(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.
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 screenings.
The in-person screenings will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 5:00pm or 7:00pm on their show date. General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$120; In-Person Only Student Ticket=$10 Per Program. Tickets are available for purchase online.
Film Premieres: 36 films will have their New Jersey Premiere as part of the New Jersey International Film Festival. Some of these include: Pavan Moondi’s touching feature Middle Life which stars July Talk singers/bandmates Leah Fay Goldstein and Peter Dreimanis; Nate Dorr’s Chemical Meadows -- an experimental documentary linking water chemistry and photochemistry in the post-industrial wilds of the New Jersey Meadowlands; Tom Bell’s Salt Marsh – a documentary which explores art, climate, and solitude through the reflections of artist Mitchell Rasor; Vincent Turturro’s trippy independent feature Sonia and Lisa on Mushrooms; Lana Delaroche’s Phenomenon of Ivan Marchuk – a documentary on Ukrainian art legend Ivan Marchuk; Taylor Olson’s What We Dreamed of Then – an engaging and heartfelt feature from Canada; Rob Herring’s documentary Greenfield – an intimate look into the mind and mission of Robin Greenfield — one of the world’s most radical environmentalists; Nathaniel Jameson & Alex Saltie’s crazy cartoonish film Stew to Eat; Yehuda Sharim’s Los Tres – an excellent documentary that focuses on three amazing Mexican-American artists.
The festival also features an amazing array of short, animated and experimental films by Vito Trabucco, Patrik Söderlund, Ashley Gerst, James Sclafani, Owen Andrejco, Myra Sito Velasquez, Evan Bode, Heidi Kumao, Martin Del Carpio; Sebastian Hunt, Mateus Luna, Nastran Bagheri, Lucy Mathews Heegaard, Adelaida Tamayo, Gabriel Barrios, Adam Ansorge, Nicholas Diodato, Kat Lindsay, Jamili Pacheco-Urquiza, Sandeep Karanjkar, Jawan Edgar Martinez, Jen Nista, Max Beckerman, David Arrow, Kim Caicedo, Gianfranco Bello, and Ignacio Loera.
Special Guest Appearances by Directors, Artists, and Actors: They are also pleased to announce many in-person special guest appearances by film directors, producers, and actors to the NJIFF! Some of these include: New Jersey filmmakers Owen Andrejco, Adam Ansorge, Nicholas Diodato, Kat Lindsay, Jamili Pacheco-Urquiza, Sandeep Karanjkar, Jawan Edgar Martinez; as well as Ashley Gerst, Jen Nista, Max Beckerman, David Arrow, Gianfranco Bello, Martin Del Carpio, Adelaida Tamayo, Gabriel Barrios, Nathaniel Jameson, Alex Salti and many others to be announced. There will also be many virtual filmmaker Introductions, Filmmaker Panel and Q+A Sessions for many of the films.
All the works that are being screened 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 36 finalists which will be publicly screened at the Festival. The finalists were selected from over 680 works submitted by filmmakers from around the world. In addition, the judges will choose the Prize Winners in conjunction with the Festival Director. Prize winners will be announced via their social media sites after the screenings on June 7, 2026.
Sponsors: The New Jersey International 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; 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.
