Al Nigrin, Executive Director & Curator of the New Jersey Film Festival, sits down with John Decker, director of "Portrait of a Monastery," for a filmmaker interview. 

Portrait of a Monastery screens as part of the Short Documentary Program on Saturday, January 24, 2026 – Online for 24 Hours on this date and In-Person at 7PM in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901! Buy tickets for this show here. 

Short Documentary Program

Arrested at Delaney Hall – Louis Cacchione (Harrison, New Jersey) A standoff at an immigrant detention center in Newark leads to the arrest of Mayor Ras Baraka. 2025; 14 min.

A Way to Be Together – Trina Bardusco (Lambertville, New Jersey) In a New Jersey town divided by unseen borders, a Mexican immigrant community steps into the light. Their festival sparks pride and unity—but as fear grows, even joy becomes a radical act of hope. 2025; 18 min.

300 – Liam Abbott (Hoboken, New Jersey) Miles Clark has always lived for the mountains. At 46 years old, he’s carved out a life as a pro skier and mountain guide, chasing peaks and purpose across the globe. But for over a decade, one goal still loomed over him: ski 300 days in a single year. Weather, injuries, and life always got in the way. Until everything changed. In January 2023, Miles lost his beloved mother, the person who gave him his grit, stubbornness, and fire. In the wake of overwhelming grief, he turned to the only place that ever made sense: the mountains. That winter brought record-breaking snow and a chance. What began as a personal challenge became something deeper: a journey of healing, reflection, and rediscovery. From California to Antarctica, Argentina to Alaska, Miles skied through pain, joy, exhaustion, and awe. He found that the mountains weren’t just his playground, they were his sanctuary. And this wasn’t the first time they had saved him… 300 is the story of a man who refused to let grief define him. It’s about chasing a dream, not for accolades, but for meaning. And it’s about how skiing, day after day, turn after turn, can stitch a broken heart back together. 2025; 20 min.

Portrait of a Monastery – John Decker (Asbury Park, New Jersey) A visual mediation on the everyday life of Anglican Benedictine monks living in community together at Holy Cross Monastery in New York. 2025; 40 min.

The 44th Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place on select Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between January 23-February 22, 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. Also, we will be offering two FREE Filmmaking Workshops! The in-person screenings and the filmmaking workshops will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 1PM, 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. The Filmmaking Workshops are FREE and open to the public but have limited seating and require advance registration. To register email us at [email protected] 

For more info on the Festival go here: 

FESTIVAL WEBSITE