The New Jersey Film Festival - Spring 2019 takes place between January 25 and March 1, 2019 on the Rutgers University campus in New Brunswick. Showcasing new international films, American independent features, experimental and short subjects, classic revivals, and cutting-edge documentaries, the festival features over 35 film screenings.

Here is a preview of the first two weeks of the festival.  For the full schedule visit www.njfilmfest.com

Friday, January 25 at 7:00pm  Voorhees Hall #105

Geometry – Simo Liu (Los Angeles, CA) - A short animation inspired by the work of experimental filmmakers Oskar Fischinger and John Whitney. 2018; 2 min.

Diary of Rooftop Water Towers – Nobuyuki Asai (New York, NY) - A poetic homage to New York City’s water towers as they evolve through the seasons, their mutability comparable to that of human lives. Over 200 shots of rooftop water towers are separated by brief intervals of black leader, which evoke a city symphony that changes throughout the day and through the seasons. 2018; 103 min Q+A Session by Director Nobuyuki Asai and Producer Keiko Shinonaga. Co-sponsored by the Rutgers University Cinema Studies Program.

Saturday, January 26 at 7:00pm  Voorhees Hall #105

Rule Of Thumb – Bill Rosenthal (Newton, MA) - When a woman has trouble maintaining her romantic relationships, her partners pay the price. 2018; 10 min.  Q+A Session with Director Bill Rosenthal.

Ashes – Anthony La Pira (Norwood, NJ) - A psychological horror film about a drug-addicted man, who reluctantly receives ashes on Ash Wednesday to please his family, and is sent into a downward spiral of hallucinatory, religious-themed body horror. 2018; 17 min.   Q+A Session with Director Anthony La Pira.

Teenage Bloodsuckin’ Bimbos – Anthony Catanese (Trenton, NJ) - Struggling with her alcoholic mother and a love-struck neighbor, while taking care of her baby brother, high school student Jessica longs to be part of the in-crowd and escape the confines of her trailer park life. When she’s accepted by a trio of fun-loving ladies of the night she finds herself thrust into a subterranean world of blood suckin’ pros.  Will her choices come back to bite her, or will a legendary, mysterious Russian vampire hunter, Boris Von Yelsing, catch up with her and her bloodsucking besties first? 2018;  105 min. Q+A Session with Director Anthony Catanese and Producer Sara Casey.

Sunday, January 27 at 7:00pm Voorhees Hall #105

The Bug – Dean Cameron (Burbank, CA) - In this funny short film, Dave’s life changes completely when he is befriended by a singing and dancing bug. 2018; 7 min.

Everything’s Fine: A Panic Attack in D Major – Zack Morrison (East Brunswick, NJ) - A musical comedy about a woman at the onset of her quarter-life crisis and her existential journey through the various stages of anxiety in song and dance. 2018; 15 min. Q+A Session with Director Zack Morrison.

How They Got Over – Robert Clem (Stone Ridge, NY) - A stirring documentary about African-American gospel quartets like the Soul Stirrers, the Dixie Hummingbirds, and the Blind Boys who developed a hugely influential musical spirit and style.  Featuring interviews with legendary singers, the film documents how quartets choreographed their gestures -- shouting, bending over backwards, dancing, jumping off the stage – to move their audiences. Pioneers of rock and roll, they created the unforgettable music that animates this film. 2018; 87 min. Q+A Session with Director Robert Clem. Co-sponsored by the Rutgers University American Studies Department.

Friday, February 1 at 7:00pm Voorhees Hall #105

Harls – Kenzie Sutton (Millburn, NJ) - A guy named Harls keeps getting reincarnated in this wonderful animated film. 2018; 2 min

Mimi Vang Olsen:  Pet Portraitist– Anthony Maranville (Los Angeles, CA) Pets are not just members of the family—they deserve their own portraits!  Creating such portraits is the life’s work of Mimi Vang Olsen, a painter with her own store front in New York’s West Village who immortalizes the lives of her clients and their pets.  This loving profile of the artist is a thoughtful meditation on the importance of pets and art. 2018; 33 min.

Leaving an Impression: A Portrait of Edward Dufner – David Koh and Emma Quong (Millburn, NJ)  100 years ago, the American Impressionist Edward Dufner created two large paintings depicting night and day. He generously gifted these paintings in 1957 to Millburn Township, New Jersey.  This documentary follows the restoration process that brought these two beautiful paintings back to life.  Celebrating the work of the art restorers, and the volunteers who helped along the way, the filmmakers track the techniques that reversed the damage brought on a by century of neglect, with clarity, passion and humor. 2018; 43 min. Q+A Session with Co-Director David Koh and Producer Laraine Brennan Barach! Co-sponsored by the Rutgers University American Studies Department and the Zimmerli Art Museum.

Saturday, February 2 at 5:00pm Voorhees Hall #105

Queenie and the All or Nothing Thin King – Benni Quintero (Valencia, CA) A mixed-media animation film that tells the story of the internal and unhealthy thought processes of a little felted blobby person named Queenie. 2018; 4 min. 

Here We Are –David Bellarosa  (Austin, TX) - A romantic comedy about two human lab rats who fall in love over meds. Andy, a talented young writer stuck in Austin with a growing debt and a broken down rv hears of a way to make some fast money at a pharmaceutical testing facility.  Checking himself in, he starts taking some really weird experimental drugs,but also finds Misty, a vibrant and mysterious young woman with whom he may actually have a true connection. 2018; 108 min. Q+A Session with Director David Bellarosa

For the complete schedule of films visit www.NJfilmfest.com