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4 Award Winning Films close out the Fall 2023 New Jersey Film Festival this weekend! | New Brunswick, NJ

By Al Nigrin

originally published: 10/06/2023



4 Award Winning Films close out the Fall 2023 New Jersey Film Festival this weekend!  

See the 
Best of the 2023 New Jersey International Film Festival from the past June!  https://newjerseyfilmfestivalfall2023.eventive.org/welcome



Friday, October 6, 2023 – Online for 24 Hours!

Best of the 2023 New Jersey International Film Festival

Gutter – Theodore Drusba (Montreal, Canada)
 Mist. Dust. A bowling alley in the crosshair of a thunderstorm. A pregnant woman, a businessman and a widower find shelter in its midst. Pins are knocked down until gloomy moths kindle an outage. 2022; 22 min.

Bibi – Christopher Beatty (Summit, New Jersey) In this psychological thriller a mother and daughter live in a secluded mansion that is hiding a terrible secret. After a tragic loss, Vivian Ashwood is failing to cope. Struggling to raise her daughter Bibi, she turns to prescription medication and alcohol to soothe her anxieties and depression. Soon, the lines begin to blur between Vivian's routine nightmare and her reality. A strange man begins stalking and tormenting Vivian, causing her to unravel even further. She turns to Bibi, her only confidant, to confirm what is real and what is delusion. Bibi, also devastated by the loss of her sister and upset at Vivian for not protecting them both, only makes Vivian more unsure of the truth. After continuous torment, Vivian searches to find a way to protect herself and Bibi from the stalker by whatever means necessary. 2023; 92 min.



Sunday, October 8, 2023 – Online for 24 Hours!


Best of the 2023 New Jersey International Film Festival

The Sprayer – Farnoosh Abedi (Tehran, Iran)

In the land occupied with the sprayers army, no one has the right to grow any kind of plants either in public or private. So many of the people and soldiers do not even know how a plant grows or what it looks like, until one day one of the soldiers finds a seed buried deep down in the dust and his curiosity is just the beginning of something extraordinary, something big, something revolutionary. 2022; 9 min.

Black Moon - Tonatiuh García (Mexico City, Mexico) The story of three siblings and the rebellion of a town to defend a river. An unexpected piece of news will make them make decisions that will change their destinies forever because what flows can be as appeasing as it is implacable. In Spanish, subtitled. 2022; 100 min.

The 42nd Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place on the Fridays and Sundays between September 8-October 8, 2023. The Festival will be a hybrid one as we will be presenting it online as well as doing in-person screenings at Rutgers University. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. Each General Admission Ticket purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person screenings. The in-person screenings will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 5PM on their show date.  General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; In-Person Only Student Ticket=$10 Per Program.  




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Sponsors:  The New Jersey Film Festival is funded and/or sponsored in part by The Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center; The Rutgers University Program in Cinema Studies/School of Arts and Sciences; Middlesex County, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts - Funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund; Grant funding has also been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners - This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts; The Rutgers University Office of Summer and Winter Sessions; OVID/Icarus Films,  The Rutgers University American Studies Department; Rutgers University School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program;  The Rutgers University Zimmerli Art Museum; The Rutgers University Writer’s House; Pro 8mm; The Rutgers University Office of Disability Services, WRSU; New Jersey Stage; The Home News, The Asbury Park Press; New Brunswick City Center; The Rutgers University Office of Community Affairs; Design Ideas; Advanced Printing; Steven C. Schechter, Esq.; Share and Harris.

 

 

About the author:

Albert Gabriel Nigrin is an award-winning experimental media artist whose work has been screened throughout the world. He is also a Cinema Studies Lecturer at Rutgers University, and the Executive Director/Curator of the Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center, Inc.




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EVENT PREVIEWS

Al Nigrin, Executive Director and Curator of the New Jersey International Film Festival, sits down with Vincent Turturro, director and writer of Sonia and Lisa on Mushrooms, for a filmmaker interview at EBTV. Sonia and Lisa on Mushrooms will be screened on May 29, 2026.
Two amazing shorts Bottom Feeder and Impivaara screen at the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival on May 29!

Two amazing shorts Bottom Feeder and Impivaara screen at the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival on May 29!

