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Page C-2 Montclair Film Festival MFF offers a new deal
COURTESY NEIL GRABOWSKY
Montclair’s Stephen Colbert talks to comedian John Oliver at a lm festival fundraiser last November at NJPAC. Colbert will moderate several conversations in MFF 2017.
Sixth edition of annual festival opens Friday
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Montclair at the Festival
“Emerging Filmmakers Competition,” 18 Montclair winners. Saturday, April 29, 11 a.m. Wellmont Theater
“All We Need Is Another Chance,” subject Reginald Prophet Haynes was arrested in Montclair. Saturday, April 29, 5 p.m. , Clairidge 1, 486 Bloom eld Ave.; Sunday, April 30, 1 p.m. , Clairidge 2.
“Menashe,” Musa Syeed, writer. Sunday, April 30, 7:30 p.m. , Bellevue 1, 260 Bellevue Ave.; Sunday, May 7, 7:45 p.m. , Bellevue 2.
“ACORN and the Firestorm,”
Reuben Atlas, co-director, originally from Montclair. Saturday, April 29, 5 p.m. , Clairidge 1; Sunday, April 30, 1 p.m. , Clairidge 2.
“Letters from Baghdad,” Zeva Oelbaum, co-director and producer. Tuesday, May 2, 7:30 p.m. , Cinema 505, 505 Bloom eld Ave.
“HELLO HELLO HELLO : LEE RANALDO : ELECTRIC TRIM,” Jerry Fried, co-producer. Friday, May 5, 8:30 p.m. , Clairidge 2; Saturday, May 6, 7:45 p.m. , Clairidge 2.
“Cat Killer,” Wes Jones, director. Part of New Jersey Shorts, Friday, May 5, 8:45 p.m. , Bellevue 1.
Montclair Shorts, Sunday, April 30, 2 p.m. , Bellevue 1: “Momtress,”
Liz Samuel, director and actor; “The Bake Sale,” Susan Skoog, director; “Ace,” Morgan Kahn Nichols, director; “Twentysomething,” Avital Siegel, director; “Lightningface,” Brian Petsos, director.
“Pure Non ction Live!” Thom Powers, Montclairite, records his podcast “Pure Nonfction,” Sunday, May 7, 12:15 p.m. , Cinema505.
“In Conversation with John Turturro,” moderated by Montclair’s Stephen Colbert. Sunday, April 30, 1 p.m. , Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School, 6 Lloyd Road.
“True or False? The Challenge of Reporting in the “Fake News” Era: Sunday, April 30, 5 p.m. , MKA Upper School, including residents Jonathan Alter (MSNBC/ The Daily Beast), Jim Axelrod (CBS News), Sarah Blustain (The Investigative Fund).
“In Conversation with Bill Nye:” Moderated by Stephen Colbert, Saturday, May 6, 4 p.m. , The Well- mont Theater.
by GWEN OREL orel@montclairlocal.news
It’s been a big deal in Montclair for ve years.
Now, for its sixth year, the Montclair Film Festival looks like a big deal, period. The catalog is bigger: MFF 2017 is thick enough to have printing on the side, for the rst time. The spine says “2017,” “Montclair Film Festival Guide,”
and “#MFF17.”
MFF organizers say they expect up to
26,000 attendees. The Arts & Economic Prosperity Calculator on the website of Americans for the Arts estimates an im- pact of $2 million on the town, MFF said.
And this year MFF even changed its name: the organization is now Montclair Film, re ecting its commitment to pro- gramming events year-round.
The 10-day festival which starts on Friday, April 29, includes 72 features and 57 shorts. And Montclair Film is in its new home at 505 Bloom eld Ave. , the Investors Bank Film and Media Center. A 65-seat screening room, Cinema505, is one of the festival venues.
Founder and chairman of the board Bob Feinberg said that the festival itself probably won’t get bigger, but the orga- nization is bigger in that it can program
educational events and screenings year- round.
“Some of the young actors who have taken part in some of our events in the past, who were born or spent some time growing up here in Montclair, can now do an event when they’re in town. It doesn’t have to be during the rst two weeks in May,” Feinberg said.
He and the MF sta are already busy programming lms for the summer, he said.
At a party to announce the line-up earlier this month, Executive Director Tom Hall pointed out some highlights of the festival: the opening night lm “Step,” which was a “huge hit at Sun- dance.” “Band-Aid,” the closing night lm, is “about a couple who works out problems by starting a rock band with their neighbor.”
Hall thought it would resonate in Montclair.
John Turturro, who recently appeared in HBO’s “The Night Of,” will appear in MFF’s conversation series, with Ste- phen Colbert, on Sunday, April 30. “He’s bringing his feet,” Hall said, alluding to the bad skin condition on the feet of Tur- turro’s character in the HBO series.
Scientist Bill Nye brings his lm “Bill Nye: Science Guy” to the Wellmont The-
ater on Saturday, May 6, and will appear in conversation with Stephen Colbert af- terward.
Montclair’s Jonathan Alter will par- ticipate in the panel conversation “True or False? The Challenge of Reporting in the ‘Fake News’ Era.”
Hall also pointed out the senso- ry-friendly screenings, with modi ed lights and sound, included in this year’s lineup.
In this supplement, we’ve highlighted a few other lms and events for you, and included the weekend schedule.
See you in the dark!
Emerging Filmmakers ............... C-4 Short lms................................. C-4 ‘Letters From Baghdad’.............C-5 Fake news panels .......................C-5 ‘HELLO HELLO HELLO’............. C-6 Daily lm/venue schedule......... C-8 ‘Tell Them We Are Rising’........C-10 ‘Strong Island’.......................... C-11 ‘Mr. Chibbs’ .............................. C-12 ‘Patti Cake$’............................. C-12 Meet the Montclair Local ........C-14
Cover design concept by Chris Drukker. Cover graphics/illustration by Adam Anik.
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