Author Archive
Not Just Another Face
By Dan Sorbera As the Montclair Film Festival wrapped up Sunday afternoon, the screening of About Face a documentary focusing on beauty and hardships in the modeling business, director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, producer Chad Thompson and one of the model interviewees, Pat Cleveland, came to discuss the documentary . Timothy Greenfield-Sanders opened up the discussion with […]
Michael Moore Speaks
By: Liz Dircks Festival-goers began lining up well beforehand to see director and documentarian Michael Moore at the Montclair Art Museum on Sunday. Moore, famous for documentaries such as “Bowling for Columbine” and “Fahrenheit 9/11,” entered to a standing ovation from a sold-out audience in Leir Hall. Over the course of the 75-minute conversation, hosted […]
Road to Batman via Newark
Michael E. Uslan the executive producer of the much anticipated The Dark Knight Rises discussed some of the reasons behind why Batman made it to the big screen and talks about some of the scenes that were filmed in Newark, NJ. VIEW PHOTO SET HERE
A Restored Red Shoes
By Merve Fejzula If it were not for Martin Scorsese’s non-profit, the Film Foundation, The Red Shoes may not have made it to a screening at the festival on May 6. Mold had been eating into the emulsion, but a lengthy restoration process at UCLA returned the film to its original Technicolor glory. So narrated […]
What is it? Premieres
By Liz Dircks Rory Albanese and Adam Lowitt took time from their busy schedules producing Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to give Montclair Film Festival attendees their hilarious takes on old, educational film clips. Albanese and Lowitt played to a sold-out crowd in an intimate setting at the Clairidge Cinema, offering their […]
Tiger Eyes Debuts
By Meredith Yannuzzi Judy Blume has sold over 75 million copies of her well known and affecting books. Her work has been translated into more than twenty languages, yet she has never made it to the big screen. That is until now. Tiger Eyes is about a young girl named Davey who is transplanted from […]
Prep School Negro Premieres
By Dan Sorbera Audiences lined up outside Claridge Cinemas in Montclair Saturday afternoon to see the sold out world premiere of The Prep School Negro, a documentary about the culture clashes and social alienation of black students from inner city neighborhoods in Philadelphia getting scholorships to all-white prep schools. Attending the screening was the film […]
MFF Today – Sunday
Today’s Films & Events 11:30 AM Last Call at the Oasis Clairidge Cinema 2 Buy Tickets 12:00 PM The Atomic States of America Clairidge Cinema 1 Buy Tickets 12:00 PM Documentary: Inside the StoryMontclair Public Library FREE PANEL 12:30 PM The Road to Batman and Dark Knight Montclair Art Museum Buy Tickets 1:00 PM Red […]
Oversimplification Q & A
By Merve Fejzula Cartoon characters bloom on the screen, stop-motion wooden figures make calculated steps towards each other, suddenly we return to the photographic depiction of a couple, alternate between films as a narrator pauses to inform us of the change – Terence Nance’s debut film “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty” is nothing if not […]
MFF Today – Saturday
Today’s Films 11:30 AM Flat Daddy Clairidge Cinema 2 Buy Tickets 11:30 AM First Position Bellevue Theater Buy Tickets 12:00 PM NJ Shorts 2: Power of Youth Clairidge #1 Buy Tickets 2:00 PM Unraveled Clairidge #2 Buy Tickets 2:00 PM The Perfect Family Bellevue Theater Buy Tickets 2:30 PM The Prep School Negro Clairidge #1 […]
Dukakis Brings Cloudburst to MFF
By Merve Fejzula To describe Cloudburst in brief, it is something like, “Thelma and Louise for the assisted living set.” So joked Mary Alice Williams, as she began the question and answer session with Olympia Dukakis following the screening of her latest film. In actuality the movie is an uproarious telling of an elderly lesbian […]
MFF Today – Friday
Today’s Films 7:00 PM 2 Days in New York Bellevue Theater Buy Tickets 7:00 PM An Oversimplification of Her Beauty Clairidge Cinema 1 Buy Tickets 7:15 PM NJ Shorts 1: New visions from Montclair State University Clairidge #2 Buy Tickets 9:15 PM Your Sister’s Sister Bellevue Theater Buy Tickets 9:15 PM David Bromberg Unsung Treasure […]
MFF Today – Thursday
Today’s Films 7:00 PM Sacrifice Clairidge Cinema 2 Buy Tickets 7:00 PM Undefeated MSU Kasser Buy Tickets 8:00 PM Cloudburst Bellevue Theater – SOLD OUT There will not be a rush-line. HIGHLIGHTS FROM YESTERDAY Kathleen Turner talks about her career, why she prefers women directors and “that Voice.” Read more here.
