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FEATURED EVENTS



First Look Review - "It Ends"

For some people, life can feel like a rollercoaster. But for most of us who are fortunate to live in the relative peace and safety of the western world, life is more like one long straight road. There are occasional bumps, but for the most part we spend our lives headed straight towards a certain destination. To save ourselves from going mad, we try to turn off this road as often as possible as we seek variety, but our responsibilities inevitably force us to return to the highway. One of the things we fear most is monotony and the idea that every day will be exactly the same. It's why we punish people by sending them to prison.





 



Beloved independent theater in Cranford wins national 'giveback' competition

(CRANFORD, NJ) -- An independently owned movie theater in Cranford has been recognized for its outstanding community spirit after winning a national "giveback" competition designed to highlight positive contributions in local communities.




Box Office Cinemas to Bring Movies Back to SOPAC

(SOUTH ORANGE, NJ) -- Movies will return to South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) in January 2026! Box Office Cinemas, a company with more than 40 years of experience operating movie theaters (including multiple locations across New York and New Jersey) will reopen and operate the cinemas at SOPAC beginning in January 2026. It will be their fifth location in the region.




New Release Review - "Preparation For The Next Life"

Having won acclaim for his Oscar-nominated documentary Mind the Gap, director Bing Liu makes his narrative feature debut with an adaptation of Atticus Lish's 2014 novel Preparation for the Next Life. Scripted by the Pulitzer-winning playwright Martyna Majok, it's a story of cross-cultural romance. But though the star-crossed lovers here are from very different worlds, none of their cultural differences matter. They're simply two humans, and what threatens to destroy their relationship are their very human flaws.




New Release Review - "Influencers"

With Aliens, his sequel to Ridley Scott's Alien, James Cameron decided to up the ante by pluralising the titular monsters. With Influencers, writer/director Kurtis David Harder's welcome sequel to his entertaining 2022 thriller Influencer, it's the victims rather than the villain who have been multiplied. When you have a villain as fiendish as the murderous identity thief CW (Cassandra Naud), one is all you need.











FEATURED EVENTS

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Wicked

Wicked Sing-A-Long

Sunday, January 11, 2026 @ 1:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901



The

The Godfather Part II in 35mm

Friday, January 16, 2026 @ 7:00pm
Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC) - Main Stage
1601 Irving Street, Rahway, NJ 07065



B.

B. F. Skinner Plays Himself – Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7PM!

Friday, January 23, 2026 @ 7:00pm
NJ Film Festival
71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901



Short

Short Doc Program: Portrait of a Monastery, A Way to be Together, Arrested at Delaney Hall, 300 – Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7PM!

Saturday, January 24, 2026 @ 7:00pm
NJ Film Festival
71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901



ANDA

ANDA & The Game Camera - Online for 24 Hours!

Sunday, January 25, 2026 @ 12:00am
NJ Film Festival
71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901










FEATURES


20th Anniversary of Teaneck International Film Festival is a Wrap

(TEANECK, NJ) -- It all began 21 years ago with an idea and planning, and this November the Teaneck International Film Festival, a project of The Puffin Foundation, Ltd., celebrated its 20th anniversary of presenting films and programs that bring people together as a community and foster a commitment to caring and involvement. This year's festival was marked by feelings of pride and gratitude on the part of the TIFF committee, Executive Director Jeremy Lentz, and the many sponsors who have been supporters from the earliest days.




44th Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival to Take Place January 23 to February 22, 2026

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- The 44th Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will take place on select Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between January 23-February 22, 2026. The Festival will be a hybrid one as it will be presented online as well as doing in-person screenings at Rutgers University.




Art doc Cathy & Harry screens at the New Jersey Film Festival on Sunday, September 28!

In their documentary film, Cathy & Harry, Marta Renzi and Daniel Wolff present the works and uniquely dynamic personalities of Catherine Murphy and Harry Roseman, two award-winning, notable artists, as well as a married couple. The film centers on Murphy and Roseman, while showcasing their artworks and stories as well as their relationship to one another and their views on life, each other, and the world around them. The film is unique in its less formal approach, taking its time to connect with the characters and enter their world, rather than them telling us who they are. This, alongside the inclusions of art and unique locations, cement Cathy & Harry as a poignant portrayal of two artists who seek to question, create, and connect.




bergenPAC presents Dirty Dancing in Concert

(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) -- Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC) presents Dirty Dancing in Concert on Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 7:00pm. You fell in love with their first dance, now it's your turn to relive it. Dirty Dancing in Concert is a cinematic live-to-film concert event that brings the iconic love story back to the big screen, with a twist.









 

LINKS

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    EVENT PREVIEWS

    (BLAIRSTOWN, NJ) -- Roy's Hall presents a screening of The Librarians on Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 6:30pm. In the film, librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy and our First Amendment Rights. As they well know, controlling the flow of ideas means control over communities. The screening is to benefit the Warren County library system.



    (LINCROFT, NJ) -- New Jersey Film Academy presents Breaking In Lecture Series with Armand Assante on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at Brookdale Community College. Join them for an evening with the award-winning actor. The event begins at 6:30pm.








     



    New Release Review - "Preparation For The Next Life"

    Having won acclaim for his Oscar-nominated documentary Mind the Gap, director Bing Liu makes his narrative feature debut with an adaptation of Atticus Lish's 2014 novel Preparation for the Next Life. Scripted by the Pulitzer-winning playwright Martyna Majok, it's a story of cross-cultural romance. But though the star-crossed lovers here are from very different worlds, none of their cultural differences matter. They're simply two humans, and what threatens to destroy their relationship are their very human flaws.




    New Release Review - "Influencers"

    With Aliens, his sequel to Ridley Scott's Alien, James Cameron decided to up the ante by pluralising the titular monsters. With Influencers, writer/director Kurtis David Harder's welcome sequel to his entertaining 2022 thriller Influencer, it's the victims rather than the villain who have been multiplied. When you have a villain as fiendish as the murderous identity thief CW (Cassandra Naud), one is all you need.




    New Release Review - "Reflection In A Dead Diamond"

    To say the work of the French filmmaking duo Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani is divisive is an understatement. Like Tarantino and Eli Roth, Cattet and Forzani are obsessed with 20th century Italian genre cinema, and weave their influences into their work. But while Tarantino is a natural storyteller, the French duo are truer to their Italian influences in displaying nary the slightest interest in spinning a comprehensible narrative.




    New Release Review - "Left-Handed Girl"

    Two decades after co-directing 2004's Take Out with Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou has made her solo directorial debut with the Taipei-set family drama Left-Handed Girl. In the years since Take Out, Tsou has produced several of Baker's films, and Baker collaborates again here as co-writer and editor. Anyone familiar with Baker's filmography will recognise his influence here. Once again this is a film about working class strivers doing whatever they can to stay afloat; sex work rears its head; and like Tangerine, it was shot on an adapted iPhone.