By Al Nigrin
originally published: 06/13/2022

We had a very good New Jersey International Film Festival this year. It was nice to be able to do in-person screenings again as well as having a line going out the door with large audiences. I want to thank the thousands of viewers who attended virtually or in person and also thank Gary Wien of New Jersey Stage  for sponsoring our Festival again too!  All the works that were part of the 2022 New Jersey International Film Festival Competition were selected by a panel of judges including media professionals, journalists, students, and academics. These judges selected the 29 finalists which were publicly screened at our Festival. The finalists were selected from 667 works submitted by filmmakers from around the world. In addition, the judges chose the Prize Winners in conjunction with the Festival Director. 

2022 New Jersey International Film Festival Grand Prize Winners

Best Feature Film = The Mental State – James Camali (Brooklyn, New York)

Best Documentary Film = The Art of Un-War – Maria Niro (New York, New York)

Best Short Film = Eureka – Miida Chu (Toluca Lake, California)

Best Animation Film = Self Defense - Joni Whitworth and Sam Tam Ham (Portland, Oregon)

Best Experimental Film = Composition – Paul Sestakov (Austin, Texas)



2022 New Jersey International Film Festival Honorable Mention Winners

MALCAH – Anthony Maranville (New York, New York)

A Cartoon of a Cat Sleeping – Randall Scott Christopher (San Diego, California)

Tundra - José Luis Aparicio (Havana, Cuba)

Once I passed – Martin Gerigk (Krefeld, Germany)

Miss Futuro – Antonio Morales (Madrid, Spain)

Faithbreaker - Piotr Złotorowicz (Warsaw, Poland)

Voice of the Game – Tom McCabe and Kirk Rudell (Denville, New Jersey)

Gruf and Me – Dovi Keich (Tel Aviv, Israel)

Love Forbids You…- Will Rittweger (Howell, New Jersey)

The Everyday Show – Viren Shinde (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Bendix: Sight Unseen - Anthony Scalia – (Lodi, New Jersey)

The Afterthought of Life – Svenja Wichmann (Cologne, Germany)

NICHOLAS WINTON: THE MAN WHO SAVED 669 CHILDREN - Frédéric Tonolli (Paris, France)

Information:          

New Jersey International Film Festival

Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center

Rutgers University Program in Cinema Studies

4170 Academic Building, 15 Seminary Place

New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901-8525 U.S.A.

Email: NJMAC12@gmail.com NJMAC@aol.com

Websites: njfilmfest.com

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Albert Gabriel Nigrin is an award-winning experimental media artist whose work has been screened throughout the world. He is also a Cinema Studies Lecturer at Rutgers University, and the Executive Director/Curator of the Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center, Inc.

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