Here is the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Q+A with Middle Life Writer/Director Pavan Moondi, Lead Actors Leah Fay Goldstein and Peter Dreimanis, and Festival Director Albert Nigrin.
Middle Life screens with two of shorts at the New Jersey International Film Festival on Saturday, May 30, 2026 In-Person Only at 7PM in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901! Get more info and buy tickets here.
Here is more info on the films that will be shown at this screening.
Sundays – Ashley Gerst (Stoney Point, New York) In this intimate, 2D animated, memoir, a daughter navigates the aftermath of loss as she reflects on the weekly rituals she once shared with her father. 2026; 7 min.
Counterfeit Kids – James Sclafani (Washington, D.C.) Set in Baltimore in the 1980s, Counterfeit Kids is told through Nic, an eighteen-year-old who finds friendship and refuge with her foster brother Jude. Jude is a gifted artist and a counterfeiter. 2026; 11 min.
Middle Life – Pavan Moondi (Glendale, California) Middle Life follows Andie (Leah Fay Goldstein), a perfectionist wedding planner in her mid-thirties and new mother, who has meticulously crafted her life but still feels unfulfilled. Fresh off maternity leave, she saves Ryan (Peter Dreimanis, SINNERS), a blue-collar plumber, from a roadside accident. As their paths intertwine over the next year, her craving for change and his newfound perspective on life spark an unexpected connection, leading them to discover that life could be great. Middle Life stars July Talk singers/bandmates Leah Fay Goldstein and Peter Dreimanis. 2025; 84 min.
The 31st Annual New Jersey International Film Festival will be taking place on select Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between May 29-June 7, 2026. The Festival will be a hybrid one as we will be presenting it online as well as doing in-person screenings at Rutgers University. Most of the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VOD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person when both are offered. The in-person screenings will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 5PM or 7PM on their show date. General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$120; In-Person Only Student Ticket=$10 Per Program. For more info on the Film festival go here: https://2026newjerseyinternationalfilmfestival.eventive.org/welcome
