NJ Film Festival celebrates 20th anniversary
Archived article from Feb 1, 2002
By Sandra Lanman
From its inauspicious beginnings 20 years ago in the basement of the Frelinghuysen river dorm, the New Jersey Film Festival has truly grown into its audacious name.
Al Nigrin, founder and executive director/curator, began the festival in 1982, using his own salary as a teaching assistant in the French department to rent the first films -- a retrospective of photographer Man Ray's surrealist film work. "It was a seat-of-the-pants operation," remembers Nigrin. "We kind of threw it together at first, and then kept tweaking it."
Twenty years later, the New Jersey Film Festival has earned the right to be called an institution, showing more than 120 films to approximately 15,000 avid filmgoers each year, about half of them drawn from surrounding communities. Screenings are held at Scott Hall and the Loree Building, with special events taking place regularly at the State Theatre and Border's Books and Music in East Brunswick.
The spring 2002 festival opened Jan. 25 and runs through May 19. Among the highlights will be David Lynch's contemporary film noir "Mulholland Drive," March 1, 2 and 3, and Abel Gance's 1927 masterpiece, "Napoleon," April 6, both in Scott Hall.
In 1993, Nigrin also started the Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center, home of the United States Super 8 Film and Digital Video Festival, now marking its 14th anniversary.
Scheduled Feb. 15-17 in Scott Hall, it is the longest-running, nationally recognized juried 8mm film festival in North America.
Despite its growth and the changes taking place in the film industry, the festival's mission has remained the same: It is dedicated to the noncommercial exhibition of independent, classic, international and experimental films and videos.
"A lot of mainstream films are roller-coaster rides. The business side has taken over, and art has taken a back seat. But the movies we show don't fit that model; we are really here to provide a well-rounded film education for our students and patrons. We want people to recognize motion pictures as educational, not just entertainment," says Nigrin.
For more information, call ext. 2-8482.
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