tributes."