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The Best of 2016 Garden State Film Festival Shorts In Manasquan

Published by New Jersey Stage

originally published: 10/13/2016

(MANASQUAN, NJ) -- “Shorts” season has been extended into October.  Algonquin Arts Theatre and the Garden State Film Festival will present a two-hour program featuring a selection of favorite short films selected from the last 14 editions of the Garden State Film Festival. Dubbed “Best of the Fest,” this screening will be Saturday, October 22, 2016 at 8:00pm in Manasquan sponsored by Shoreline Media Marketing.

The evening will be introduced by Siobhan Fallon Hogan most known for her parts in the films “Men In Black,” “Forest Gump,” and “Wayward Pines,” as well as her television appearances including a recurring role on “Seinfeld” and on “Saturday Night Live.” Fallon Hogan is a Garden State Film Festival honorary board member.

Tickets are $13 (including all processing fees) and available online at algonquinarts.org, by phone at 732-528-9211 or at the Algonquin Box Office at 173 Main Street from 12:00pm-6:00pm on weekdays and 12:00pm-4:00pm on Saturdays. Walk-up tickets for this screening will also be available at the box office starting at 7:00pm on October 22. Doors will open at 7:30pm.

The films that will be screened include:

Admissions: A short film starring Academy Award nominee James Cromwell that tells a transformational tale about what it takes to find lasting peace, even in war-torn places like the Middle East. Featuring an Israeli couple and a Palestinian man, this modern parable is set in the Admissions Room for the afterlife. Its purpose is to start a conversation that heals.




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Gli Zii (The Uncles): Two dysfunctional Italian brothers have their lives transformed when their baby niece is abandoned on their doorstep. They're given only one instruction by their disgraced sister - preserve the girl's innocence. Seventeen years later the Uncles go to extremes to do just that.

La Ragazza e la Gondola (The Girl and The Gondola): Carla dreams of becoming a gondolier like her father. However, 900 years of Venetian tradition and the disapproval of her parents stand in her way.

Kismet Diner: A singing waitress in a diner finds the song that opens the heart of a disinterested customer.

Death Taxes & Apple Juice: A little girl ponders the meaning of life as her friend helps her file taxes.



About Algonquin Arts Theatre

Algonquin Arts Theatre (AAT) is a 501c(3) non-profit center for performing arts, providing cultural enrichment and arts education for residents and visitors of Central New Jersey and the Jersey Shore through high quality performances and programs in theatre, music, dance and film.

Located in Manasquan, N.J., AAT is an integral part of the Shore Region, offering broad access to arts experiences across multiple disciplines. Deeply committed to education, AAT serves students of all ages not only through art and music instruction, but also through the unique communal conversation that exists between audience member and performer. The theatre provides a platform for local and regional performers to showcase their work and offers audiences the opportunity to engage very directly and personally in the arts, fostering greater participation and providing an engaging means for exploring personal and societal issues through the world of the stage.




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Algonquin Arts Theatre's programs are made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts / Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding is also provided by Manasquan Bank, the Paul F. Zito, M.D. Educational Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Freed Foundation, the PNC Foundation, the Horizon Foundation of New Jersey, the OceanFirst Foundation, the Investors Bank Foundation, the Provident Bank Foundation and the generosity of our patrons.

The theatre was voted New Jersey’s favorite small performing arts center south of the Raritan River in 2015.



ABOUT GARDEN STATE FILM FESTIVAL

The Garden State Film Festival was envisioned by 25-year film industry veteran Diane Raver and the late Hollywood actor Robert Pastorelli in 2002 and launched the following year. Since 2003, thousands of films have made their public premiers, hundreds of thousands of people from around the world have attended; and the total infusion of cash to local businesses since inception exceeds $5 million. Until 2013, it was held in Asbury Park, in and around the Convention Center complex. In 2014, it relocated to Atlantic City as a major component of DO AC, the marketing campaign to promote arts and culture the city spearheaded by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. The GSFF is a 501-c-3 non-profit organization.



