Monday, May 6, 2013
Outspoken filmmaker returns to Montclair, will break ground on first documentary-only theater in New York City this week.
Michael Moore worries about a lot of things, from America’s health care system, to gun violence to what he considers the questionable virtues of capitalism. The outspoken documentary filmmaker also frets about the future of his genre, which he has used to shed light on those and other issues in such films as “Sicko,” “Bowling for Columbine” and “Capitalism: A Love Story.” Moore discussed how he hopes to revive the genre, and whether films can really change the world, as moderator of “Dangerous Docs,” a Montclair Film Festival panel discussion held at the Montclair Art Museum Sunday. The Oscar winner is known for using humor to get his point across, and he began the talk drawing laughs declaring, “I hate documentaries.” Moore said …
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
“It’s the first day of a very long ride for us so we are excited to kick it off,” said Executive Director of the festival Raphaela Neihausen at the opening night on Monday.
It’s showtime for the Montclair Film Festival. The festival’s second year opened Monday with a sold out showing of the documentary “Twenty Feet from Stardom” in Montclair State University’s Alexander Kasser Theater. The much anticipated opening launches the week-long festival which includes more than 80 films, lectures with actors, free panels and more. The start of the festival was proceed by a year’s worth of work, said Artistic Director and Montclair resident Thom Powers on Monday, and the dedication of about 600 volunteers. “We probably started working on it the day after the last one ended,” said Powers. “After a year of hard work it’s finally here.” “It’s the first day of a very long ride for us so we are excited to kick it off,” …
Thursday, April 4, 2013
'We thought and hoped they would come out and rally around a film festival, and they really did,' said Chairman of the festival’s board Robert Feinberg.
It’s showtime for the Montclair Film Festival. This lineup for the second Montclair Film Festival was announced today and will feature more than 80 films and events — nearly doubling the first year’s total. “Last year was our first year and the big discovery for us was our audience demand exceeded our ticket supply ... which was a good problem to have!” said Artistic Director Thomas Powers. “This year we addressed the problem by expanding our offerings.” The festival, which runs from April 29 through May 5, has added two theater venues this year and about 5,000 seats. The films will run the gamut, featuring 15 dramas, 16 documentaries, four comedies, three family movies and a plethora of shorts. Thehe festival will also spotlight six …
Monday, April 1, 2013
The film starts at 7 p.m. at Montclair State University and will be followed by a Q&A.
A free screening of "The Iran Job" will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Montclair State University. The screening of this internationally-praised documentary follows the story of Kevin Sheppard, an American athlete who travels to Iran to play professional basketball. The university is teaming up with Montcliar Film Festival to show the film in University Hall, located at 1 Normal Ave. Till Schauder and Sara Nodjoumi will be available for a Q&A after the screening. According to Montclair State's website, the film is described as follows: "The Iran Job" follows American basketball player Kevin Sheppard as he accepts a job to play in one of the world’s most feared countries: Iran.With tensions running high between Iran and the West, Kevin tries…
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
A short film by Grace Gorant, of Montclair, won the grand prize among students in seventh to ninth grade.
Montclair Film Festival has posted the winning films from its second Kidz Shortz filmmaking competition. Above, you can watch Grace Gorant's winning film "Free Your Imagination." Gorant is from Montclair and attends Mt. Hebron Elementary School. She won the grand prize in the seventh- to ninth-grade category. The Montclair Film Festival announced the winners of its Kidz Shortz competition earlier in March. This year, there were 111 registrants from 17 towns in New Jersey, 23 states and three countries.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
An ceremony will recognize the young filmmakers on Thursday, March 7, at 7 p.m. at The Clubhouse, at 131 Glenridge Ave.
Future filmmakers are getting their start here in Montclair. The Montclair Film Festival has announced the winners of its second Kidz Shortz filmmaking competition. This year, there were 111 registrants from 17 towns in New Jersey, 23 states and three countries. The winners are named below. Chairwoman for Kidz Shortz Beth Hart said technology has opened the door for young film enthusiasts to experiment and tell their stories. "These kids in this generation are born with a camera in their hands," said Hart, "and they are used to seeing stories visually, and telling stories visually." Hart said she was impressed with the scope and approach of many of the submissions. For example some used their iPhones, others used stop motion …
Monday, February 25, 2013
'Inocente' takes home best documentary for a short subject at Academy Awards on Sunday.
A film screened at the Montclair Film Festival garnered an award at the 85th Academy Awards on Sunday. The film "Inocente" was awarded the Oscar for best documentary short film. The 40 minute film was directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix, and was shown at the inaugural Montclair Film Festival in 2012. The film was produced by Montclair-based company Shine Global "It is actually great to have a film from a local film maker in your first festival to win an Oscar," said Stu Zakim of the Montclair Film Festival. "It's incredible. We are definitely on target here." Tom Powers, programmer for the Montclair Film Festival, tweeted on Oscar night, "Congrats to [Inocente], the first Kickstarter project to win an Oscar ...." Inocente is a …
Monday, August 6, 2012
Come out for the Montclair Film Festival's next outdoor screening.
The Montclair Film Festival's free family film summer screening series, dubbed Cinema Montclairismo, resumes on Friday night with a showing of Big on Church Street. In its third year, the series brings the community of Montclair together for various evenings of great films under the stars. MFF and the Essex County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs co-sponsored the first film, a special sing-a-long screening of Grease that took place a few weeks ago at the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens. “MFF is not only committed to organizing and sponsoring a great film festival, but also to creating free family events throughout the year that bring the community together,” stated Lisa Ingersoll, Co-Chair of Cinema Montclairismo. So grab a lawn …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
He says that the film festival "exceeded our expectations"
Thom Powers, co-director with his wife, Raphaela Neihausen, of the Montclair Film Festival that was held from May 1 to 6, reflected Monday on the cinematic event and the response of the community. Powers, still trying to catch his breath following a whirlwind week, took some time to answer five questions from Montclair Patch on the festival's impact. The overwhelming message is that he and his well-organized team plan to be back with another film festival in May 2013. Q) So, from where you sit, how was the film festival and the community's response to it? A) On all counts, it exceeded our expectations. By our nature, we tried to be cautious with the targets we fixed. But the fact we sold out about 20 shows days before the festival even …
Monday, May 7, 2012
Documentary filmmaker speaks to sold-out audience on final day of Montclair Film Festival.
During the final day of the inaugural Montclair Film Festival, documentary filmmaker Michael Moore chatted for about an hour about two of his favorite topics, movies and politics—left-leaning politics, to be specific. Moore was clearly in his element in Montclair, a town 12-miles west of New York City known for embracing diversity, the arts and Democratic politicians. So imagine the jeers from the sold-out audience at the Montclair Art Museum when Moore proclaimed, “To be honest, I don’t know the difference between this or Morristown.” Moore, wearing his signature baseball cap, quickly bounced back by relating how he once ran a campaign for a ficus tree, challenging longtime U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, a member of what he called the …
gregory l. mitchell
4:16 pm on Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Here we go again,every time this damn fool runs his mouth he puts his foot in it.By that I mean our capitalistic system which he trashes at every opportunity has been very good to him.Perhaps we're also fools as well,by paying to help feather his nest.Funny how this "hick" from Michigan becomes an expert from science to economics and everything in between.I for one wont and haven't helped fill … more ›