Pierre West – Henrik Larsson, Jakob Arevärn (Älvsjö, Sweden) One day Pierre's TV breaks down, what at first seems like another setback will soon take him down a new road. Pierre West is a drama about hope and darkness, filmed over 17 years. Through Pierre’s isolated life and his unjust struggle with trauma, the film explores emotions that arise when the light at the end of the tunnel seems so very far away A character-driven portrayal balancing hardships and inner demons with humor and longing. In an existence without compassion – how long can Pierre endure? In Swedish, subtitled. 2025; 29 min.
Tokyo Nights – Joey Cruz Manalang (Round Rock, Texas) Kara (mid-20s, a young Filipina) and Max (early 30s, a successful civil engineer) embark on a honeymoon trip to Tokyo, Japan, looking forward to a romantic getaway. However, their lives take an unexpected turn when they bump into Kenji (mid-20s), Kara's ex-boyfriend from Manila. Kenji, who was once Marvin, changed his name after being adopted by his Japanese stepfather and now works as a "Man For Hire" in Tokyo. Throughout the film, the characters reflect on love—both emotional and physical—in documentary-style interviews. They discuss their thoughts on relationships, past loves, and the ideals of perfect love. Kara speaks about the tension between passion and stability, Max talks about the complexity of loving someone who might not fully share your emotional or physical desires, Kenji wrestles with his past and the confusion of intimacy through his work, and Tanya confronts the nature of commitment and trust. The film plays with the idea of love as a spectrum, questioning the idea of monogamy, fidelity, and the boundaries of emotional connection. Kara and Max’s honeymoon becomes a journey of self-discovery, with both learning more about each other, their relationship, and their true desires. The tension between love and lust forces each character to challenge their assumptions about what it means to love someone. In English, Japanese, Tagalog, subtitled. 2025; 54 min.
The 44th Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place between September 5-October 10, 2025. The Festival will be a hybrid as we will be presenting it online as well as doing select in-person screenings at Rutgers University. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VoD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person screenings. Plus, we are very proud to announce that acclaimed band Cold Weather Company will be doing an audio-visual concert on Friday, October 10 at 7PM. Lastly, we will be offering three FREE Filmmaking Workshops! The in-person screenings and the Cold Weather Company concert will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 1PM, 5PM or 7PM on their show date. General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$120; In-Person Only Student Ticket=$10 Per Program. The Filmmaking Workshops are FREE and open to the public but have limited seating and require advance registration. To register email us at [email protected]
For more info go here: https://newjerseyfilmfestivalfall2025.eventive.org/welcome