EVENT PREVIEWS

Al Nigrin, Executive Director and Curator of the New Jersey International Film Festival, sits down at EBTV with Ashley Gerst -- Director and Animator of the film Sundays for a filmmaker interview. Sundays will be screened on Saturday May 30, 2026.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Interview with Middle Life Director Pavan Moondi

2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Interview with Middle Life Director Pavan Moondi

Here is Festival Director Al Nigrin’s interview with Pavan Moondi. Pavan is the director and writer of the terrific Canadian feature film Middle Life. Middle Life screens with two shorts at the New Jersey International Film Festival on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Interview with Counterfeit Kids Director/Writer James Sclafani!

2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Interview with Counterfeit Kids Director/Writer James Sclafani!

Here is Festival Director Al Nigrin’s interview with Counterfeit Kids Director/Writer James Sclafani! Counterfeit Kids screens at the New Jersey International Film Festival on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
Terrific animation Godzilla’s Day Off screens at the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival on May 30!

Terrific animation Godzilla’s Day Off screens at the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival on May 30!

I loved the introduction to the short animated film Godzilla's Day Off by Myra Sito Velasquez. It was very retro and fun. I love, love, love this style of animation, it's very South Park which is the reason I was so drawn to this piece. It's very nostalgic for me as my dad was always watching South Park when I was growing up #cartman #godzillabuiltlikecartman #southparkxgodzilla #cartmansdayoff.
Trenton Filmmaker Phillip McConnell to Premiere New Short Film "Tell Me Where We Stand"

Trenton Filmmaker Phillip McConnell to Premiere New Short Film "Tell Me Where We Stand"

(HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, NJ) -- Independent filmmaker Phillip McConnell will premiere his new short film, Tell Me Where We Stand, at Mill One on Sunday, May 31, 2026, bringing together local artists, performers, and members of the community for an evening celebrating independent film and storytelling.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Interview with What We Dreamed of Then Director Taylor Olson

2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Interview with What We Dreamed of Then Director Taylor Olson

Al Nigrin, Executive Director and Curator of the New Jersey International Film Festival, interviews What We Dreamed of Then Director, Writer and Actor Taylor Olson. What We Dreamed of Then will be screened on May 31, 2026.
Moving feature What We Dreamed of Then screens at the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival on May 31

Moving feature What We Dreamed of Then screens at the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival on May 31

It is rare for a film to capture a major social issue and equally rare for a film to burrow its way into audiences’ hearts. What We Dreamed of When does both and on a budget that wouldn’t even cover lunch on a Hollywood film set.
Come soar with Pizza Man at the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival

Come soar with Pizza Man at the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival

Pizza! Pizza! I scream. You scream. We all scream for Pizza!!! I am obsessed with the opening animation in Sebastian Hunt’s short film Pizza Man, very retro, very I watched this on my box TV when I was younger. The color grading felt real and not like a GLP-1 commercial on Hulu, which is always a plus in my book. It gave off “depressing work place that I hate to work at and just wanna go home.” IF I saw some weird old man dressed in a pizza costume 7 hours into my shift at my box office job that I am for sure carrying on my shoulders, I’d lowkey be pissed though, like boy get out my face and let me go home, girl I don’t wanna deal with this right im tired and the only thing getting me through the day is knowing I have a california king waiting for me at home. Pizza Man gave off Thor from Avengers: Endgame, like bitch we have work to do go save a pizza I don’t know. ALSO, I’m reallllllly hoping that is not Mitchell’s handwriting as an adult because honestly not even Pizza Man can save that.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Animation Panel

2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Animation Panel

Here is the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Animation Panel featuring Festival Director Al Nigrin and Filmmakers Owen Andrejco, Myra Sito Velasquez, Evan Bode, and Heidi Kumao.
Emmy-nominated, Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor/director Jason Alexander to Lead Acting Masterclass on Long Beach Island

Emmy-nominated, Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor/director Jason Alexander to Lead Acting Masterclass on Long Beach Island

(LONG BEACH ISLAND, NJ) -- The Lighthouse International Film Festival (LIFF) presents a rare five-day acting masterclass led by acclaimed actor and director Jason Alexander, taking place June 7–11, 2026 on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, just prior to the opening of the Festival's 18th edition, which runs June 10–14.

 

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