(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- The New Jersey Film Festival Fall 2017 will take place on select Thursday, Friday and Sunday evenings between September 15 and October 20, 2017. Showcasing new international films, American independent features, animation, experimental and short subjects, and cutting-edge documentaries, including 30 film screenings. The festival is presented by the Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center, in association with the Rutgers University Program In Cinema Studies, Jungle Software, Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick City Market, and Jimmy John’s.
Film Premieres: 17 films will have their New Jersey or Area Premiere screenings as part of the New Jersey Film Festival Fall 2017. Some of these include: Jeremy Bryant’s very edgy short film Hitchhiking with a .357 Magnum; Minwoo Song’s brilliant experimental film Greeting In The Afternoon; Fred Riedel and Jerry Friends documentary film about the making of Lee Ranaldo's upcoming release -- Hello Hello Hello : Lee Ranaldo : Electric Trim; Leslie Ann Coles’ Melody Makers -- a rock-doc that traces the birth of rock n' roll journalism in the 1960s; Goran Trenchovski’s The Golden Five -- an intimate feature film from Macedonia about the bonds of friendship, tested by unacknowledged acts of betrayal; Sara Leavitt’s short documentary Riverkeeper about Captain Bill Sheehan who has dedicated his life to preserving and protecting the New Jersey Meadowlands; Scott Morris’s Saving The Great Swamp: Battle to Defeat the Jetport -- a documentary about a successful grassroots effort to defeat a plan to build the world's largest jetport on wetlands in the heart of New Jersey; Chiara Bellini’s Life by the Landfill -- an inspiring documentary about a determined group of activists who took on the notoriously mismanaged system of trash collection in Rome, Italy; Jimmy Dinh’s hysterically funny and timely feature You Have A Nice Flight, Nurith Cohn’s amusing short film The Little Dictator; Jordna Horowitz’s surreal feature Painless; and many others.
Best of the Summer 2017 New Jersey International Film Festival: This fall the festival will also be re-screening the films that were the Best of their Summer 2017 New Jersey International Film Festival. These include: First Bloom (Best Animation), Kedi (Honorable Mention), The Ravens (Best Short), Emma (Best Feature), Passaic (Honorable Mention), and Levinsky Park (Best Documentary).
All the competition films selected were screened by a panel of judges including media professionals, journalists, students, and academics. These judges selected the 17 finalists which will be publicly screened at our Festival. These finalists were selected from over 367 works submitted by filmmakers from around the world. In addition, the judges chose the Prize Winners in conjunction with the Festival Director. Prize winners will be announced after the screenings on Sunday, October 8.
Special Guest Appearances by Directors, Artists, and Scholars: As usual, the festival will have plenty of special guests for the screening including over fifteen confirmed special guest appearances by film directors, artists, actors, and scholars. All visiting directors will introduce their work and do a Question and Answer session after the screenings. For more information on these special guest appearances see the attached schedule or go to our online site at www.njfilmfest.com. Note: more filmmakers will be appearing but were not able to confirm their attendance at this time. So check njfilmfest.org for updated information.
Special Promotions: There will be Free Food served at the New Jersey Film Festival Fall 2017 except the shows on Thursdays prior to all the screenings courtesy of Jimmy John's of New Brunswick. Free Parking in University lots near the screening space.
Sponsors: The New Jersey Film Festival Fall 2017 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 Cultural and Heritage Commission/Board of Chosen Freeholders and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; The Rutgers University Centers for Global Advancement and International Affairs (GAIA Centers); The Rutgers University Office of Academic Engagement and Programming; Confucius Institute of Rutgers University; The Rutgers University Zimmerli Art Museum; Rutgers University School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program; The Rutgers Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs; The Rutgers University American Studies Department; The Rutgers University Italian Department; The Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Johnson & Johnson; Jungle Software; Jimmy Johns of New Brunswick; Dunkin’ Donuts; WCTC/WMGQ; WRSU; The Home News Tribune; The Asbury Park Press; New Brunswick City Market; The Rutgers University Dean of Students; 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.
PHOTOS: (TOP) You Have A Nice Flight
(MIDDLE) Melody Makers
(BOTTOM) Greeting In The Afternoon
