Animal, a film directed by Lauren Adams, and written by Margaret Miller and Jeff Roberts, highlights the talented acting of Cathy Curtin, Arielle Estoria, Amy Heidt, and Dot Marie Jones. The film centers around a dystopian world and follows the characters throughout the film, as they grapple with totalitarian control and their lack of autonomy. A dystopian masterpiece, the film features appealing visual imagery, an intriguing ideological narrative, and symbolic metaphor to give the viewer a deeper understanding of authoritarian control.
Acclaimed guitarist Tim Motzer will be doing a Solo Musical Performance this Friday, September 15, 2023 – In-Person Only at 7PM in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ. Al Nigrin’s new experimental film Grounding will be projected behind Tim while he is playing.
Minnesota Mean is an independent documentary that focuses on the lives of the Minnesota Roller Girls All Stars, directed by Dawn Mikkelson. Minnesota Mean offers a front row seat to the world of roller derby, and a backstage pass taking us through the lives of the members of the team, highlighting their triumphs and struggles.
The Rill Is Speaking creates a sense of uneasiness through many cinematic means. The most prominent of which is the audio. Similar to Lynch’s Eraserhead, this film uses striking sounds to terrify the viewers and compensate for the lack of color used throughout the film. The film’s voluntary lack of color is used to show the stark contrasts between scenes, characters, or objects. A prime example is when the viewers are juxtaposed with shots between the two main characters on Facetime. The man with the bird is optimistic about life and tries to convince his friend on the other line to move out of New York City because its corruption corrupts his soul. However, we are shown a different reality when we are shown the darkness in the following shot. We are shown a man who has passed the point of finding a solution. We see a man so consumed by capitalism and the drive to work that he cannot return or even fathom a different reality. Also, the lack of color also symbolizes the lack of vibrancy and excitement in the lives of those who work at companies like this. Their daily pattern never changes, while the pressure seems to never decrease. This is the main reason for the events that occur in the film; that our human desires are never fully satiated, rather we are deprived of experiences that create a meaningful existence.
Here is the New Jersey Film Festival Fall 2023 Minnesota Mean Filmmaker Q+A with Minnesota Mean Director Dawn Mikkelson, Festival Judge Alexia Fraser and Festival Director Al Nigrin:
Here is the New Jersey Film Festival Fall 2023 Honor Student Filmmaker Q+A with Honor Student Director Tamika Miller, Honor Student Actors Hudson Yang and Kelly Jenrette, Festival Assistant Director Katie Scrivani and Festival Director Al Nigrin:
Here is the New Jersey Film Festival Fall 2023 Filmmaker Q+A with Breaking the Surface Co-Directors John Evans and Ani Javian, Breaking The Surface Dancers Marianna Allen and Elena Noel, Festival Judge Anita LaBelle, Festival Intern Evelyn Reese and Festival Director Al Nigrin:
Joshua Kaufman’s Things That Didn’t Happen shows a profoundly disturbed and troubled man getting interrogated about a car accident he is suspected of being involved in. The integration takes place in a retro room, indicated by the colors of the carpet and other decor. However, it is as if the viewer can smell the mildew smell through the lens. The atmosphere of the setting, along with the quiet voices from both the interrogator and the suspect alone, is all due to an overall sense of uncomfortableness throughout the 12-minute short film.
Breaking the Surface is a dance film about climate change, specifically, about the rise of sea level and the issues that are caused by that rise, currently and projected into the future. The film focuses on communities in New Jersey and the region that are being, and will be, most affected by the changes.
Fandango, portrait of an opera workshop is a short documentary about how talented singers in workshop in Kinshasa-Congo, talented singers share their passion to sing…opera.
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