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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 @ 7:00pm



NJ International Film Festival
71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901

THIS EVENT HAS PASSED

Screening at the New Jersey International Film Festival - available online for 24 hours starting at midnight with an in-person screening at 7:00pm

8 films in this package

Godzilla’s Day Off - Myra Sito Velasquez (New York, New York). Even monsters need to chillax! 2025; 3 min.



Miracle Under 34th Street - Owen Andrejco (Jersey City, New Jersey). Deep in depths under 34th Street Herald Square subway station, two meager rats spark an explosion of joy, warmth and material goodness. Miracle Under 34th Street is a hand-drawn with pencil on paper, created while I was living in Astoria, Queens. During my daily commute, I would sometimes bring my drawings to animate while on the W Train, the MTA line that plays a starring role in this short animation.2025; 2 min.



Paper Crane – Michael Amter (Somerset, New Jersey). A humble effort to honor Sadako Sasaki for the 80th anniversary of the historic events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki forever changing the world. Profoundly moved by her tremendous story. The creation of 1000 paper cranes to obtain a special wish, an attempt to save one’s life. An extraordinary display of grace, courage, dignity, and creativity in human history. This experimental animation is intended to be childlike as a reflection of Sadako Sasaki’s youth - as well as short in duration to contemplate this brief life. A memorial study inspired by the devotion to the traditional origami art form. 2025; 3 min.



Prison and Time – Evan Bode (Syracuse, New York). Filmmaker Evan Bode animates excerpts of an essay by writer & activist Marvin Wade, who speaks personally about his 25 years of incarceration—and the growth he achieved in spite of, not because of, the inhumane prison system around him. This collaboration was produced by Project Mend, an organization in Central New York which celebrates the lives and creative work of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people as well as other individuals impacted by the criminal legal system. 2025; 7 min.



35 Days – Heidi Kumao (Ann Arbor, Michigan). 35 Days is an experimental, stop motion animation about what happens when a coalition of strangers answers the call to locate a missing cat during the pandemic lockdown of 2020. Created frame-by-frame using fabric cutouts and thread. 2025; 7 min.



I Exist – Martin Del Carpio (New York, New York). Jordan wakes up in a hospital after another night full of decadence and finds himself facing two very mysterious strangers who are not what they appear to be. Will it be too late for him? An existential horror film. 2025; 15 min.



Pizza Man – Sebastian Hunt (New York, New York). Overwhelmed by the evil forces of apathy and ennui, a struggling cartoonist is visited by his first (and greatest) creation: The Phenomenal Pizza Man. 2025; 16 min.



Dustsceawung – Matues Luna (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). A frustrated and heartbroken writer discovers that his robot vacuum shredded his rejected book into his own poetry, dedicated to the house’s Alexa. Fascinated, the man feeds the new author with the classics, but claims the work as his own, sparking a surreal clash between authorship, love, and cleaning. In Portuguese, subtitled. 2025; 21 min.




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EVENT PREVIEWS

"Slanted

"Slanted Floors" returns to its Greenpoint Apartment

(NEW YORK, NY) -- Following critical acclaim and sold-out performances, Slanted Floors — hailed by the Daily Beast as "one of New York's most unique and exclusive pieces of theatre" — returns for a strictly limited five-week engagement in its original Greenpoint apartment setting. Performances will run May 26 through June 26, 2026, with 150 seats available.



Arden

Arden Theatre Company presents "Dear Evan Hansen"

(PHILADELPHIA, PA) -- Arden Theatre Company brings the Tony Award-winning musical, Dear Evan Hansen, to the F. Otto Haas Stage this spring. Featuring a book by Steven Levenson and music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the production is directed by Terrence J. Nolen and co-conceived by Jorge Cousineau and Nolen. Performances begin May 21, the show opens May 27, and runs through July 5, 2026.



Paper

Paper Mill Playhouse presents "West Side Story"

(MILLBURN, NJ) -- Paper Mill Playhouse presents West Side Story, the final production of Paper Mill's 2025-2026 season, from May 28 through June 28, 2026. An enduring masterpiece based on a conception of Jerome Robbins, West Side Story reimagines Romeo and Juliet in 1950s New York, where young lovers Tony and Maria dare to dream of a future together as rival gangs the Jets and the Sharks clash for control of the streets.



MPAC

MPAC Announces Free Summer Concert Lineup for 2026

(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- Mayo Performing Arts Center's Arts in the Community free summer concert schedule for 2026 has been announced. MPAC will present six free concerts between June and August. The lineup includes the return of three of their most popular events – Bollywood Dance Party, Country Line Dancing and Salsa at Sunset, as well as singer-songwriters, and more.



Cape

Cape May Stage presents "What the Constitution Means to Me"

(CAPE MAY, NJ) -- Cape May Stage presents What the Constitution Means to Me by Heidi Schreck from June 3-28, 2026. Fifteen-year-old Heidi earned her college tuition by winning constitutional debate competitions across the country. In this electrifying and deeply personal play, she revisits that teenage self to explore how the U.S. Constitution has shaped her life — and how it continues to shape all of ours.






 

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