New Brunswick's New Jersey Film Festival is full of new cinematic experiences

The Spring 2022 New Jersey Film Festival has unveiled its exciting film program. Curated from more than 633 submissions by indie filmmakers from around the world and selected by an exclusive panel of judges composed of media professionals, academics, journalists and students, the films encompass a multitude of genres and span across the experimental and short film programs of the festival.

The films will screen in a hybrid in-person and online festival here at Rutgers.

The spring 2022 festival also marks the 40th anniversary of the New Jersey Film Festival —  an incredible milestone for its founder, a professor of cinema studies at Rutgers, Albert Nigrin. Nigrin has served as the executive director of the festival since its inception in 1982.

Dedicated to a non-commercial showcasing of different films — independent, experimental and classic films from all over the world — the festival has been an integral part of the New Brunswick and Rutgers communities and has even hosted the likes of Martin Scorsese, Thelma Schoonmaker and Todd Solondz over the years.

The 2022 festival will be taking place on select Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays between Jan. 28 and Feb. 20. All films will be virtually available on demand for 24 hours on their show date, while select live screenings will be held at 7 p.m. in Voorhees Hall on the College Avenue campus. The experimental and short film programs begin Jan. 28 and Jan. 30, respectively.

Here are some of the most exciting offerings of the vast and diverse selection of 40 films:

"Battle" (2021) dir. Hüseyin Mert Erverdi (Istanbul, Turkey)

Erverdi’s film is one of the select experimental animation films featured in the spring festival this year, and it's also a visual expression of the battles that we face — both implicit and explicit.

"Battle" is a cinematic ode to the works of the legendary Stan Brakhage and his final film, titled “Chinese Series” as it features Zen-like visual imagery and a meshing of the East and West. At a runtime of just 3 minutes, it’s a simple yet profound work of cinematic art that expands the horizons of animation films as we’ve come to embrace them.

"mise en abyme" (2021) dir. Charly Santagado (Metuchen, New Jersey)

An exploration of the intimate relationship between an artist and her muse, Santagado’s "mise en abyme" is a nuanced and abstract depiction of the intricacies that exist as the artist projects herself into her artwork. Santagado’s film is even more closely anticipated as she is a recent graduate of Rutgers, and "mise en abyme" is an elaborately constructed film that is a unique visual treat for audiences.

"When Claude Got Shot" (2021) dir. Brad Lichtenstein (Milwaukee)

Lichtenstein’s feature-length film is a poignant fictional drama that traces five years in the life of Claude Motley, a survivor and victim of a tragic gunshot wound from a carjacking incident orchestrated by a teenager named Nathan King.

Upon recovering from the physical and mental toll of his trauma and reviving his legal career, Claude is faced with the news of Nathan’s paralysis after a failed robbery attempt by the boy on another victim.

Burdened with the prospect of deciding Nathan’s fate through criminal justice proceedings and the injustice faced toward young Black men, Claude reflects on the parallels between himself and Nathan as he finds his path to healing at a crossroads with Nathan’s.

"When Claude Got Shot" appears to be a thoroughly engaging and moving film that contains a strong relevance to the status quo and will provide for a meditative insight into the process of grief and healing.

"Just Like Water" (2021) dir. Manos Triantafillakis (Athens, Greece)

This intriguing short film from Greece follows the enchanting and magical journey of Spyros, the father of director Manos Triantafillakis, through narration about his life experiences. "Just Like Water" is described to be a commentary on the cyclical nature of life and time as a whole while tracing Spyros’ life in the Island of Crete through stunning visual imagery.

"¡Llámame Chinita!" dir. Stacy Chu (Los Angeles)

A 30-year-old woman named Lulu embarks on a solitary journey to Mexico from China during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in an effort to escape from the pressures of her life. But she instead comes to find that she can’t easily leave her worries behind.

In both Chinese and Spanish, "¡Llámame Chinita!" is an intimate film from the personal quarters of filmmaker Chu, who is quickly becoming a prominent figure in the indie scene after completing her undergraduate and graduate studies in filmmaking from the School of Visual Arts and the American Film Institute, respectively.

One of the principal creative forces behind the film (Chu writes, directs and stars in the film), she promises a film high on emotion and stunning in its cinematography as it's currently becoming one of the most acclaimed works in the Film Festival Circuit.

The lineup of films featured in the spring 2022 festival is one of its most diverse yet, featuring submissions from the heart of the U.S. to Greece to Turkey that contain an incredible range of genres and subject matters.

For more information about the festival, to purchase tickets or to read more about the festival lineup in addition to these films, you can visit the New Jersey Film Festival website.

The 2022 spring season will also be host to the 34th anniversary of the United States Super 8 Film and Digital Video Festival on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20, when prize winners of the festival will be announced.

Tickets are available for $15 per program, while an all-access pass for the festival is available for $100.

Whether you’re an ardent cinephile, someone who likes to watch good cinema or are simply interested in interacting with some of the most prominent names in the independent film scene, then the New Jersey Film Festival promises a remarkable lineup of films just for you by some of the finest cinematic storytellers around the world. Don’t miss it!