Excellent Documentary The Blues Society opens the Spring 2024 New Jersey Film Festival on Friday, January 26

by Yazan Mohammad - published 2024-01-23
Augusta Palmer’s The Blues Society offers a vibrant look into an oddly beautiful moment in Memphis’ ugly history of race. Blending archival footage, colorful animation, and interviews, Palmer’s film makes excellent use of footage from the 1969 Memphis Country Blues Festival.

Triumphant tale Jailhouse to Milhouse screens at the Spring 2024 New Jersey Film Festival

by Patrick Osborne - published 2024-01-22
Jailhouse to Milhouse follows the heartbreaking and triumphant tale of Pamela Hayden as she recounts her journey from being trapped in a juvenile detention center as a child to her eventually escaping that abusive life and finding success in voicing the character Milhouse in The Simpsons. The documentary strikes the perfect balance of being fun and silly but also mature and somber when it needs to be, which it achieves without having tonal whiplash because the transitions between these moments are so smooth. In a way, its use of mixing comedy and seriousness is reflective of how The Simpsons handles its messaging. Hayden herself is a very skilled public speaker and she knows how to utilize an audience’s engagement to convey a gripping tale.

Stunning Animation Electra screens at the Spring 2024 New Jersey Film Festival on Saturday, January 27

by Anita LaBelle - published 2024-01-21
A brave exploration of psychoanalysis and the medium of film, Electra is a textual kaleidoscope investigating adolescent memories' impact on adult lives through stimulating techniques such as animation.

Leslie-Ann Coles's The Curtain screens at the Spring 2024 New Jersey Film Festival on Saturday, January 27!

by Al Nigrin - published 2024-01-20
The Curtain, an excellent short film,  will be screening at the Spring 2024 New Jersey Film Festival on Saturday, January 27. Director Leslie-Ann Coles responded to my questions about her short film The Curtain via email. Here is my interview with her:

New Jersey Film Festival Spring 2024 Electra Video Q+A with Director Daria Kashcheeva

by Vic Fern - published 2024-01-19
Here is the New Jersey Film Festival Spring 2024 Electra Video Q+A with Director Daria Kashcheeva, Festival Juror Anita LaBelle and Festival Director Al Nigrin:

Rutgers Hosts Spring 2024 New Jersey Film Festival

by Mike Lucas - published 2024-01-18
The Spring 2024 New Jersey Film Festival – hosted by Rutgers University and set for the weekends between Jan. 26 and Feb. 18 – features both online and in-person showings. More than 40 films from around the world will hit the silver screen at Rutgers University–New Brunswick during the Spring 2024 New Jersey Film Festival, which runs on the weekends starting Friday, Jan. 26, through Sunday, Feb. 18.  

Inspiring Documentary Jailhouse to Milhouse screens at the Spring 2024 New Jersey Film Festival on Saturday, January 27

by Alyssa Chierchia - published 2024-01-17
When it comes to the beloved animated characters we adore on screen, we often don’t think much about the voices behind them. But Jailhouse to Milhouse, directed by Buddy Farmer, shows us why taking a look into our favorite actors could be the most rewarding because an interesting and inspiring story can be behind the surface.

Grunin Center presents screening of "Beyond Their Years: The Incredible Legacies of Herb Carnegie and Buck O’Neil"

(TOMS RIVER, NJ) -- The Grunin Center for the Arts presents a screening of the documentary "Beyond Their Years: The Incredible Legacies of Herb Carnegie and Buck O’Neil" on Thursday, February 29th. The film will be screened at 11:00am and 6:00pm with a panel discussion following the evening screening. The film depicts the compelling story of parallel lives lived by sports and social justice icons Herb Carnegie (hockey) and Buck O'Neil (baseball), who were excluded, because of their race, from competing at the highest professional leagues of the sports they loved.

Augusta Palmer’s insightful documentary The Blues Society screens as the Spring 2024 New Jersey Film Festival Opener on Friday, January 26!

by Al Nigrin - published 2024-01-16
Augusta Palmer screens her third film at the Spring 2024 New Jersey Film Festival and I wanted to talk to her about the amazing new documentary The Blues Society which she has just released. Here is my interview with her: