Mtn Craft Film Festival Returning to Clarksburg With Free Admission
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Appalachian filmmaking will return to the big screen in downtown Clarksburg this fall, and this year audiences will be able to experience the Mtn Craft Film Festival for free.
The fourth annual festival is scheduled for Oct. 2 through Oct. 4 at the Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center, bringing three days of independent films, filmmaker conversations, workshops, art and other events to the historic downtown theater.
For 2026, title sponsors Coat of Arms and Deal Solver by Bid Lightning are helping make free admission possible, opening the festival's screenings and workshops to the public without a ticket charge.
It is a significant change for an event that has grown quickly since making its debut in Clarksburg in 2023.
Mtn Craft was created around a specific mission: giving Appalachian filmmakers and Appalachian stories a place on the big screen. Films considered for the festival must have a connection to the region, whether through the filmmaker, the location or crew involved in the production, or the story being told.
That allows the weekend to feature a wide range of work, including scripted shorts, documentaries, experimental films, animation and music videos, all tied in some way to Appalachia.
The festival's FilmFreeway listing shows approximately 90 submissions and 40 selected projects, with awards planned in categories including documentary short, scripted short, student film and experimental, animated or music video work. A separate Mtn Craft Award recognizes the best of West Virginia.
Festival Director Ben Berry helped launch the event in 2023. Berry is also the founder of Mtn Craft, a Fairmont-based video production company he started in 2013. Connor Isner serves as the festival's program director.
The festival has also worked to make the weekend more than a series of movie screenings.
The 2026 event is expected to include filmmaker workshops, panel discussions, an art gallery, food and drinks and opportunities for audiences to interact with filmmakers.
Organizers describe the event as a celebration of both filmmaking and Appalachian culture.
This year's festival artwork is another example of that regional focus. Mtn Craft selected Huntington artist Nicole LeGrow as its 2026 festival artist. LeGrow, who is studying studio art at Marshall University, works across several mediums including ceramics, painting, drawing, collage, video, printmaking and sculpture.
The setting has become part of the festival's identity as well.
The Robinson Grand first opened in downtown Clarksburg in 1913 and spent decades showing movies and hosting live entertainment. More than a century later, the restored theater is again serving as a place where filmmakers can see their work presented to an audience on a theater screen.
The inaugural Mtn Craft Film Festival in 2023 was expected to draw hundreds of people over two days. It has since expanded into an annual fall event and is now entering its fourth year.
For people who have never attended a film festival, organizers are emphasizing that the free-admission format makes this year's event easier to experience. Visitors can stop in for a film block, workshop or other part of the weekend without committing to the entire festival.
No advance registration is required, according to the Robinson Grand, and free parking is available in several areas within walking distance of the venue.
The Mtn Craft Film Festival will run Friday, Oct. 2 through Sunday, Oct. 4 at the Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center, 444 W. Pike St. in downtown Clarksburg.
