Montclair Film announces awards lineup for this year’s festival
The David Carr Award, named after the late New York Times journalist and former Montclair resident, will be awarded to Maria Schrader, director of “She Said,” at this year’s Montclair Film Festival.
The award is presented to filmmakers who prioritize truth in filmmaking. Schrader’s film “She Said” follows New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, who broke the story about Harvey Weinstein and the sexual assault allegations against him. The film will be shown on Oct. 30, the closing night of the festival.
As in previous years, the festival will present its juried awards to films in the categories of Documentary, Fiction, Future/Now and Nonfiction filmmaking. The Future/Now category will highlight new independent filmmakers, and the winner of the category will receive the Mark Urman Award, which comes with a $5,000 cash prize.
In the Documentary category, such films as “Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blue” and “Retrograde” will be competing for the Bruce Sinofsky Award, which is named after a late Montclair resident who was also a documentary filmmaker.
There will also be awards presented for short films in the categories of Documentary, Fiction, and New Jersey shorts, which focuses on filmmakers from New Jersey.
In addition to being able to watch numerous movies at the festival, film enthusiasts get to sit in on the Storyteller Series presented by Audible, in which filmmakers, journalists, chefs and other creatives hold conversations. CNN international anchor Zain Asher will be in conversation with author Huma Abedin on Oct.23 at Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School. Audible founder and Montclair native Don Katz will be talking to chef Marcus Samuelsson about food and storytelling being a means of community on Oct. 27.
Not only will smaller, independent filmmakers get to have their art showcased, but highly anticipated box office movies, including “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” starring Daniel Craig, who will also be interviewed by “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert at NJPAC, will be screened at the festival. A special showing of “The Whale,” a film directed by Darren Aronofsky that has received high praise in reviews, will be shown on the first weekend.
Montclair Film’s artistic director, Tom Hall, is excited for participants and audience members to emerge themselves in the art that will be showcased. “This year’s festival program is filled with opportunities for exploration and discovery,” Hall said. “We look forward to seeing our patrons embrace their curiosity as they come together and join us in celebrating the work of these wonderful filmmakers.”
The festival will be held from Oct. 21 to Oct. 30. For a full list of events and films that will be taking place at this year’s festival visit montclairfilm.org.