The second day of the festival was also filled with film, films and more films, both short and feature length from the U.S. as well as from around the world. What I liked about these films was the fact that they were all from either first time or second time filmmakers so we can see what’s on the minds of our freshest filmmakers

Just a sampling:

Loved the clever Russian short “Robomodern,” directed by Sergei Sergeevich Smirnov. in its U.S. premiere. The U.K. film “Field Trip,” by Soren Bend and Paul Arion, was intriguing but flawed. The Canadian feature-length film "The Noise of Engines” by Philippe Gregoire, was weird but mesmerizing and I’m not sure whether I loved or hated it, which might be a good thing

I absolutely loved the LGBTQ-centric short “Dotting the “i” “making its U.S.premiere. Directed by Doug Tompos, it was sexy, sweet, and posed interesting questions for the community about the nature of intimacy. It was just terrific and one of my faves of the festival.

Also a film that earned its share of applause was the feature-length doc “A Taste of Heaven: The Ecstatic Song & Gospel of Maestro Raymond Anthony Myles.” It told the story of an electrifying gospel singer and composer who reigned supreme in New Orleans in the ‘90s but whose flamboyant nature (think the Liberace of Gospel) which put him at odds with achieving greater fame. The doc needed more editing and though it failed to address many questions it raised, it was still had moments that were captivating.

More? Lots more. Too much for one movie lover to take in. Did I say Karen Allen was there? And several sessions with actress-director (“The Lost Daughter”) Maggie Gyllenhaal who shared great insights about her freshman film. (Husband Peter Sarsgaard. was to join her tonight.) Then there was an in-depth conversation with New York Times senior editor Lindsay Crouse, who presented her film clips which she produced for the newspaper. That conversation and study of seven or eight film segments was inspiring as it showed yet another way of story-telling in the medium.

So much more, too .

One of the highlights for me was the Vermont Symphony Orchestra performing “An Afternoon at the Movies,” featuring a live 22-piece orchestra playing arranged scores of seven documentary and animated short films while they are screened. The sound of a full orchestra with often lush scores was an aural thrill.

I especially loved Daniel Houghton’s poignant “Estrellita,” which was not only exquisitely rendered but one with a political sensibility, too, in the end . (Houghton is director of Middlebury College’s Animation Lab.) I also liked Mark Smith’s epic “Two Balloons” and Rusty Eveland’s “Mate.” And Chris Caswell’s “& Gretel Hansel Kinrumpelstilts” showed that you can make movie magic with just a few scraps of paper and a mighty imagination.

Oh, there were grand tent parties and festival happy hours and champagne receptions and a chance to talk to filmmakers one-on-one in a quaint college town setting that was sublime. I had to return to Manhattan on Amtrak (another cool trip back that was as pleasant as Vermont apple pie) so I missed the last few days of the festival, but I saw enough to know that this is a human-scale celebration of film and that I’ll be returning again and again.