(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- New Jersey Web Festival (NJ WebFest) will be held in Montclair at Montclair Film and The Clairidge from September 21-24, 2023. The festival has announced the complete nominations list for its milestone 5th edition. The 2023 festival continues to be a world-leading celebrator of indie web content with over 175 projects programmed. NJ WebFest features Web Series, Fiction Podcasts, Short Films, Music Videos, Actual Play Projects, Standalone Audio Pieces, Pilots, and Trailers.
In 2021 NJ WebFest became the first film festival experience in the world with dedicated tracks for Fiction Podcasts and Actual Play content. Since then more than 10 festivals have joined them in 6 different countries to create the Audio Fiction World Cup, an international circuit based on the Web Series World Cup run by Joël Bassaget.
Over the course of the 4-day festival, NJ WebFest will screen every accepted project at The Clairidge theatre in Montclair. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the creators of each show, and experience their work in front of a live audience…many for the first ever time.
Along with the screenings, NJ WebFest will offer panels, keynotes, and other events at Montclair Film. This year’s keynote speaker will be Mike Price (The Simpsons) to talk to festival attendees about writing for comedy sitcoms. Previous festivals have featured talks with Dan Pasternack (Portlandia, Comedy Bang Bang), Chris Cluess (MADtv, Night Court), Richard Kline (Three’s Company), Anthony Gallo (The Irishman, Boardwalk Empire), and more.
NJ WebFests list of sponsors for 2023 include podcast host Pinecast, TTRPG digital tools platform Demiplane, collaboration network Polywork, and audio fiction discovery newsletter The End Updates.
As a judging sponsor, Pinecast allowed NJ WebFest to pay a pool of more than 40 judges for their time and labor considering submissions and making nominations. Allocating money to judges in this way is a first in the webfest market and NJ WebFest is proud to partner with Pinecast to ensure professionals are paid for their labor.
2023 saw NJ WebFest launch their first-ever scholarship program. Pinecast, Demiplane, Polywork, and The End Updates created the pool of money that made it possible to offer fee-free submissions to creators facing financial barriers-to-entry for the New Jersey Web Festival. NJ WebFest does not require attendance as a prerequisite of winning awards, so this scholarship program allows the festival to help level the playing field for underrepresented creators to have their work considered by panels of professionals.
Complete nominations list can be found at on the NJ WebFest Website. Audio Fiction Nominations can be found here. Video Content Nominations can be found here.
Tickets for screenings and events will be available to be purchased in advance, online. All purchased tickets and passes are on will call and can be picked up at the festival at the door of events. Ticket information is available at: https://filmfreeway.com/NJWebFest/tickets
