By Al Nigrin
originally published: 10/06/2024
Fall 2024 New Jersey Film Festival Winners Announced!
All the works that were part of the Fall 2024 New Jersey Film Festival Competition were selected by a panel of judges including media professionals, journalists, students, and academics. These judges selected the 21 finalists which were publicly screened at our Festival. The finalists were selected from 402 works submitted by filmmakers from around the world. In addition, the judges chose the Prize Winners in conjunction with the Festival Director.
Winner Best Feature Film
Ben and Suzanne, A Reunion in 4 Parts – Shaun Seneviratne (Ridgewood, New York)
Winner Best Documentary Film
WHAT IS HAPPENING? ART IN THE LIFE OF GERTIE FRÖHLICH – Marieli Fröhlich (Vienna, Austria)
Winner Best Short Film
Dog Days – Ryan Kurt Whiting (Oakland, California)
Winner Best Animated Film
Red Snow – Susana Olmedo Alvarez, Aurelia Gil Junco (Madrid, Spain)
Winner Best Experimental Film
The Horse Tail - Justyna Łuczaj – Salej (Krosno, Poland)
Honorable Mention Winners
All You Need is Blood – Cooper Roberts (Greenvale, New York)
A Little Family Drama – Nadia Zoe (Los Angeles, California)
These Years – Kiana Rosa Fischer (Highland Park, New Jersey)
Rough Blazing Star – Christopher Wiersema (Montpellier, Vermont)
Spirit of Place – Jack Cooper Stimpson (London, England)
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Festival Director’s Citations
Performances:
Anastasia Olowin (Ben and Suzanne, A Reunion in 4 Parts)
Sathya Sridharan (Ben and Suzanne, A Reunion in 4 Parts)
Emma Chasse (All You Need Is Blood)
Mena Suvari (All You Need Is Blood)
Diana Elizabeth Torres (A Little Family Drama)
Taylor Olsen (Look at Me)
Direction:
Shaun Seneviratne (Ben and Suzanne, A Reunion in 4 Parts)
Cooper Roberts (All You Need Is Blood)
Justyna Łuczaj-Salej (The Horse Tail)
Nadia Zoe (A Little Family Drama)
WHAT IS HAPPENING? ART IN THE LIFE OF GERTIE FRÖHLICH Marieli Fröhlich (Vienna, Austria)
Cinematography:
Molly Scotti (Ben and Suzanne, A Reunion in 4 Parts)
Travis LaBella (A Little Family Drama)
Malgorzata Szylak (The Horse Tail)
Screenplay:
Shaun Seneviratne (Ben and Suzanne, A Reunion in 4 Parts)
Justyna Łuczaj-Salej (The Horse Tail)
Nadia Zoe and Ramon O. Torres (A Little Family Drama)
Editing:
Joe Violette (Ben and Suzanne, A Reunion in 4 Parts)
WHAT IS HAPPENING? ART IN THE LIFE OF GERTIE FRÖHLICH Marieli Fröhlich (Vienna, Austria)
Cooper Roberts (All You Need Is Blood)
Production Design:
Henry Pskowski (All You Need Is Blood)
Alessandra Manias (A Little Family Drama)
Justyna Łuczaj-Salej, Maciej Bieganski, Tomasz Rolniak (The Horse Tail)
Music:
Jack Cooper Stimpson, Benji Compston (Spirit of Place)
Mikolaj Trzaska (The Horse Tail)
Steve Berlin (A Little Family Drama)
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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