New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu



 

2024 New Jersey International Film Festival Winners Announced!

By Al Nigrin

originally published: 06/10/2024



The Competition component of the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival has just concluded! Here below are the Award Winning films and the Festival Director's Citations. All the works that we are screening are part of the New Jersey International Film Festival were selected by a panel of judges including media professionals, journalists, students, and academics. These judges selected the 34 finalists which were publicly screened at our Festival. The finalists were selected from over 702 works submitted by filmmakers from around the world. In addition, the judges choose the Prize Winners in conjunction with the Festival Director. Congratulations to all the winners and the official selections!

2024 New Jersey International Film Festival Winners



Winner Best Feature Film
  
The Featherweight – Robert Kolodny (Brooklyn, New York)



Winner Best Documentary Film
  
FILM IS DEAD. LONG LIVE FILM!  – Peter Flynn (Wakefield, Massachusetts)



Winner Best Short Film
  
INFINITY! – Benjamin To (Chino Hills, California)




Follow New Jersey Stage on social media
Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky





Winner Best Animated Film
  
Tennis, Oranges – Sean Pecknold (Los Angeles, California)



Winner Best Experimental Film
  
The Miracle of You – Peter Spruyt (Hollywood, California)

Honorable Mention Winners

Shame on You – Jeffrey Himpele (Princeton, New Jersey)

Altona – The Affolter Brothers (New Westminster, BC, Canada)

Judy’s Garden – Evie Metz (Richmond, Virginia)

Brain Freeze – Kelsey Comeau (Brooklyn, New York)

Along The Rail – Jonathan Harkel (New Jersey)

I Want to Live on Mars – Mariya Somova (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)

Game Interrupted – Ilayda Iseri (Istanbul, Turkey)


Fencing for the Edge – Holly Buechel (South Orange, New Jersey)

Cowgirls and Synthesizers – Joe Wallace (Springfield, Illinois)

STAKES IS HIGH – Jean-Pierre Caner (Los Angeles, California)

Good Girl – Jenny Kleiman (Elmhurst, New York)

Crossing The River – Allan Novak (New York, New York)

Festival Director’s Citations

Performances:

James Maddio - The Featherweight

Ruby Maxine Wolf - The Featherweight

Claire Haller - I Want to Live on Mars

Bethany Stollar - I Want to Live on Mars

Rahad Coulter-Stevenson - Stakes is High

Olivia Cordell - INFINITY!

Direction:

Robert Kolodny - The Featherweight

Benjamin To - INFINITY!

Peter Flynn - FILM IS DEAD. LONG LIVE FILM! 

Mariya Somova - I Want to Live on Mars

Kelsey Comeau - Brain Freeze

Sean Pecknold - Tennis, Oranges




Follow New Jersey Stage on social media
Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky



Cinematography:

Adam Kolodny - The Featherweight

Akanksha Shyam - INFINITY!

Adam Nimyo - I Want to Live on Mars

Sklyer Bocciolatt - Stakes is High

Editing:

Robert Greene - The Featherweight

Jenna A. Bush - Fencing for the Edge 

Sean Pecknold and Aaron Beckum - Tennis, Oranges

Jean-Pierre Caner - Stakes is High

Screenplay:

Steve Loff - The Featherweight

Peter Flynn - FILM IS DEAD. LONG LIVE FILM! 

Jean-Pierre Caner - Stakes is High

Production Design:

Sonia Foltarz - The Featherweight

Evie Metz - Judy’s Garden

Adi Goodrich - Tennis, Oranges

Music:

Samuel Jones - Stakes is High

Nick Daly - Judy’s Garden

Joe Cyrus and Shine Delphi - I Want to Live on Mars

 

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.


EVENT PREVIEWS

(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.
Moving feature What We Dreamed of Then screens at the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival on May 31

Moving feature What We Dreamed of Then screens at the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival on May 31

It is rare for a film to capture a major social issue and equally rare for a film to burrow its way into audiences’ hearts. What We Dreamed of When does both and on a budget that wouldn’t even cover lunch on a Hollywood film set.
Emmy-nominated, Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor/director Jason Alexander to Lead Acting Masterclass on Long Beach Island

Emmy-nominated, Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor/director Jason Alexander to Lead Acting Masterclass on Long Beach Island

(LONG BEACH ISLAND, NJ) -- The Lighthouse International Film Festival (LIFF) presents a rare five-day acting masterclass led by acclaimed actor and director Jason Alexander, taking place June 7–11, 2026 on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, just prior to the opening of the Festival's 18th edition, which runs June 10–14.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Short Film Video Panel

2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Short Film Video Panel

Here is the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Short Film Video Panel that features Festival Director Al Nigrin and NJIFF Official Selection filmmakers: Jen Nista, Max Beckerman, David Arrow and Gianfranco and Stefania Bello.

 

MORE EVENTS

Click on the listing to bring up its webpage


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

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


What We Dreamed of Then – Online for 24 Hours!

Sunday, May 31, 2026 @ 12:00am
NJ International Film Festival
New Brunswick, NJ


Short Documentary Program: Greenfield, Meet Me in Silence, Salt Marsh, A Song Between the Gardens & Entre Luz – Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7PM!

Friday, June 05, 2026 @ 7:00pm
NJ International Film Festival
New Brunswick, NJ


Jersey Fresh Program: The Girl With A Red Hat, Not a Hero, Bajo el Sol, Frankie's Okay, My Plastic Lung & Sapphire – Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 5PM!

Saturday, June 06, 2026 @ 5:00pm
NJ International Film Festival
New Brunswick, NJ


Shorts Program #2: FOR, Stew to Eat, The Drive, The Clam Guy, Finding Yiyi – Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7PM!

Saturday, June 06, 2026 @ 7:00pm
NJ International Film Festival
New Brunswick, NJ