Welcome to the Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center

Home of the New Jersey Film Festivals and the United States Super 8 Film and Digital Video Festival dedicated to exhibiting independent, classic, international, and experimental films.

Spring 2024 New Jersey Film Festival

The 42nd Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place on select Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between January 26-February 18, 2024. The Festival will be a hybrid one as we will be presenting it online as well as doing in-person screenings at Rutgers University. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. Each ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person screenings. The in-person screenings will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 5PM or 7PM on their show date.   Tickets: $15=Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$100; In-Person Shows Student Tickets = $10 Per Program.

2024 United States Super 8mm Film & Digital Video Festival

The 36th Annual Festival will be taking place on Saturday and Sunday, February 17 and 18, 2024!  The Festival will be a hybrid one as we will be presenting it online as well as doing in-person screenings at Rutgers University. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. The in-person screenings will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at either 5PM or 7PM on their show date.  Each ticket is good for both the virtual and the in-person screenings. Tickets: $15=Per Program; In-Person Shows Student Tickets = $10 Per Program.

New Jersey International Film Festival Summer 2024 | Call for Entries

The Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center proudly announces the 29th Annual New Jersey International Film Festival. The festival will be held between May 31-June 9, 2024 at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey and will showcase the best in independent film by featuring premiere screenings, special guest appearances by film directors, screenwriters, cast and crew and more.

Past Events

Press

Fall 2023 New Jersey Film Festival Winners

All the works that were part of the Fall 2023 New Jersey Film Festival Competition were selected by a panel of judges including media professionals, journalists, students, and academics. These judges selected the 19 finalists which were publicly screened at our Festival. The finalists were selected from 403 works submitted by filmmakers from around the world. In addition, the judges chose the Prize Winners in conjunction with the Festival Director.

Winner Best Feature Film
Hole in the Head – Dean Kavanagh (Wicklow, Ireland)

Winner Best Documentary Film
From Inside of Here – Bill Basquin (San Francisco, California)

Winner Best Short Film
This is the Rill Speaking – Gabriel Rodriguez-Fuller (Los Angeles, California)

Winner Best Animated Film
Out of Frame – Evan Bode (Syracuse, New York)

Winner Best Experimental Film
Breaking The Surface – John Evans, Ani Javian (New Brunswick, New Jersey)

Honorable Mention Winners
#LookAtMe – Ken Kwek (Singapore)
Honor Student – Tamika Miller (Los Angeles, California)
Minnesota Mean – Dawn Mikkelson (Duluth, Minnesota)
June – Lauren Stevens (Los Angeles, California)

Festival Director’s Citations
Performances:
Yao (#LookAtMe)
Pam Oei (#LookAtMe)
John Curran (Hole in the Head)
Lynette Callaghan (Hole in the Head)
Hudson Yang (Honor Student)
Kelly Jenrette (Honor Student)

Direction:
Dean Kavanagh (Hole in the Head)
Tamika Miller (Honor Student)
Ken Kwek (#LookAtMe)
Bill Basquin (From Inside of Here)
Evan Bode (Out of Frame)

Cinematography:
Dean Kavanagh (Hole in the Head)
Russell Adam Morton (#LookAtMe)
Joshua Pausanos (Honor Student)

Screenplay:
Ken Kwek and Shane Mardjuki (#LookAtMe)
Tamika Miller and Joe Rechtman (Honor Student)
Dean Kavanagh (Hole in the Head)

Editing:
Rudolph Buitendach and Brian Zwiener (Honor Student)
Dean Kavanagh (Hole in the Head)
John Evans (Breaking The Surface)

Production Design:
Andy Phua (#LookAtMe)
Marli Hemsley (Honor Student)
Evan Bode (Out of Frame)

Music:
Michael Wall (Breaking The Surface)
Joe Ng and Ting Si Hao (#LookAtMe)
Claude Foisy (Honor Student)
Evan Bode (Out of Frame)

2023 New Jersey International Film Festival Winners

All the works that were part of the 2023 New Jersey International Film Festival Competition were selected by a panel of judges including media professionals, journalists, students, and academics. These judges selected the 35 finalists which were publicly screened at our Festival. The finalists were selected from 711 works submitted by filmmakers from around the world. In addition, the judges chose the Prize Winners in conjunction with the Festival Director.

