The 20th annual New Jersey International Film Festival Summer 2015 will run from May 30 through June 14 at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. Showcasing new international films, American independent features, animation, experimental and short subjects, and cutting-edge documentaries, the New Jersey International Film Festival Summer 2015 features 25 film screenings.
Saturday, May 30
Soap – Christopher Brown (London, England) When Sami breaks into a house, he is interrupted by Sophia, the owner of the property, who lures the criminal into her bathtub. Quite a steamy short film from England. 2015; 15 min.With an introduction and Q+A session by Director Christopher Brown!
Forever into Space– Greg Locke (New York, New York) In this gorgeous and wry feature film, Audrey, an over-educated and under-employed twenty-something film blogger, attempts to make sense of her life in New York City during a period of unprecedented societal change and cultural shifts. As she tries to find her way, we meet her “city family,” a group of similarly disillusioned –and secretly idealistic -- young adults dealing with challenges of their own. 2015; 110 min. With an introduction and Q+A session by Actor Kelly Sebastian and Director Greg Locke.
Sunday, May 31
Journey to the Place of Birds – Erik Wrobel, Nick Chupko and Robert Takleszyn (North Plainfield, NJ) This quirky short animation, based on a comic book, follows Ne-Tuh as he seeks enlightenment at the Place of Birds. 2014; 20 min. With an introduction and Q+A session by Directors Erik Wrobel, Nick Chupko and Robert Takleszyn!
M Cream– Agneya Singh (New Delhi, India) An ode to the spirit of revolution! In this independent and irreverent feature film from India, four university students embark on a road trip in pursuit of a mythical form of hashish. As they seek out the ultimate high, their journey becomes a chronicle of rebellion, and a compelling portrait of a new generation in India that aspires to far more than material well-being. 2014; 115 min. With an introduction and Q+A session by Actor Kelly Sebastian and Director Agneya Singh!
Friday, June 5
Tick Tock – Zeynep Kocak (Istanbul, Turkey) In this beautiful animated film, an elderly man wakes up to a routine day with his cat, who is his only friend. After making his breakfast, he comes up with an idea to break his routine, and end his loneliness. 2015; 9 min.
Moving Day – Louis Hunter (Cedar Hill, TX) A portrait of a break-up, or is it really that simple? Carrie’s illness has come back, and now she and Pete are separating. Is this a mutual separation, or not?. 2014; 15 min.
America’s Blues – Patrick Branson (St; Louis, MO) An illuminating, feature-length documentary, exploring the tremendous impact that Blues music has had on American society, including transcending generations and racial barriers, tearing down walls of segregation and fostering social acceptance of cultural diversity. 2015; 84 min.
Saturday, June 6
Inside the Frame: Portrait of Photographer Linda Troeller – Jeff McKay (Lakewood, NJ) A compelling portrait of the photographer Linda Troeller, who began her career modeling for landmark photographers, such as Ansel Adams and Lucien Clergue, and then devoted the next forty years to a life behind the camera. 2015; 43 min.With an introduction and Q+A session by Linda Troeller!
When Things Go Wrong: Robin Lane Story – Tim Jackson (Somerville, MA) - This film explores the life of Robin Lane, who has all but disappeared from rock history despite being one of the first women to front her own all-male rock band, which broke new ground in the late seventies. Her band was hailed as one of the top 10 new groups of 1979 by Rolling Stone magazine. . .until things began to go wrong. 2015; 80 min. With an introduction and Q+A session with Robin Lane and Director Tim Jackson!
Sunday, June 7
U H F – David Ellis (Plymouth, MA) With its textured edgy tempo, UHF takes us to a convergence point where analog and digital dark matter meet. Future shock? Decay? Neglected beauty? Trashed culture? Post-industrial wasteland? Where are we headed with everything wired? 2015; 5 min.
Enfilade – David Coyle (Westbourne Park, Australia) A man awakens in a white room with two doors. Each door loops into the other. The only objects within the room are a red ball and a revolver containing a single bullet. How does one escape a loop? 2014; 10 min.
