New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu



 

Make Plans for New Jersey Film Festival Spring 2024

originally published: 11/01/2023


scene from Conjoined

(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 New Jersey Film Festival Spring 2024 which marks its 42nd Anniversary. The Festival will be taking place on select Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between January 26-February 18, 2024.

All of the works being screened are part of the New Jersey Film Festival and United States Super 8 Film and DV Festival Competitions and were selected by a panel of judges including media professionals, journalists, students, and academics. These judges selected the 43 finalists which will be publicly screened at the Festival. The finalists were selected from over 636 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 their social media sites after the screenings on February 19, 2024.

Film Premieres: 43 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: Buddy Farmer’s documentary Jailhouse to Milhouse which focuses on the courageous journey of Pamela Hayden, who is the voice of Milhouse on The Simpsons; Acclaimed Irish artist and filmmaker Cléa Elisa van der Grijn’s magical feature film reworking of Alice in Wonderland entitled The Disembodied Adventures of Alice; and Augusta Palmer’s terrific documentary on the 1960s Memphis Blues community entitled - The Blues Society.

Other highlights include: Jeff Mertz’s short documentary Muckville which examines the ongoing mental health and suicide epidemic on American farms; 5 amazing animation films by Amelie Magdalena Loy (Irina); Martin Gerigk (Demi-Goddesses); Maggie May Brummer (Bear Hugs), Adrienne Fowler (Boobee Cheet Sheetz),  Daria Kashcheeva (Electra); 5 beautiful and thought provoking experimental dance films by Charlotte Griffin (Walls Running & All of Us), Charly Wenzel (Rooted), Jessy Dong (Unspooling Wind), Mersolis Schöne (Sign Action Space), and New Jersey filmmakers Charly and Eriel Santagado (Conjoined); and Jennifer Cooney’s feature film Wild Fire which explores love, lust, and loyalty through the lens of seven acquaintances.

The festival also offers a wide array of short films from all over the world, some of which include Sara Crow’s Bluebird, Zafar Mehdi’s No More Love; Amanda Prager’s Seeing Other People; Tan Ce Ding’s Please Hold The Line; as well as the 12 films being screened as part of United States Super 8 Film and Video Festival including the premiere of M. Wild’s new film Witchblossom. 




Promote your shows at New Jersey Stage! Click here for info



36th Annual United States Super 8 Film & Digital Video Festival: Also, during the Spring 2024 season, the Rutgers Film Co-op/NJMAC will present the 36th anniversary of the United States Super 8 Film & Digital Video Festival -- the longest running, nationally recognized, juried 8mm Film/Video Festival in North and South America.  Each of the two days (February 17+18) will feature two different programs of films from throughout the USA, Canada, and the world. Filmmakers are competing for many Best of Prizes. Prize winners are announced on the last night of the Festival. The Super 8 Festival is open to works predominantly shot on either Super 8/8mm film, Hi8/8mm video and/or Digital Video. This program is being co-sponsored by Pro 8mm.

Special Guest Appearances by Directors, Artists, and Actors: This spring many in-person special guest appearances by film directors, producers, and actors will be coming to the New Jersey Film Festival!  Some of these include: Augusta Palmer (Blues Society); Buddy Farmer and Pamela Hayden(Jailhouse to Milhouse)Jennifer Cooney (Wild Fire); New Jersey filmmakers Evie Reese (Innocent Observer); Charly and Eriel Santagado (Conjoined), Maggie May Brummer (Bear Hugs), Adrienne Fowler (Boobee Cheet Sheetz), and many others to be announced. There will also be many virtual Filmmaker Introductions and Q+A Sessions for many of the films.

New Jersey Film Festival Spring 2024 will be a hybrid festival again with films offers 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.   For more information or to purchase tickets, click here

Sponsors: The New Jersey 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 FundGrant funding has also been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners - This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts; 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.

scene from Electra




Promote your shows at New Jersey Stage! Click here for info




 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Lighthouse

Lighthouse International Film Society presents a screening of "Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror" on Thursday

(LONG BEACH ISLAND, NJ) -- Lighthouse International Film Society presents a screening of Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror on Thursday, October 23, 2025 at Long Beach Island Foundation of Arts & Sciences. The screening begins at 7:30pm.



"The

"The Phantom of the Opera" to Screen in Allentown with Live Organ Accompaniment

(ALLENTOWN, NJ) -- Are you looking for the ultimate Halloween experience? The Allentown Village Initiative (TAVI) will host a screening of the 1925 silent film classic "The Phantom of the Opera" with live organ accompaniment on Saturday, October 25, 2025 in the Allentown Methodist Church. A century after its original release, the mastery of the Phantom – played by Lon Chaney – is still the gold standard for Halloween fare. The event begins at 7:00pm. There is a suggested donation of $5 per person.



Jersey

Jersey Arts Podcast: Movies and Mirth with Montclair Film

Let’s talk movies. Here's another episode where Gina geeks out about movies with people who do just that, for a living! This time with the folks behind Montclair Film.



The

The ShowRoom & Asbury Park Movie Club present "HITCHCOCK'TOBER" - A Month-Long Celebration of Alfred Hitchcock

(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- This October, The ShowRoom partners with The Asbury Park Movie Club to honor the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, with HITCHCOCK'TOBER, a month-long series of thrillers that continue to keep audiences on edge decades after their release.



Teaneck

Teaneck International Film Festival presents "Lilly" as Closing Film

(TEANECK, NJ) -- The Teaneck International Film Festival's 20th year program will close with the feature film, Lilly, on Sunday, November 9, 2025 at 7:30pm, at Temple Emeth (1666 Windsor Rd) in Teaneck. The film, based on the true story of Lilly Ledbetter, whose fight for equal rights in the workplace led to state and national legislation, is sponsored by YWCA of Northern New Jersey, Senator Loretta Weinberg, National Council of Jewish Women Bergen County Section, Shahanaz Arjumand, and WOW (Women of Wisdom).





FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Leviathan

Leviathan

Thursday, October 23, 2025 @ 6:00pm
Monmouth University - Bey Hall Auditorium
400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
category: film


 

Hotel

Hotel Transylvania – A Sensory Friendly Movie Experience at UCPAC’s Main Stage

Friday, October 24, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC) - Main Stage
1601 Irving Street, Rahway, NJ 07065
category: film


 

Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters in 35mm

Thursday, October 30, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Hamilton Stage at Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC)
360 Hamilton Avenue, Rahway, NJ 07065
category: film


 

The

The Rocky Horror Picture Show – 50th Anniversary

Thursday, October 30, 2025 @ 9:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: film


 

Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters in 35mm

Thursday, October 30, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Hamilton Stage at Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC)
360 Hamilton Avenue, Rahway, NJ 07065
category: film