Two amazing docs Fencing for the Edge and Found: The King of Matsutake Ridge premiere at the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival on Saturday, June 8!

by Anran Li - published 2024-06-04
Fencing for the Edge is an iced soda on a hot summer night. Much as we know sports are revelries of adrenaline, I was taken aback by the resonance I felt from watching this documentary about fencing. This piece, woven with real tears and joy, clenched and scratched my heart as I started fidgeting in my seat, wishing time would pass sooner to know what would come next. Despite Hollywood's successful portrayals of athletic prowess, the glitzy studio shots didn't strike me as much as this team of teenage girls, whose most sincere emotions through struggles and triumphs outshine even the most praised performance.

2024 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Q+A with Cowgirls and Synthesizers Director Joe Wallace and Hyberbubble frontman Jeff DeCuir

by Vic Fern - published 2024-06-03
Here is the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Q+A with Cowgirls and Synthesizers Director Joe Wallace and Hyberbubble frontman Jeff DeCuir, along with Festival Director Al Nigrin:

Holly Buechel’s thrilling documentary film Fencing for the Edge premieres at the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival on Saturday, June 8!

by Al Nigrin - published 2024-06-02
Here is my interview with Fencing for the Edge Director Holly Buechel: Nigrin: Your feature length documentary film Fencing For The Edge focuses on a team of New Jersey high school girls who are trying to unseat its rival as State Champion in the sport of fencing. Tell us a bit about the history behind making this film.

Adorable and Off-kilter Feature I Want to Live on Mars screens at the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival!

by Kevin Reardon - published 2024-06-01
With I Want to Live on Mars, Mariya Somova has written and directed an adorable, off-kilter and poignant film about people just trying to find their place in the world. The film is off-putting, and I mean that in the best possible way, as it follows a group of loners who live in a strange, abandoned town, left to their devices. What’s beautiful is the way that Somova sets the scene, placing a wholesome ensemble of lovable characters in a delipidated setting where they can do as they please. The film, for lack of a better genre category, is a hang out film, through and through. We watch a variety of characters, the young Pickle, the old Mike, Breezy, her mother, and others as they live a quiet and simple life among each other. The plot that eventually reveals itself is one of escape, wherein Pickles and Breezy become quick friends and decide they want to run away together. What leads to this is a series of beautifully shot pieces of human connection, where characters start alone and eventually find one another. It is an absolutely beautifully shot film that takes full advantage of its location, tracking its characters through the woods, abandoned households, and endless roads that seem to go nowhere.

New Release Review - "The Beast"

by Eric Hillis, TheMovieWaffler.com - published 2024-05-31
Bertrand Bonello's previous film, Coma, was an intimate project shot within the confines of his home during the pandemic lockdown. His latest, The Beast, is a sprawling sci-fi thriller that plays out over three timelines on both sides of the Atlantic. Despite such differences, the two movies are thematically joined at the hip, and I would recommend seeing them in the order Bonello made them, though modern distribution patterns being what they are, that may not be possible for most viewers.

2024 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Q+A with Animation filmmakers Evie Metz and Sean Pecknold

by Vic Fern - published 2024-05-31
Here is the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Q+A with Animation filmmakers Evie Metz and Sean Pecknold, Festival Judge Morgan Kalmbach and Sarah Lopez as well as Festival Director Al Nigrin:

Standout Feature The Featherweight screens at the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival this Saturday, June 1!

by Sarah Lopez - published 2024-05-30
On the surface, The Featherweight appears to be a documentary about Willie Pep, a legendary featherweight boxer, at a point in his career during which he is post-retirement but looking to make a comeback. Looking more closely, The Featherweight is an exploration of the nature of fame, authenticity, and perception of the self.

Documentary on the debt crisis Shame on You premieres at the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival on June 1!

by Sarah Lopez - published 2024-05-29
There’s a very good chance that you or someone you know is in debt. However, talking about one’s own struggle with debt is largely treated as a taboo subject in American culture. Shame on You, an animated short documentary about predatory debt collection, seeks to shed more light on this phenomenon. Made in conjunction with the Debt Collection Lab, the film is produced, directed, and edited by Jeffrey Himpele. Towards the beginning of the film, it is stated: “More than 70 million adults in America have had a debt turned over to a private debt collector. That’s one in four adults.” This is an issue with far-reaching consequences that effects not only individuals, but entire families as well.

Gripping Feature Documentary Altona screens at the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival on Saturday, June 1

by Kevin Reardon - published 2024-05-28
The Affolter Brothers have created an utterly gripping and heart-wrenching documentary with Altona, a film that tells the story of a brutal murder that occurred in Canada in 1990. Having written, edited, directed, and done the animation for the film, these brothers clearly have a wide range of talent that is well used in filmmaking. The style is so assured, with the editing in particular keeping you engaged throughout, though with the story that’s being told, it's hard not to be on the edge of your seat for most of the runtime. The story unfolds as we hear about a man, Earl Giesbrecht, a teen at the time, who murdered another teenager, Curtis Klassen, and attempted to murder Tyler Pelke. Tyler and Curtis were best friends staying at Tyler’s home alone one night, when Earl arrived to commit an unforgivable act. This is where the documentary gets interesting, with Altona being such a faith based town, the film has a heavy theme of forgiveness, among the other themes of loss, destruction, friendship, and love.