Nocturne – Saul Pincus (Toronto, Canada) An eerily beautiful feature film about an insomniac who falls in love with a sleepwalker. 2014; 117 min. With an introduction and Q+A session with Director Saul Pincus!
Friday, June 12
Up in a Plane – Rachel Moore (Victoria, Canada) In this lovely animation, painted on glass, a young girl bikes, flies, and dances, through the power of her imagination, all the way from the prairies of the early 1900’s to Europe in WWII, to the present, and beyond. 2014; 9 min.
Dream On – Roger Weisberg (Palisades, NY) Does the American Dream still exist, after decades of rising income inequality and declining economic mobility? Following in the footsteps of Alexis de Tocqueville’s footsteps, John Fugelsang asks whether the optimistic spirit of the American Dream is alive and well in the twenty-first century, or whether George Carlin was right when he famously quipped, ‘It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.’ 2015; 99 min. With an introduction and Q+A session by John Fugelsang and Director Roger Weisberg!
Saturday, June 13
Waste Paper – Derrick Pete (Aliso Viejo, CA) A cartoon illustration, thrown away by its Animator, enters a world where the other throw-aways live. He and a newfound friend decided to battle the Animator, to avoid a fate worse than death. 2015; 8 min.
Cinderella, A Shadow Ballet –White Widow (Los Angeles, CA) The musical artist White Widow “re-invents” the classic fairy-tale Cinderella, with a new narration and orchestration. 2015; 14 min.
Keeper of the Past – Marco J. Riedl (Bochum, German) In this supernatural thriller, a farmer begins a new life with his wife and his children way out in the country. (German, subtitled) 2014; 29 min.
Secrets of Llewellyn Park – William Davis (West Orange, NJ) From a ghost story; to a visit inside a castle; to the nefarious tale about Thomas Edison and how he acquired his house; to the day the elephants came to the park & more. 2014; 40 min. With an introduction and Q+A session by Director William Davis!
Sunday, June 14
Milking It – Fredgy Noël (New York, NY) In this dark romantic comedy, a woman in her early 30s seduces men with the sole purpose of befriending their mothers. 2015; 9 min.
The Ten Plagues – Serena Shulman (San Francisco, CA) In this hilarious short film, a young woman, en route to a Passover Seder, must fight her way through the Ten Plagues. 2014; 10 min.
Test – Jay Lifton (New York, NY) A seemingly unremarkable man spends a day taking a bizarre test at a mysterious facility. As he interacts with the odd, detached employees of the facility, who guide him from section to section, the intentions of the test become increasingly obscure. 2015; 10 min. With an introduction and Q+A session by Director Jay Lifton!
14 Days – Joseph Villapaz (Lakewood, NJ) In this experimental feature film about relationships, a diverse cast of characters, dealing with life-changing issues are tied together by the location they all pass through. 2015; 54 min. With an introduction and Q+A session with DirectorJoseph Villapaz!
Sunday, June 14
Natural Insemination – Crosby Selander (Los Angeles, CA) A romantic farce about a happily married couple, and the increasingly desperate measures they take to get pregnant. 2015; 17 min . With an introduction and Q+A session by Director Crosby Selander!
The Cat’s Cradle – David Spaltro (New York, NY) Jim and Amy are a young couple attempting to conceive. As these attempts become all-consuming in their lives, stress and tension build between them. A romantic evening turns into a night of confessions and betrayal that will forever change their relationship. 2015; 15 min. With an introduction and Q+A session by Screenwriter/Actor Tawny Sorensen and Director David Spaltro!
Lashes – Christine Sherwood (London, England) Lashes, adapted from the short story Feathers and Cigarettes, by Andrew Lloyd-Jones, follows 16-year-old Ashley on a day when her true self collides with her fake self. Facing down a cheating boyfriend and a deceiving new friend, she realizes that the world she has been trying to fit into isn’t everything she had hoped. 2014; 20 min. With an introduction and Q+A session by Director Christine Sherwood!
