The Manhattan Film Festival was founded in 2006 originally as Independent Features. The organization was founded by Philip J Nelson and co-founded Jose Ruiz Jr. The two got their start in the film industry producing the 2001 independent film Promise of a New Day. In early 2006 they contimplated the production of another film but remembered the barriers they faced five years earlier. As the popularity of streaming video began to soar Nelson thought it would be great if a film festival offered film selection via a web-based competition. That vision became the Independent Features Film Festival. To serve the needs of all filmmakers Independent Features later assembled a programming panel. They became the first film festival to offer film selection by a traditional programming panel as well as film selection via a web-based competition. It was at that time the festival filed paperwork to officially become the Manhattan Film Festival.