By Al Nigrin
originally published: 06/12/2023

2023 New Jersey International Film Festival Winners Announced! 

All the works that were part of the 2023 New Jersey International Film Festival Competition were selected by a panel of judges including media professionals, journalists, students, and academics. These judges selected the 35 finalists which were publicly screened at our Festival. The finalists were selected from 711 works submitted by filmmakers from around the world. In addition, the judges chose the Prize Winners in conjunction with the Festival Director.



Judith Ann Diminni (Bibi)

Winner Best Feature Film

Bibi – Christopher Beatty (Summit, New Jersey)

Black Moon - Tonatiuh García (Mexico City, Mexico)

Black Moon

Winner Best Documentary Film

Herd – Michel Negroponte (Livingston Manor, New York)

Herd

Winner Best Short Film

Gutter – Theodore Drusba (Montreal, Canada)



Gutter

Winner Best Animated Film

A Spot for Frog – Evan Bode (Syracuse, New York)

The Sprayer – Farnoosh Abedi (Tehran, Iran)



The Sprayer

Winner Best Experimental Film

Balaena - Alessia Cecchet (Santa Cruz, California)



Balaena

Honorable Mention Winners

Bowling 4 Eva – Aelfie Oudghiri (Brooklyn, New York)

Resettlement: Chicago Story - Reina Higashitani (Chicago, Illinois)

Dancing Without Steps: The Art of Improvisation with Margaret Beals – Adriana Davis and Margaret Beals (New York, New York)

Healing Waters Film – Derek Johnson and Ali Scattergood (Seattle, Washington)

The Chosen One – Elazar Fine (Los Angeles, California)

Circle - Phillip Kaminiak (Berlin, Germany)

Meet Cute – Shon Tilling (Vancouver, Canada)

Hedgehog – D. Mitry (Albany, New York)

Reading is LOVE: Fathers for Early Childhood Literacy – Amber Monet (Drexel Hill Pennsylvania)

Stargazer – Alan McIntyre (New York, New York)

Deadline - Idan Gilboa (Kfar-Saba, Israel)

Tommies - Brian Fairbairn and Karl Eccleston (London, England)

Tommies

Festival Director’s Citations



Judith Ann Diminni (Bibi)

Performances:

Judith Ann Diminni (Bibi)

Elizabeth Page (Bibi)

Kate Ginna (Stargazer)

Luzer Twersky (The Chosen One)

Lynn Masako Cheng (Resettlement: Chicago Story)

Emma Pearson (Hedgehog)



Lynn Masako Cheng (Resettlement: Chicago Story)

---

Please support the advertisers at New Jersey Stage!
Want info on how to advertise? Click here

---

Direction:

Christopher Beatty (Bibi)

Tonatiuh García (Black Moon)

Theodore Drusba (Gutter)

Aelfie Oudghiri (Bowling 4 Eva)

Evan Bode (A Spot for Frog) 

Cinematography:

John W. Rutland (Bibi)

Laura Torres (Gutter)

Ángel Alderete (Black Moon)

Alan McIntyre (Stargazer)

Michel Negroponte (Herd)

Brian Fawcett (Tommies)

Screenplay:

Christopher Beatty (Bibi)

Tonatiuh García (Black Moon)

Aelfie Oudghiri (Bowling 4 Eva)

Editing:

Sander Houtkruijer (Circle)

Michel Negroponte (Herd)

Alexis Viau (Gutter)

Evan Bode (A Spot for Frog)

Alan McIntyre (Stargazer)

Production Design:

Tim Kowalski (Bibi)

Theodore Drusba (Gutter)

Vicente Ben (Tommies)

Music:

Sandro Guedy (Gutter)

Carlo Ayhllon (Black Moon)

Joshua Dean Tuthill (Balaena)

John Paesano (Bibi)

Kate Ginna (Stargazer)

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.

---

Information:

Al Nigrin, Executive Director/Curator

New Jersey International Film Festival

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: [email protected] [email protected]

Websites: www.njfilmfest.com

---

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.

---