The creation and maintenance of artists’ colonies — communities defined by the needs of the keepers and gatherers of, in the words of Theodore Dreiser, “the stored honey of the human soul” — began in Europe in the early 19th century. The American composer Edward MacDowell (1860–1908) was so inspired by his stay at the American Academy in Rome, a multidisciplinary artist’s conservatory chartered by John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, among others, that he and his wife established the first such American community, the MacDowell Colony, in 1907.

Located in Peterborough, N.H., MacDowell supplies room and board to each colonist, along with 24-hour access to one of 32 individual studios, each in its own building, all nearly out of sight of the others. Thornton Wilder wrote “Our Town” and “The Bridge at San Luis Ray” at MacDowell. Aaron Copland composed “Appalachian Spring” there. Milton Avery painted in one of MacDowell’s north-lit buildings. More recently Michael Chabon worked on “The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay” in MacDowell’s Heyward Studio.

Since 1971, MacDowell has also hosted filmmakers and, in commemoration of the colony’s centennial, starting today the Museum of Modern Art will host “Filmmakers at MacDowell: The Studio System Reconsidered,” a program showcasing work from 28 different MacDowell arts alumni.

The films surveyed range from experimental and non-narrative works, like Bill Morrison’s marvelous 2002 visual fugue “Decasia: The State of Decay,” to Michael Almereyda’s modern dress “Hamlet” starring Ethan Hawke and Bill Murray.

Both Sundance and Cannes offer screenwriters and directors live-in development programs where nascent film talents can mix with experienced mentors. But MacDowell’s approach to filmmakers is the same as its approach to every other discipline it supports — hands off.

“Sundance is about giving you feedback and pushing you forward and grappling with the work,” said the writer and director Joshua Marston, who’s feature debut, “Maria Full of Grace,” was developed at MacDowell and at the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab. “MacDowell leaves you entirely on your own to do your work. It’s a space to work away from the rest of the world.”

Mr. Marston counts the time and space he received as a MacDowell Fellow as a vital part of the process of making “Maria Full of Grace,” which will screen in the MoMA survey, and a turning point in his professional life. “After I finished film school I worked editing schlock televisions on cable TV while trying to write my screenplay at the same time,” he said. “I was waking up extra early and finding bits and pieces of time to write where I could. Getting into MacDowell represented for me a shift in my career to make time for myself and for my own creative work.”

The transition from moonlighting to full time writer-director was a significant one. Though it’s an ideal setting and situation for wholesale creative progress, like many other New York-based MacDowell fellows, Mr. Marston had to recalibrate himself to function in a spacious, pastoral setting. “The first week that you’re there is usually spent just sort of letting go of the universe,” he said.

And when you go back to the work-a-day reality of New York’s harried creative life? Like returning astronauts, there is apparently a kind of universal comedown from the MacDowell experience. “Everyone I’ve spoken to suddenly becomes aware of how much less productive they are when they get back to the real world,” Mr. Marston said.