Garden State Film Festival: BC24 (17 films)

Saturday, March 28, 2026 @ 9:30am

Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel
1401 Ocean Avenue, Asbury Park, NJ 07712

THIS EVENT HAS PASSED

Screenings take place in the Continental Ballroom 

Acting Out - In this emotionally charged drama, Conrad and Bianca, two actors rehearsing a raw and intense breakup scene over a Zoom call, blur the lines between reality and performance. As their passionate argument unfolds, tension escalates, revealing vulnerabilities and unspoken truths. Just when the intensity peaks, the twist comes: it was all an act. Lingering emotions suggest that their scripted connection might reflect something deeper, leaving the audience questioning where the performance ends and real feelings begin. Directed by Mellony Ledo (00:06:00) New Jersey Premiere

Cipot - Zachary Cipot has been through a lot in his life growing up in North Brunswick. Directed by Prem Desai (00:05:00) World Premiere

Dunes Art Gallery: Painting The Shore - High School Filmmakers from Chartertech HS in South Jersey explore Dunes Art Gallery in Brigantine, a space which give local artists a chance to have their work be seen, as well as beautify their local community. Directed by Kayn Lowe, Marcus Anderson, Javier Sanchez (00:05:00) East Coast Premiere

Ever After - A lonely young man waits in vain at a city café for the date he thought could change everything. As the night drags on, hope turns to heartbreak, but heartbreak is only the beginning. What starts as a familiar story of rejection quietly unravels into something far darker, revealing that some fairy tales don’t end with love… they can end with something far more terrifying. Directed by Carter Betau (00:05:00) New Jersey Premiere

Full Mugs of Coffee - A wife, Mandy, goes through her day trying to distract herself from the struggle that is her grieving process. Her husband, Joseph, tries to console her through her challenges. Directed by Sydney Wilder (00:06:00) Asbury Park Premiere

Legacy on the Lanes - "Legacy on the Lanes" tells the story of the DiDonato Family Fun Center, which has been entertaining families in Hammonton, N.J. since 1952. For over 73 years, the DiDonato family has continued to expand their bowling center while staying true to the past, and have constantly reinvented the business to stay relevant into the future. Directed by Matthew Donio (00:05:00) Asbury Park Premiere

Lincoln Theater - A documentary on the closure of the Lincoln Theater in Kearny, NJ. Directed by Aurora Latona, Jasmine Viera (00:05:00) Asbury Park Premiere

Luisa - Overwhelmed by the discord of her parents' arguments, a little girl, Luisa, uses her imagination to help heal her fractured family. Directed by Kiyomi DallasKidd (00:03:00) World Premiere

The Only Place To Be - This film explores the iconic 4th of July celebration in Ridgefield Park, the oldest in New Jersey and second-oldest in the nation, and the way that this small town might just be a metaphor for the country as a whole. Directed by Jordan Flynn (00:04:00) Asbury Park Premiere

Patriot - When ICE raids his high school, a student tries to help his girlfriend escape deportation. (00:19:00) New Jersey Premiere

Peace4Paws - A heart waringin story about finding homes for rescue dogs in Westwood. Directed by Aria Gill (00:04:00) New Jersey Premiere

Puberty - A film about sisterhood, grief, and how a shared moment in time may unknowingly be your last. Directed by Nicholas Rescigno (00:04:00) New Jersey Premiere

Starting from Scratch - Baking a pie for the first time, a lonely widower with quiet determination, rediscovers hope and the sweetness of starting over. Directed by Levi Walker Marsh (00:05:00) Asbury Park Premiere

Sticks and Stones - "Sticks and Stones" is a dramedy about a plus-size teen girl and aspiring field hockey player who struggles to overcome ridicule and body shaming while fighting to claim a spot on her high school varsity team. Directed by Kennedy Price (00:07:00) Asbury Park Premiere

Trapped - Trapped is a stop-motion animated story about someone who gets trapped in a box and has to find their way out. Directed by Kedar Nair (00:04:00) World Premiere

What's Inside My Soup? - An awkward young man copes with an awful day just as he encounters the girl of his dreams.... and a soup can that seems to literally be speaking to him. Directed by Hayden Vigdor (00:06:00) World Premiere

Where We Left Off - As childhood sweethearts, they thought they had forever - until a secret comes to light, blurring the line between hope and the moments you don’t see coming. Directed by Hunter Nickless (00:10:00) Asbury Park Premiere