(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- The Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center, in association with the Rutgers University Program In Cinema Studies, presents the New Jersey Film Festival Spring 2019 which marks the festival's 37th Anniversary. The Festival will take place between January 25 and March 1, 2019. Showcasing new international films, American independent features, experimental and short subjects, classic revivals, and cutting-edge documentaries, the New Jersey Film Festival Spring 2019 will feature over 35 film screenings.
All the works being screened, with the exception of four programs, are part of the New Jersey Film Festival Competition and were selected by a panel of judges including media professionals, journalists, students, and academics. These judges selected the 22 finalists which will be publicly screened at the Festival. The finalists were selected from over 546 works submitted by filmmakers from around the world. In addition, the judges will choose the Prize Winners in conjunction with the Festival Director. Prize winners will be announced after the screenings on Sunday, February 10, 2019.
Film Premieres: Over 30 films will have their New Jersey or Area Premiere (Middlesex County) screenings as part of the New Jersey Film Festival Spring 2019 and the United States Super 8 Film & Digital Video Festival. Some of these include: Nobuyuki Asai Diary of Rooftop Water Towers -- an amazing poetic homage to New York City’s water towers; Anthony Catanese’s delicious and funny B-movie feature Teenage Bloodsuckin' Bimbos; Zack Morrison’s Everything's Fine: A Panic Attack in D Major -- a sweet musical comedy about a woman at the onset of her quarter-life crisis; Robert Clem’s How They Got Over – a stirring documentary about African-American gospel quartets; Kenzie Sutton’s wonderful animated film Harls; Anthony Maranville’s Mimi Vang Olsen: Pet Portraitist -- a loving profile of the artist is a thoughtful meditation on the importance of pets and art; David Koh and Emma Quong’s Leaving an Impression: A Portrait of Edward Dufner -- documentary on art restoration; David Bellarosa’s romantic comedy from Austin, Texas Here We Are; Andrew Ni’s The Shepherd Sings a Song -- a documentary which champions local journalism in New Jersey; Janet Gardner’s Quakers: The Quiet Revolutionaries -- an illuminating documentary film tells the story of the Quakers; Justine William’s charming coming-of-age film Jo; Emily Kassie’s sensitive and important documentary on child sexual assault A Girl Named C; Kathleen Dougherty Huxley’s Vermont Fancy which profiles Doug Densmore, a struggling farmer nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains and many, many others.
For more information on these premiere screenings visit www.njfilmfest.com.
31st Annual United States Super 8 Film & Digital Video Festival: Also during the Spring 2019 season, the Rutgers Film Co-op/NJMAC will present the 31st anniversary of the United States Super 8 Film & Digital Video Festival -- the longest running, nationally recognized, juried 8mm Film/Video Festival in North and South America. Each of the three evenings (February 22+23) in Voorhees Hall #105, Rutgers University) will feature a different program of films from throughout the USA, Canada, and the world. Filmmakers are competing for many Best of Prizes. Prize winners are announced on the last night of the Festival and audience members will vote for their favorite film. The Super 8 Festival is open to works predominantly shot on either Super 8/8mm film, Hi8/8mm video and/or Digital Video. This program is being co-sponsored by Jungle Software, Pro 8mm, Jungle Software, Johnson & Johnson, and many others.
Heralded Chinese Films Highlight Special Free Screenings: The Spring 2019 Festival will also include two highly anticipated screenings of great contemporary Chinese films directed by Wayne Wang which will be free and open to the public. These two films Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (February 15) and A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (March 1) are being co-sponsored by the Confucius Institute of Rutgers University.
Special Guest Appearances by Directors, Artists, and Actors: Over fifteen confirmed special guest appearances by film directors, producers, and actors to the festival have been confirmed. All visiting directors will introduce their work and do a Question and Answer session after the screenings.
Sponsors: The New Jersey Film Festival is funded and sponsored in part by The Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center; The Rutgers University Program in Cinema Studies/School of Arts and Sciences; Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders through a grant provided by New Jersey State Council on the Arts / Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; The Rutgers University Confucius Institute; Rutgers University School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program; Jungle Software; The Rutgers University American Studies Department; Rutgers Global; The Zimmerli Art Museum; The Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Honors Program; Pro 8mm; The Rutgers University Office of Disability Services; Johnson & Johnson; WCTC/WMGQ; WRSU; The Home News Tribune; The Asbury Park Press; New Brunswick City Market; The Rutgers University Office of Community Affairs; The Rutgers University Digital Classroom Services Office; Design Ideas; Advanced Printing; Steven C. Schechter, Esq.; Share and Harris.