Winner Best Feature Film
Bibi – Christopher Beatty (Summit, New Jersey)
Black Moon - Tonatiuh García (Mexico City, Mexico)

Winner Best Documentary Film
Herd – Michel Negroponte (Livingston Manor, New York)

Winner Best Short Film
Gutter – Theodore Drusba (Montreal, Canada)

Winner Best Animated Film
A Spot for Frog – Evan Bode (Syracuse, New York)
The Sprayer – Farnoosh Abedi (Tehran, Iran)

Winner Best Experimental Film
Balaena - Alessia Cecchet (Santa Cruz, California)

Honorable Mention Winners
Bowling 4 Eva – Aelfie Oudghiri (Brooklyn, New York)
Resettlement: Chicago Story - Reina Higashitani (Chicago, Illinois)
Dancing Without Steps: The Art of Improvisation with Margaret Beals – Adriana Davis and Margaret Beals (New York, New York)
Healing Waters Film – Derek Johnson and Ali Scattergood (Seattle, Washington)
The Chosen One – Elazar Fine (Los Angeles, California)
Circle - Phillip Kaminiak (Berlin, Germany)
Meet Cute – Shon Tilling (Vancouver, Canada)
Hedgehog – D. Mitry (Albany, New York)
Reading is LOVE: Fathers for Early Childhood Literacy – Amber Monet (Drexel Hill Pennsylvania)
Stargazer – Alan McIntyre (New York, New York)
Deadline - Idan Gilboa (Kfar-Saba, Israel)
Tommies - Brian Fairbairn and Karl Eccleston (London, England)

Festival Director’s Citations
Performances:
Judith Ann Diminni (Bibi)
Elizabeth Page (Bibi)
Kate Ginna (Stargazer)
Luzer Twersky (The Chosen One)
Lynn Masako Cheng (Resettlement: Chicago Story)
Emma Pearson (Hedgehog)

Direction:
Christopher Beatty (Bibi)
Tonatiuh García (Black Moon)
Theodore Drusba (Gutter)
Aelfie Oudghiri (Bowling 4 Eva)
Evan Bode (A Spot for Frog)

Cinematography:
John W. Rutland (Bibi)
Laura Torres (Gutter)
Ángel Alderete (Black Moon)
Alan McIntyre (Stargazer)
Michel Negroponte (Herd)
Brian Fawcett (Tommies)

Screenplay:
Christopher Beatty (Bibi)
Tonatiuh García (Black Moon)
Aelfie Oudghiri (Bowling 4 Eva)

Editing:
Sander Houtkruijer (Circle)
Michel Negroponte (Herd)
Alexis Viau (Gutter)
Evan Bode (A Spot for Frog)
Alan McIntyre (Stargazer)

Production Design:
Tim Kowalski (Bibi)
Theodore Drusba (Gutter)
Vicente Ben (Tommies)

Music:
Sandro Guedy (Gutter)
Carlo Ayhllon (Black Moon)
Joshua Dean Tuthill (Balaena)
John Paesano (Bibi)

New Jersey Film Festival Spring 2023 Winners

All the works that were part of the Spring 2023 New Jersey Film Festival Competition were selected by a panel of judges including media professionals, journalists, students, and academics. These judges selected the 28 finalists which were publicly screened at our Festival. The finalists were selected from 678 works submitted by filmmakers from around the world. In addition, the judges chose the Prize Winners in conjunction with the Festival Director.

