By Al Nigrin
originally published: 10/06/2025
The competition component of the Fall 2025 New Jersey Film Festival has just concluded! Overall, we had a good festival this year. I want to thank all of the filmmakers, cast and crew who came to the in-person screenings for coming to talk about their films. Here below are the winners of the Fall 2025 New Jersey Film Festival.
Fall 2025 New Jersey Film Festival Prize Winners
Grand Prize Winners
Winner Best Feature Film = Alberta Number One – Alexander (Sandy) Carson (Toronto Canada)
Winner Best Documentary Film = Cathy & Harry - Marta Renzi and Daniel Wolff (USA)
Winner Best Short Film = Hearts of Stone - Tom Van Avermaet (Boechout, Belgium)
Honorable Mention Winners
Prayer of the Sea - Martin Gerigk (Germany)
Mistura - Ricardo de Montreuil (Los Angeles, California)
“I Will Revenge This World With Love” S. Paradjanov - Zara Jian (Armenia)
Choeurs Atlantiques / Tales from the Atlantic Beyond - Safoi Babana-Hampton (East Lansing, Michigan)
Driving Lessons - Anastasiya Gruba (Kyiv, Ukraine)
Festival Director’s Citations
Performances:
Liz Peterson - Alberta Number One
Noomi Rapace - Hearts of Stone
Barbara Mori - Mistura
Noé Benifla - Welcome to Japan
Ryan Halasz - The Muscle
Direction:
Alexander (Sandy) Carson - Alberta Number One
Ricardo de Montreuil - Mistura
Tom Van Avermaet - Hearts of Stone
Zara Jian - “I Will Revenge This World With Love” S. Paradjanov
Cinematography:
Joey Cruz Manalang - Tokyo Nights
Hans Bruch, Jr. - Hearts of Stone
David Ehrenreich - Alberta Number One
Nicolas Wong - Mistura
Editing:
Noel Pendawa - Alberta Number One
Ana Stulina - Hearts of Stone
Ricardo de Montreuil - Mistura
Martin Gerigk - Prayer of the Sea
Screenplay:
Alexander (Sandy) Carson - Alberta Number One
Alison Katheleen Kelly and Tom Van Avermaet - Hearts of Stone
Ricardo de Montreuil - Mistura
Production Design:
Phillipe Bertin - Hearts of Stone
Mario Frias - Mistura
Lovey Brar - Alberta Number One
Music:
Joseph Murray and Brodie West - Alberta Number One
Marko Jukic - Hearts of Stone
Tim Williams - Mistura
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 Fund; Grant 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.
Information:
Al Nigrin, Executive Director/Curator
New Jersey 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]
Website: 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.
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