An Evening with Kathleen Turner
By Gene R. Sower As a run-up to her new film, The Perfect Family, Kathleen Turner delighted a Montclair Film Festival audience at the Bellevue Theater with stories and insights from her long and illustrious career. Beginning with her first movie, Body Heat, Turner described working with first-time director Lawrence Kasdan and actor William Hurt, […]
MFF Today – Wednesday
TODAY’S FILMS at a Glance 7:00 PM Unfinished Spaces Clairidge Cinema 2 Buy Tickets 9:00 PM Trishna Bellevue Theater Buy Tickets 9:15 PM American Masters Johnny Carson: King of Late Night Clairidge Cinema 2 Buy Tickets HIGHLIGHTS FROM YESTERDAY The opening night of the MFF saw the community turn out for the sold out […]
MFF Debut a Success
By Gene R. Sower Montclair Film Festival’s founder, Bob Feinberg, welcomed the audience at Montclair State University’s Kasser Theater to “the first night of the first film of the first Montclair Film Festival.” The sold out crowd was there to see The Oranges, a comedy-drama set in Essex County, New Jersey. At the end of […]
Modern Movie Poster Exhibit
Changing the Face of Modern Movie Posters at the Montclair Art Museum The collection on view at the Montclair Art Museum represents a revival of the craft of film poster art. Today’s film studios for the most part usually just simply copy each other’s successful designs and use photos of a star’s face to sell a film. […]
NY Times Spotlights MFF
The Montclair Film Festival was spotlighted in the New York Times recently, speaking to festival organizers about what’s involved in putting together a festival in a suburban community like Montclair, New Jersey. An already sold out opening-night gala celebration at the Alexander Kasser Theater at Montclair State University will follow a screening of the film […]
Store Window Paintings
MFF is this year’s theme for the May in Montclair Window Painting Project! SATURDAY, APRIL 28TH May in Montclair is pleased to announce the theme for this year’s Store Window Painting contest. The Montclair Film Festival will take center stage in our store window contest this year. The event takes place on Saturday, April 28 […]
At the Jersey Shore
By Gene R. Sower What could be more “Jersey” than spending many summers of my happily misspent youth at such places as Long Branch, Asbury Park, Seaside Heights and Belmar? Nothing, apparently, according to New Jersey native Thomas Bentey, who wrote, directs and stars in his new film, At the Jersey Shore. As an avid […]
Flat Daddy
By Gene R. Sower Being part of a “military family” was nothing I ever thought about until my son joined the US Air Force Academy as a cadet in 2010. Even though he’s still a student and won’t have to begin his Air Force career until he graduates in 2014, paying back his education with […]
Lemon – The Movie
By Merve Fejzula “When do any of us know in our own lives what will happen next…let alone, what might happen in someone else’s life?” asks Beth Levison, the filmmaker behind the inspiring documentary, “Lemon.” This question grips the audience as they follow the journey of Lemon Andersen in Beth Levison’s documentary, “Lemon.” The inspiring […]
Evocateur: Morton Downey Jr.
