(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- The Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center, in association with the Rutgers University Program in Cinema Studies, will present the 2023 New Jersey International Film Festival which marks their 28th Anniversary. The Festival will be taking place on the Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between June 2-11, 2023. The Festival will be a hybrid one as they will be presenting it online as well as doing in-person screenings at Rutgers University.

All of the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person screenings. The in-person screenings will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 5:00pm or 7:00pm on their show date.  General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$100; In-Person Show Student Ticket=$10 Per Program. Ticket buyers will also have special access to Filmmaker Introductions and Q+A Sessions for many of the films.

Film Premieres: 35 films will have their New Jersey or Area Premiere (Middlesex County) screenings as part of the New Jersey Film Festival and the United States Super 8 Film and Video Festival. Some of these include: Michel Negroponte’s beautiful and meditative documentary Herd which focuses on a herd of cows in the Catskills; 7 films by New Jersey filmmakers or shot in New Jersey will be screened including Christopher Beatty’s stunning feature film Bibi which is a psychological thriller about a mother and daughter who live in secluded mansion that is hiding a terrible secret.

Alan McIntyre’s sexy and charming feature Stargazer which is about a grad student burning with fury about the fate of a forgotten astronomer; Kelsey McGee’s Danceable which is about three dancers with disabilities who find freedom through movement; Derek Johnson and Ali Scattergood’s Healing Waters about New Jersey artist Linda Troeller who is known for creating sensual images inside sublime water environments; Andreana Loukidis’s romantic film Stay Behind, Alam Virk’s crazy short Boxed, and Matt Kliegman’s The Answer – a documentary on how Atlantic City fights the legal and political process to demolish the decaying and hazardous Trump Plaza Casino;  an amazing feature from Mexico by Tonatiuh García entitled Black Moon which is the story of three siblings and the rebellion of a town to defend a river.

D. Mitry’s touching film Hedgehog which is about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; Adriana Davis’s insightful documentary Dancing Without Steps: The Art of Improvisation with Margaret Beals;  Brian Fairbairn and Karl Eccleston’s lovely period film from the U.K. Tommies which focuses on Regency-era London where five women waiting for a carriage descend into a frenzy of vicious gossip about a notorious scandal; Virgina Yearick’s Possum Kingdom which is about how three generations of white men kill time in living rooms, open fields, and shallow water on a run-down family farm in South Carolina; Sophia Castuera’s gorgeous triangle love story August at twenty-two;  Amber Monet’s documentary Reading is Love which is about two fathers and retired football players who embark on a journey to complete interactive readings in day care centers.

There are 5 beautiful and thought provoking animation films by Aelfie Oudghiri (Bowling 4 Eva), Reina Higashitani (Resettlement: Chicago Story), Farnoosh Abedi (The Sprayer), Shon Tilling (Meet Cute), Martin Gerigk (Demi-Gods),  and Idan Gilboa (Deadline);  an array of amazing short and experimental films by Joshua Wann (Falls Cry), Phillip Kaminiak (Circle), Alessia Cecchet (Baelena), Nate Dorr (Light Leak), Theodore Drusba (Gutter), Evan Bode (A Spot For Frog), Adam Volerich  (Misprint), and many other’s.

Special Guest Appearances by Directors, Artists, and Actors: This spring they are pleased to announce many in-person special guest appearances by film directors, producers, and actors to the New Jersey Film Festival!  Some of these include:  New Jersey filmmakers Christopher Beatty (Bibi), Alan McIntyre (Stargazer), Derek Johnson and Ali Scattergood (Healing Waters), Alam Virk (Boxed), Andreana Loukidis (Stay Behind), and Matt Kliegman (The Answer), plus Joshua Wann (Falls Cry), D. Mitry (Hedgehog); Aelfie Oudghiri (Bowling 4 Eva), Adriana Davis (Dancing Without Steps: The Art of Improvisation with Margaret Beals); Amber Monet (Reading is Love); as well as Mexican filmmaker Tonatiuh García (Black Moon) and many others to be announced. There will also be many virtual Filmmaker Introductions and Q+A Sessions for many of the films.

All the works that we are screening are part of the New Jersey International Film Festival were selected by a panel of judges including media professionals, journalists, students, and academics. These judges selected the 40 finalists which will be publicly screened at our Festival. The finalists were selected from over 711 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 via our social media sites after the screenings on June 12, 2023.

Sponsors: The New Jersey International Film Festival is funded and/or 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, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts - Funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund; The Rutgers University Office of Summer and Winter Sessions; OVID/Icarus Films,  The Rutgers University American Studies Department; Rutgers University School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program;  The Rutgers University Zimmerli Art Museum; The Rutgers University Writer’s House; Pro 8mm; The Rutgers University Office of Disability Services, WRSU; New Jersey Stage; The Home News, The Asbury Park Press; New Brunswick City Center; The Rutgers University Office of Community Affairs; Design Ideas; Advanced Printing; Steven C. Schechter, Esq.; Share and Harris.