Winner Best Feature Film
City of Love – Eric Boadella (Los Angeles, California)

Winner Best Documentary Film
The Language I Speak – Ana Cuadra (Plainfield, New Jersey)

Winner Best Short Film
Fereshteh – Elika Rezaee (Redondo Beach, California)

Winner Best Animated Film
Buon Ferragosto – Claudia Miatello (Toronto, Canada)

Winner Best Experimental Film
Revelation to the Disembodied – André Silva (Wilmington, North Carolina)

Honorable Mention Winners
Exposed to Each Other – Mersolis Schöne (Vienna, Austria)
Voiceless - Cindy Di Xin (Pasadena, California)
Bean and the Babysitter – Jason Michael Roberts
Jack Has a Plan – Bradley Berman (Berkeley, California)
Ocean City Monster Building – Chris Lane (Los Angeles, California)
Stages of Lost Freedom – Kamran Rosen (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Junho – David Seok Hoon Boo (San Francisco, California)
Song of a Dying Summer – Kohei Sengen (Tokyo, Japan)

Merchandise

New Jersey Film Festival T-Shirts - 100% cotton! Original designs! $40 with priority shipping included to the USA! Sorry, no international shipping at this time. Send check to the address listed under the Contact Us section and include what design and size t-shirt (Medium, Large or X-Large) you want in the Memo box. You can also pay via Paypal. Log onto www.paypal.com, and use njmac@aol.com as the recipient address.

New Jersey Film Festival Merchandise
New Jersey Film Festival Merchandise
New Jersey Film Festival Merchandise

Membership

Join the Rutgers Film Co-op/NJMAC

Founded in 1982, the Rutgers Film Co-op/NJMAC draws thousands of viewers from throughout New Jersey by providing an alternative media culture. Please help us continue our cultural mission by joining us as a friend-member.

Press

Membership Benefits

  • Discounted admission to Rutgers Film Co-op/NJMAC screenings, and special events.
  • Discounted tuition to Rutgers Film Co-op/NJMAC film/video workshops and courses.
  • Discounted prices on Rutgers Film Co-op/NJMAC T-shirts and other merchandise.
  • First-class subscription to Rutgers Film Co-op/NJMAC program calendars.
  • Free admission and reservation privileges included on upper-level memberships ($200 and above).

All memberships are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Inquire for details. Friend-memberships are valid for two seasons (approximately 8 months). Additional tax-deductible donations are also welcome. Become a member today!

About Us

New Jersey has only one media arts center programming year-round -- offering over 100 annual film screenings and events: The Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center. Founded in 1982, the Rutgers Film Co-op/NJMAC draws thousands of viewers from throughout New Jersey by providing an alternative media culture. The Rutgers Film Co-op/NJMAC is dedicated to the noncommercial exhibition of independent, classic, international, and experimental films and videos. Not only do our audiences have the opportunity to view many independently produced films, but also the added benefit of meeting with the filmmakers, actors, screenwriters and other members of production crew.