By Debra Marrazza NBC Today Show co-host, Bryant Gumbel once asked; “Is this a passing fancy or is this in front of the wave?” It is 25 years later and once you see, EVOCATEUR: THE MORTON DOWNEY JR. MOVIE from Ironbound Films on Saturday, May 5th at 7PM, you will walk away with the answer. […]
Unfinished Spaces
The Resurgence of Cuba’s Architectural and Artistic Gem By Joyce Kaffel The documentary film, Unfinished Spaces, traces the path of Cuba’s Revolution by delving into the unfortunate story of the Cuban National Art Schools and the experiences of the three innovative architects commissioned to design the Schools’ buildings. Their work was halted when Cuba’s political […]
Downtown Express to Montclair
By Debra Marrazza Sometimes the wrong track takes you to the right place and the right place is the Clairidge Cinema on Sunday, May 6th at 4:30PM. The Review Page calls Downtown Express, “More New York than Spike Lee and Woody Allen.” So, for all you Montclairians who want to be swept away in music […]
Montclair Film Festival Announces Inaugural Line-Up May 1 – 6, 2012
IT’S SUNDANCE. ONLY JERSIER. For Immediate Release Media Contact: Lisa Ingersoll Ph: 917-693-0357 press@montclairfilm.org FESTIVAL OPENS WITH SPECIAL SCREENING OF NEW JERSEY COMEDY,THE ORANGES, AND CELEBRATES NEW JERSEY TALENT INCLUDING JUDY BLUME, CHRIS ROCK, PAT CLEVELAND AND OTHERS LIVE PARTICIPATION BY KATHLEEN TURNER, OLYMPIA DUKAKIS, MICHAEL MOORE, PATRICK WILSON AND OLIVER PLATT Montclair, NJ – […]
The MFF Extended Trailer
Courtesy of Ager-Meillier films and music is by the local Montclair band, The Bloomingfields.
An Interview With Bob Feinberg
On what makes a successful film festival and what it means to Montclair Interview by Gene R. Sower MFF: What makes a great film festival in general? BF: You know there are lots of different kinds of film festivals. Some are huge in places like Berlin and Toronto, some are smaller, some are real industry […]
Come Join Us For a Wine Tasting
WHO: 35 French Winemakers WHAT: 150 Wines WHERE: The Vault at Bangz Salon and Spa 23 South Fullerton Ave., Montclair, NJ WHEN: Tuesday, April 3, 2012, 7:30 pm-9:30 pm, $75 WHY: A benefit for the Montclair Film Festival REPLY: Call 973 509 WINE (9463) $75 per person Thanks to our sponsors: Affinage Cheese Shop & […]
Favorite Movies of All Time
By Caitlin Colford Perhaps the most controversial question of all time: What are the top five movies of the past 100 years? Okay, maybe not THE most controversial question, but it certainly is a trending topic around the offices of the Montclair Film Festival for obvious reasons (we love movies!). To try and reach a […]
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION DISCUSSION
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION PANEL DISCUSSION Montclair State University – FILM FORUM DATE: MARCH 20, 2012, TIME: 7PM – 9PM PLACE: UNIVERSITY HALL 1040 Watching movies and television on the Internet is the wave of the future and it’s happening now! MSU Film Forum presents a panel discussion on the realities of Internet Distribution for film and […]
Montclair Film Festival Celebrates Academy Awards with Pre-Oscar Party
Montclair Film Festival Media Contact Kelly Coogan Swanson (973) 783-6433 kcooganswanson@gmail.com Montclair Film Festival Celebrates Academy Awards with Pre-Oscar Party February 29, 2012 – Montclair, NJ – Montclair Film Festival held its second annual Pre-Oscar fundraiser this past Saturday. More than 320 film aficionados walked down the red carpet at the Bobbi Brown Loft, skirting […]
MFF Recommends: Free Film at MAM
The Life and Times of Winfred Rembert Thursday, February 16, 7 p.m. FREE In this moving documentary, the artist Winfred Rembert relives his turbulent life in the segregated South and the injustice and bigotry he experienced as recently as the 1960s and 70s. The film is abundantly visualized by his extensive paintings depicting the day-to-day […]