(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- Spotlight Central and Love Imagery have photos and a recap of Punch Brothers at Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) on May 14, 2026.
Here is the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Short Film Video Panel that features Festival Director Al Nigrin and NJIFF Official Selection filmmakers: Jen Nista, Max Beckerman, David Arrow and Gianfranco and Stefania Bello.
We are always being watched, always being seen, always looking. But where are we? Who are we looking at? What are we seeing? Is it all a dream? Who’s dream is it? ‘Bottom feeders’ are the lowest form of species on the pyramid at the bottom of the deep, dark, and unexplored sea. Sometimes, if you pay attention, ‘bottom feeders’ take shape in the lowest form of human beings at the bottom of the deep, dark, and unexplored subconscious. Bottom Feeder is a black and white experimental film, shot on 16mm film in a square 4x3 format. Vito Trabucco is a Los Angeles based filmmaker, is known for his award-winning films Charlie Christ (2024), Britney Lost Her Phone (2023), and Kevin Can Wait (2020). In Bottom Feeders, Trabucco brings you on a dream-like journey with a woman, the aptly named Pageant (an uncommon name historically associated with theatrical spectacles), who by way of nature, explores her own dream and the meanings behind her visions, both in her head and what she sees. A front door, fractured. A home, for whom? A doll, draped in desire. A sunset, alone but for how long? A reflection, a gaze. A location, unknown
After gathering a sizeable following on YouTube with a series of short comedy skits, Curry Barker used that platform to self-release his feature film debut, 2024's found footage thriller Milk & Serial. Available to watch for free, that movie has racked up over two million views. It's no surprise then that Hollywood knocked on Barker's door, but what is perhaps surprising is how much the Blumhouse-backed Obsession feels like an indie movie rather than a Hollywood production. With an intimate cast and just a handful of locations, you suspect Barker would have made Obsession himself if the House of Blum hadn't thrown money in his direction. Unlike so many other filmmakers who have been rendered soulless by the studio system, Barker has maintained his vision here, and he even casts Milk & Serial's Cooper Tomlinson in a major supporting role.
