The festival’s fiction film highlights include Michael Tyburski’s “The Sound of Silence,” starring Peter Sarsgaard and Rashida Jones, Noble Jones’ “The Tomorrow Man,” starring John Lithgow and Blythe Danner; Mary Harron’s “Charlie Says” with Harron attending on May 4; Alex Thompson’s SXSW Audience Award winner “Saint Francis”; and Guy Nattiv’s “Skin,” starring Jamie Bell, Danielle Macdonald, and Vera Farmiga.
Montclair Film Festival Premiering Restored ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’
Dave McNary 04/05/2019The Montclair Film Festival will hold the world premiere of the restoration of the 1959 movie “The Diary of Anne Frank,” Variety has learned exclusively.
The black-and-white film, directed by George Stevens, has been restored by Twentieth Century Fox and the Film Foundation. The holocaust drama was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won three, including best supporting actress for Shelly Winters. It will be screened May 5 at the Clairidge 2.
The festival, now in its eighth year, will take place May 3-12 in Montclair, N.J., and features more than 150 films, events, discussions and parties. The festival had previously announced that it would open with a screening of Tom Harper’s “Wild Rose,” with star Jessie Buckley attending for a post-screening Q&A at the Wellmont Theater.
This year’s Storyteller Series will include A Conversation with Mindy Kaling, moderated by Stephen Colbert, taking place May 4 at the Wellmont and A Conversation with Ben Stiller, moderated by Colbert, on May 5 at MKA Upper School. Olympia Dukakis will attend for a Q&A following the May 5 screening of Harry Mavromichalis’ documentary “Olympia” at MKA Upper School.
Documentary highlights include Roger Ross Williams “The Apollo,” which will screen May 4; Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce’s “Framing John Delorean,” portions of which were shot in Montclair; Montclair’s own Erin Lee Carr with true crime thriller “I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth Vs. Michelle Carter”; and the premiere of Ken Spooner and Mike Mee’s “Life With Layla,” which examines the opioid epidemic through the experiences of a New Jersey family.
The festival is also screening its first Family Centerpiece film, Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone’s “The Elephant Queen,” presented by The Nature Conservancy. The Documentary Centerpiece will be “Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool” on May 10, with director Stanley Nelson attending for a Q&A.
“This year’s festival program reflects a wide range of concerns and points of view that speak to the
current state of our cinematic world,” said Montclair Film Executive Director Tom Hall. “Film is a global community, held together by our collective passion for the power of cinema. We look forward to our artists and audiences coming together to share that passion at the festival.”
Here are the titles in competition:
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
AMERICAN FACTORY, directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
HONEYLAND, directed by Tamara Kovetska and Ljubomir Stefanov
THE HOTTEST AUGUST, directed by Brett Story
MIDNIGHT FAMILY, directed by Luke Lorentzen
PAHOKEE, directed by Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan
FICTION FEATURE COMPETITION
DIVINE LOVE, directed by Gabriel Mascarano
A FAMILY SUBMERGED, directed by Maria Alche
MANTA RAY, directed by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng
MONOS, directed by Alejandro Landes
ONE MAN DIES A MILLION TIMES, directed by Jessica Oreck
FUTURE/NOW COMPETITION
JULES OF LIGHT AND DARK, directed by Daniel Laabs
LIGHT FROM LIGHT, directed by Paul Harrill
MICKEY AND THE BEAR, directed by Annabelle Attanasio
PREMATURE, directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green
THE WORLD IS FULL OF SECRETS, directed by Graham Swon
NEW JERSEY FILMS COMPETITION
FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO, directed by Daniel Karslake
THE INFILTRATORS, directed by Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera
LIFE WITH LAYLA, directed by Ken Spooner and Mike Mee
MOSSVILLE: WHEN THE GREAT TREES FALL, directed by Alexander Glustrom
WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL, directed by Rob Garver