Guests

Some of our guests have included: Todd Solondz, Bill Plympton, Gary Null, Veronica Burstein, Jem Cohen, Peter Sillen, Jason Rosette, Susan Muska, Greta Olafsdottir, Sarah Jacobson, Martin Scorsese, Thelma Schoonmaker-Powell, Paul Morrissey, D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, Tim Kirkman, Joseph Dorman, Ted Sod, Heather McDonald, Mark Rappaport, Sara Driver, Jim McKay, Su Friedrich, Menachem Daum, Ken Smith, Aviva Kempner, David Riker, John Hulme, Charles Creasy, Tony Leahy, Jeff Cline, Diane Bonder, Sarah Karloff, Michel Negroponte, Vlas and Charley Parlapanides, Ethan Falk, David Rick Balcorta, Roger Weisberg, Daina Krumins, Jenny Stein, James LaVeck, D.R. Hernandez, Matthew Garrett, Thomas Franklin, Thierry Daher, Carolyn Travis, Yasuki Nakajima, Aileen Bordman, Patrick Donnelly, Sara Taksler, Naomi Greenfeld, Marylou Tibaldo-Bongiorno, Jerome Bongiorno, Sanjiban Sellew, Susan Ingraham, Martha Rosler, Mark Berger, Raphael Ortiz, Maureen Gosling, Marc Maurino, Matthew Brown, Moon Molson, Jave Galt-Miller, Micah Baskir, Paul La Blanc, Thurston Smith, Tim Eberle, Damian Kolody, Nancy O'Mallon, Kathy Foronjy, Joe Coburn, Michael Knowles, Luke Mathany, Sarah Wickliffe, Jonathan Budine, Melissa Thomson, Beth Miranda Botshon, Daniel Califf-Glick, Bonnie Blake, Linda Helm Krapf, Christina Eliopoulos, Melissa Whitely, Andrew Liput, Donny Moss, Raul Barcelona, Alex Feldman, Joesph Bierman, Eve Burris, Ken Castellano, Mark Kolu, Peter Koziell, Darren Garnick, Patty Sharaf, Bill Page, Jon Sell, Danny Medoza, Paul Andersen, Christopher Maloney, Thomas Florek, Paul Marcus, Ryan Smith, Matthew Lawrence, Beth Toni Kruvant, Nadirah Bell, Emma Kenney, Shinako Sudo, Richard Haines, Ken Kimmelman, Christopher Bedford, Neil and Lee Selden, Cassandra Evanisko, Corrina May, Judith Vogelsang, Ryan O'Laughlin, Hemant Tavathia, David Svedosh, Gary Wein, Zoe Lister-Jones, Augusta Palmer, Jonathan Zelenak, Noemie Lafrance, Michael Raynes, Jean Strauss, Marjorie Wright, Dennis Connors, Josh Eisenberg, Robert Kohr, Dena Greenbaum, Brendan McNamee, Julie Tortorici, Jessica Provenz, Sarah Louise Lilley, Jessica Henson, Dena Schumacher, Michael Warholic, Doug Massell, William Goins, Vanessa Roth, and many others. Please help us continue our cultural mission by joining us as a friend-member.

Our Sponsors

The New Jersey Film Festival is funded and/or sponsored in part by The Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center; The Rutgers University Program in Cinema Studies/School of Arts and Sciences; Middlesex County, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts - Funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund; The Rutgers University Office of Summer and Winter Sessions; OVID/Icarus Films, The Rutgers University American Studies Department; Rutgers University School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program; Johnson & Johnson; WRSU; New Jersey Stage, The Home News Tribune; The Asbury Park Press; New Brunswick City Center; The Rutgers University Office of Community Affairs; Design Ideas; Advanced Printing; Steven C. Schechter, Esq.; Share and Harris.




Rutgers Film Co-op/NJMAC 2023 Staff

  • Executive Director/Curator: Albert Gabriel Nigrin
  • Assistant Director: Katie Scrivani
  • House Managers: Jesse Einhorn, Yazmin Omana
  • Volunteers/Interns: Diego Arellano, Jackie Chafart, Catalina Chapman, Alyssa Chierchia, Mo Foster, Alexia Fraser, Morgan Kalmbach, Anita La Belle, Andrew Leary, Anthony Lee, Anran Li, Sarah Lopez, Yazan Mohammad, Linh Ngo, Patrick Osborne, Olivia Raben, Kevin Reardon, Evelyn Reese, Jordan Sickafoose, Emily Sparks, Natalie Tango, Sarah Ventola
  • Advisors: Bob Brodsky, Victoria Connor, Matthew Maginley, Dr. Susan Martin-Marquez, Dr. Daniel Nigrin, Prajesh Patel, Dr. Meheli Sen, and Toni Treadway
  • Board of Trustees: Dr. Irene Fizer, Bill Harris, Albert Gabriel Nigrin, and Steven C. Schechter, Esq.

Contact Us

  • New Jersey Film Festival
    Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center
    Rutgers University Program in Cinema Studies
    4170 Academic Building
    15 Seminary Place
    New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-8525
    U.S.A.

  • Email

    NJMAC12@gmail.com
    NJMAC@aol.com
    uss8fdvf@gmail.com (for Super 8mm Film + Digital Video Festival)

  • Phone

    (848) 932-8482

  • Social