We are always being watched, always being seen, always looking. But where are we? Who are we looking at? What are we seeing? Is it all a dream? Who’s dream is it? ‘Bottom feeders’ are the lowest form of species on the pyramid at the bottom of the deep, dark, and unexplored sea. Sometimes, if you pay attention, ‘bottom feeders’ take shape in the lowest form of human beings at the bottom of the deep, dark, and unexplored subconscious. Bottom Feeder is a black and white experimental film, shot on 16mm film in a square 4x3 format. Vito Trabucco is a Los Angeles based filmmaker, is known for his award-winning films Charlie Christ (2024), Britney Lost Her Phone (2023), and Kevin Can Wait (2020). In Bottom Feeders, Trabucco brings you on a dream-like journey with a woman, the aptly named Pageant (an uncommon name historically associated with theatrical spectacles), who by way of nature, explores her own dream and the meanings behind her visions, both in her head and what she sees. A front door, fractured. A home, for whom? A doll, draped in desire. A sunset, alone but for how long? A reflection, a gaze. A location, unknown
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Sonia and Lisa on Mushrooms Video Q+A

2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Sonia and Lisa on Mushrooms Video Q+A

Al Nigrin, Executive Director and Curator of the New Jersey International Film Festival, leads a Q+A with Sonia and Lisa on Mushrooms Lead Actor Taylor Lhamon and Director Vincent Turturro. Sonia and Lisa on Mushrooms will be screened on May 29, 2026.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Middle Life Video Q+A

2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Middle Life Video Q+A

Here is the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Q+A with Middle Life Writer/Director Pavan Moondi, Lead Actors Leah Fay Goldstein and Peter Dreimanis, and Festival Director Albert Nigrin.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Interview with Sundays Director Ashley Gerst

2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Interview with Sundays Director Ashley Gerst

Al Nigrin, Executive Director and Curator of the New Jersey International Film Festival, sits down at EBTV with Ashley Gerst -- Director and Animator of the film Sundays for a filmmaker interview. Sundays will be screened on Saturday May 30, 2026.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Interview with Middle Life Director Pavan Moondi

2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Interview with Middle Life Director Pavan Moondi

Here is Festival Director Al Nigrin’s interview with Pavan Moondi. Pavan is the director and writer of the terrific Canadian feature film Middle Life. Middle Life screens with two shorts at the New Jersey International Film Festival on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Interview with Counterfeit Kids Director/Writer James Sclafani!

2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Interview with Counterfeit Kids Director/Writer James Sclafani!

Here is Festival Director Al Nigrin’s interview with Counterfeit Kids Director/Writer James Sclafani! Counterfeit Kids screens at the New Jersey International Film Festival on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
Trenton Filmmaker Phillip McConnell to Premiere New Short Film "Tell Me Where We Stand"

Trenton Filmmaker Phillip McConnell to Premiere New Short Film "Tell Me Where We Stand"

(HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, NJ) -- Independent filmmaker Phillip McConnell will premiere his new short film, Tell Me Where We Stand, at Mill One on Sunday, May 31, 2026, bringing together local artists, performers, and members of the community for an evening celebrating independent film and storytelling.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Interview with What We Dreamed of Then Director Taylor Olson

2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Interview with What We Dreamed of Then Director Taylor Olson

Al Nigrin, Executive Director and Curator of the New Jersey International Film Festival, interviews What We Dreamed of Then Director, Writer and Actor Taylor Olson. What We Dreamed of Then will be screened on May 31, 2026.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival to Take Place from May 29th to June 7th

2026 New Jersey International Film Festival to Take Place from May 29th to June 7th

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- The Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center, in association with the Rutgers University Program in Cinema Studies, presents the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival which marks their 31st Anniversary. The NJIFF competition will be taking place on the Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between May 29 - June 7, 2026 and will be a hybrid one as they will be presenting it online as well as doing in-person screenings at Rutgers University.

 

MORE EVENTS

Click on the listing to bring up its webpage


Sonia and Lisa on Mushrooms, Impivaara, Bottom Feeder & Chemical Meadows – Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7PM!

Friday, May 29, 2026 @ 7:00pm
NJ International Film Festival
New Brunswick, NJ


Middle Life, Sundays & Counterfeit Kids – In-Person at 7PM!

Saturday, May 30, 2026 @ 7:00pm
NJ International Film Festival
New Brunswick, NJ


Phenomenon of Ivan Marchuk & Theater of the Absurd – Online for 24 Hours!

Saturday, May 30, 2026 @ 12:00am
NJ International Film Festival
New Brunswick, NJ


Shorts Program #1: Godzilla’s Day Off, Paper Crane, 35 Days, I Exist, Pizza Man, Prison and Time, Dustsceawung & Miracle Under 34th Street – Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7PM!

Saturday, May 30, 2026 @ 7:00pm
NJ International Film Festival
New Brunswick, NJ


Star Wars: The Last Jedi in Concert with New Jersey Symphony

Sunday, May 31, 2026 @ 2:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
New Brunswick, NJ



 

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