On Thursday, September 3, at 6:30 pm, the Hoboken Museum is pleased to host the Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival’s NJ Young Filmmakers Virtual Back-to-School Special. The event will feature 26 award-winning films from the 2020 NJ Young Filmmakers Festival collection including animation, documentary, experimental and narrative selections. Stay tuned for more details.

The Festival is also making available specially curated programs as part of its 2020 Hudson County tour series, called “Meet the Filmmakers,” featuring screenings of award-winning films followed by lively discussions with filmmakers hosted by festival director Jane Steuerwald. These are available for viewing any time, on demand, for free, at the Black Maria Film Festival website. Directions for viewing are described below.

Program 1 of “Meet the Filmmakers,” currently features Edith Goldenhar of Jackson Heights, NY, and Keir Politz of Philadelphia, PA. Goldenhar’s film “Return to Calais” (pictured above left) draws on journals, maps, archival photos, family video, and war footage, weaving a personal story into our shared history, showing how empathy connects the dots of displacement across generations and geography.

“Entropia” (pictured above right) by Keir Politz, follows Wojciech Porwitz, a recently immigrated master of the endangered art of antique piano restoration, who operates according to a strict code of reverence for both instrument and craft. 

To view the films and talks with the filmmakers in Program 1:

• Go to www.blackmariafilmfestival.org
• Click on Virtual Festival
• Click on Curations
• Click on Black Maria Virtual Film Festival – Meet the Filmmakers Program 1

Streaming is free, and donations are welcome.

For 39 years, the Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival has been advancing the unique creativity and power of the short form. The Festival was founded in 1981 and is named for Thomas Edison’s original West Orange, NJ, film studio, whose resemblance to the familiar black-box shaped police paddy wagons sparked the nickname “Black Maria.” The festival is an international juried competition open to all genres and filmmakers across the globe.

The Festival’s virtual touring program reaches out to diverse audiences in diverse settings with screenings of cutting-edge, cross-genre films — narrative, experimental, animation, and documentary. Subject matter includes issues and struggles within contemporary society such as the environment, public health, race and class, family, sustainability, and much more. These exceptional works range from animation, comedy, and drama to the exploration of pure form in film and video and are the heart and soul of the festival. Learn more at www.blackmariafilmfestival.org

The festival’s Hudson County Movie Tour is made possible through the generous support of The Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs & Tourism, Gina Hulings, Director/Administrator.