By Vic Fern
originally published: 01/15/2026

Here is New Jersey Film Festival Spring 2026 Filmmaker Interview between B.F. Skinner Plays Himself Director Ted Kennedy and Festival Director Al Nigrin.
B.F. Skinner Plays Himself will be screening on Friday, January 23, 2026 – Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7PM in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901! Director Ted Kennedy will be at the screening to do a Q+A with the audience at the in-person screening! Get more info and buy tickets here.
B.F. Skinner Plays Himself – Ted Kennedy (Ann Arbor, Michigan) B. F. Skinner Plays Himself revisits the life and works of B. F. Skinner through never-before-seen footage recovered from a failed educational film project. Skinner–a world famous public intellectual in his lifetime who continues to be ranked among the most important psychologists of any era–is now largely forgotten outside a select academic niche. From Skinner’s early work with rats, to pigeon-guided bombs and air-conditioned baby cribs, to Utopian communes and debating Dennis Hopper, we deconstruct the scientist and reimagine his prescient predictions about the pitfalls and potential of shaping behavior. The failure of the abandoned educational film shows that changing behavior–often criticized for its supposed authoritarian potentials–is both more nuanced and more difficult than his critics imagined. 2025; 75 min.
The 44th Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place on select Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between January 23-February 22, 2026. The Festival will be a hybrid one as we will be presenting it online as well as doing in-person screenings at Rutgers University. Most of 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 when both are offered. Also, we will be offering two FREE Filmmaking Workshops! The in-person screenings and the filmmaking workshops 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 on the Film festival go here: FESTIVAL WEBSITE
EVENT PREVIEWS

UCPAC presents John Waters' "Pink Flamingos" in 35mm on Thursday
(RAHWAY, NJ) -- Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC) presents the film Pink Flamingos in 35mm on Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 7:00pm. Join them for John Waters' notorious 1972 cult classic, starring the inimitable Divine as a self-proclaimed queen of filth competing in a grotesque rivalry for the title of "the filthiest person alive."

2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Interview with Sonia and Lisa on Mushrooms Director Vincent Turturro
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.

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.

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
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
(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.

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 Overview
The New Jersey International Film Festival returns online and to Rutgers University on the weekends between May 29 - June 7, 2026. Professor Al Nigrin, Executive Director and Curator, provides a video overview of the films being showcase at the 31st annual Festival.
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 @ 7:00pmNJ 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 @ 7:00pmNJ International Film Festival
New Brunswick, NJ