(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- The Montclair Film Festival (MFF) has announced the winners of the festival’s 2022 film competitions. This year’s festival featured four competitive categories: Fiction, Documentary, Future/ Now, and New Jersey Filmmaking. Additionally, the Fiction and Documentary juries also awarded films for the festival’s Short Film competitions. The MFF also announced the festival’s 2022 Audience Awards and Junior Jury prizes. 

“This year’s winners of our juried and audience awards showcase the immense range of talent, perspective, and passion that framed the conversation around cinema at this year’s festival,” said Montclair Film Artistic Director and Co-Head Tom Hall. “Each and every film in our competition programs engaged our jurors and audiences in resonant, powerful ways, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to connect filmmakers with audiences who remain committed supporters of the art of film. Thank you to all our filmmakers for making this year’s Montclair Film Festival a tremendous success.”

Feature Film Jury Awards

Aftersun directed by Charlotte Wells was awarded the festival’s Fiction Feature Prize with Corsage directed by Marie Kreutzer receiving a Special Jury Prize, and a Special Jury Prize for Performance was awarded to Vicky Krieps for her performance in Corsage.

The Fiction Feature Competition featured Aftersun, Corsage, EO directed by Yjerzy Skolimowski, HOLY SPIDER directed by Ali Abbasi, and R.M.N. directed by Cristian Mungiu.

The Fiction jury was comprised of Dan O’Meara (Neon and Super LTD), Caryn James (Film Critic), and Sam Bergeson (Indiewire).

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed directed by Laura Poitras, was awarded the festival’s Bruce Sinosky Award for the Documentary Feature Competition, the festival’s documentary prize

The Non-Fiction Feature Competition featured All That Breathes directed by Shaunak Sen, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues directed by Sacha Jenkins, RETROGRADE directed by Matthew Heineman, and The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari directed by Rory Kennedy.

The Non-Fiction Feature Competition Jury was comprised of George Nicholis (Magnolia Pictures), Elizabeth Weitzman (Film Critic), and Thelma Adams (Film Critic).

Nanny directed by Nikyatu Jusu won the Future/Now Competition, and When Men Were Men directed by Aidan Dick & Izzi Rojas was awarded a Special Jury Prize, with both films sharing the $5000 The Mark Urman Award For Fiction Filmmaking honoring early career filmmakers.  This award was established in 2019 in memory of the film distribution executive Mark Urman, a longtime Montclair resident, and funded through Montclair Film’s Mark Urman Award Fund.  

The Future/Now Competition featured Hannah Ha Ha directed by Joshua Pikobsky and Jordan Tetewsky, A Lot Of Nothing directed by Mo McRae, Nanny, The Unknown Country directed by Morrisa Maltz, and When Men Were Men.

The Future/Now jury was comprised of John Fink (The Film Stage), Abbey White (Film Writer), and Nicolas Rapold (Film Critic).

Home Is Somewhere Else directed by Carlos Hagerman and Jorge Villalobos, took home the New Jersey Films Competition prize. 

The New Jersey Feature Competition featured Banded Together: The Boys From Glen Rock High directed by Barry Rubinow, Home Is Somewhere Else, Of Medicine and Miracles directed by Ross Kauffman, Relative directed by Tracey Arcabasso Smith, and The YouTube Effect directed by Alex Winter.

The New Jersey Films Competition jury was comprised of Patrick Ryan (Film Critic), Keith Uhlich (Film Critic), and Julie Goldman (Producer).

Audience Awards

The festival’s Audience Award for Fiction Feature was awarded to Remember This directed by Jeff Hutchens and Derek Goldman.

The Audience Award for Documentary Feature was awarded to Wildcat directed by Melissa Lesh and Trevor Beck Frost

The Audience Award for World Cinema was awarded to The Quiet Girl directed by Colm Bairéad

The Audience Award for Short Film was awarded to Bendix: Site Unseen directed by Anthony Scalia

David Carr Award

She Said, directed by Maria Schrader, took home the 8th Annual David Carr Award for Truth in Filmmaking, which honors a filmmaker, selected by the festival, who utilizes exemplary journalistic techniques to explore important contemporary subjects and is presented in honor of Mr. Carr’s commitment to truth telling in reporting. 

Junior Jury

Each year, The Montclair Film Festival welcomes our Junior Jury, made up of fifteen area high school students representing twelve area schools. The Junior Jury awarded their top prize to The Whale directed by Darren Aronofsky. The Junior Jury also awarded a Special Jury Award for Performance to Eden Dambrine for his work in Lukas Dhont’s Close.

The 2022 Montclair Film Festival Junior Jury participants were Alyssa Arroyo (Nutley High School), Charlie Benson (Montclair High School), Genevieve Cai (Jackson Memorial High School), Diana Creaser (Montclair High School), Joshua Lancman (Golda Och Academy), Sahana Mishra (Northern Valley Demarest Regional High School), Katie Pak (West Essex Regional High School), Ross Perlman (Columbia High School), Josh Talkow (Montclair Kimberley Academy), Asher Talty (Montclair High School), Nicole Texca (Passaic High School), Janiah Valenzuela (Passaic County Technical Institute), Ava Vitali (Glen Ridge High School), Leah Waessa (Livingston High School), and Stella Williams (Columbia High School).

Short Film Jury Awards

At Little Wheelie Three Days Ago directed by Andrew Stephen Lee, won the festival’s Fiction Short Film Competition. The Fiction Shorts jury was comprised of Dan O’Meara (Neon and Super LTD), Caryn James (Film Critic), Sam Bergeson (Indiewire).

Neighbour Abdi directed by Douwe Dijkstra won the festival’s Documentary Short Film Competition. The Non-Fiction Shorts jury was comprised of George Nicholis (Magnolia Picture), Elizabeth Weitzman (Film Critic), Thelma Adams (Film Critic).

Bendix: Site Unseen directed by Anthony Scalia, won the festival’s New Jersey Shorts competition. The Competition featured films in the fiction and non-fiction categories from New Jersey. The New Jersey Shorts Competition jury was comprised of Patrick Ryan (Film Critic), Keith Uhlich (Film Critic), and Julie Goldman (Producer).

Montclair Film, a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization connects filmmakers from around the region and world with audiences by presenting films and year-round programs that engage, educate, and entertain through the power of visual storytelling. In addition to owning and operating The Clairidge, Montclair’s six screen art house cinema, the organization also hosts the annual Montclair Film Festival, presented by Investors Bank, which will take place from October 21-30, 2022. Montclair Film is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and all programs are made possible with funds from the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel and Tourism, as well as the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, among many others. Montclair Film provides unique and meaningful ways to engage with diverse, creative, and sophisticated audiences and seeks sponsors for its signature film festival, educational programs, and other year-round community events that attract more than 46,000 annual attendees and generate more than 800 million media impressions yearly. For information about Montclair Film, visit www.MontclairFilm.org.