Danceable presents a beautiful story of perseverance at the 2023 New Jersey International Film Festival

by Eva Iskhakova - published 2023-06-02

Danceable, a short film directed by Kelsey McGee, sheds light on the journeys of dancers with disabilities, depicting both their hardships as well as their positive experiences and passions for the creative art form.

Phillip Kaminiak’s dance film Circle will be shown at the 2023 New Jersey International Film Festival on June 4, 2023, in person at 5 p.m. and online for 24 hours as a part of the festival’s Shorts Program #2. Circle is “an analogy between the modern human being, living in mass cities, and the phenomenon of the circle of death.”

Virgina Yearick’s narrative-documentary feature, Possum Kingdom, will be playing online for 24 hours at the 2023 New Jersey International Film Festival on June 4th. On a dilapidated South Carolina family farm, Yearick shows the simultaneous boredom and comfort of three generations of men who live there. The film features a documentary and fiction genre blend, which emphasizes their lives as that of a dream and of steady decay. Possum Kingdom stars both first-time actors, non-actors, and people playing alternate versions of themselves.

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- On Thursday, October 12, 2023, State Theatre New Jersey presents a screening of High Fidelity followed by a live conversation with John Cusack regarding his career and the making of his films. With four decades' worth of roles in over 70 films, the Hollywood icon has enjoyed a varied and diverse career. Fans will get the opportunity to experience a moderated discussion, with Cusack answering audience questions as well. The event begins at 7:30pm.

Al Nigrin, Executive Director and Curator of the 2023 New Jersey International Film Festival, talks with Christopher Beatty, Director of Bibi, along with two of the stars of the film, Judith Ann DiMinni and Rick Zahn, in a filmmaker interview:

Elazar Fine’s The Chosen One is cool, thrilling to watch, and takes a daring stance on religion as it unpacks religious trauma and the guilt one feels when running away from faith. I was captivated from just the first two minutes: through the reflection of his mirror where a Hebrew prayer is engraved, we see a young Orthodox Jewish man, Eli, weeping on the floor behind his bed, electric razor in hand. To fast-paced violin and cello music, Eli, with his back turned to us, shaves his long beard and long curly sideburns (or payot, in Hebrew), strong symbols of Hasidic Jewish faith, while the other members of his Orthodox family calmly read books, pray, and clean in common rooms. At last, a family member enters Eli’s bedroom and lets out a gasp.

Stargazer tells the story of one night in the life of Grace Campbell, a grad student burning with fury about the fate of Cecilia Payne, an astronomer who discovered the nature of the universe - and saw her genius stolen by men. For Grace, history threatens to repeat itself when she's forced to partner with a male journalist.

Balaena directed by Alessia Cecchet and The Sprayer directed by Farnoosh Abedi are two short films playing at the 2023 New Jersey International Film Festival that address the relationship between people and their impact on the environment, both negative and positive. These films use various art forms to highlight the issue of climate change in a thoughtful and visually stimulating way. 

Herd, a film directed by Michel Negroponte which is playing at the New Jersey International Film Festival, is an insightful and creative film that truly delves into the relationship humans have with animals, on both a physical and spiritual level. We are introduced to a herd of Belted Galloway cattle on a pasture in the Catskills, and we follow their journey from mating, protecting their young, to even simple grazing. We watch the cows graze and follow their cycle of life as we are shown polarizing image after another, asking us to truly question the role other intelligent and sentient life has on our own. The film asks many questions and presents many ideas about the seemingly simple but ultimately complicated relationship between humans and cows. Are they equally sentient? Finally, is the right path towards respect and admiration for these animals, or is it to command them as we see fit?

Alam Virk’s short film BOXED will be shown in person at 7 p.m. at the 2023 New Jersey International Film Festival on June 2, 2023 and online for 24 hours on this date. “BOXED is a journey of a man named Andy Whitman as he descends into madness while attempting to fill his inner void through consumerism only to be consumed by the very void he is trying to fill.” “BOXED is a journey of a man named Andy Whitman as he descends into madness while attempting to fill his inner void through consumerism only to be consumed by the very void he is trying to fill.”