Today, Montclair Film announced the full slate for the 2025 Montclair Film Festival, taking place October 17-26, in Montclair, NJ. Academy Award® winning actor Brendan Fraser will attend the festival’s screening of HIKARI’s RENTAL FAMILY, joining Stephen Colbert on stage for a post-screening discussion about hisperformance in the film and receiving the Montclair Film Festival 2025 Performer Award on Saturday, October 25 at 7:30 pm at The Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School.
Legendary Casting Director Ellen Lewis will attend the festival’s Closing Night screening of David Michôd’s CHRISTY, joining for a post-screening conversation and receiving the Montclair Film Festival’s inaugural Casting Award on Sunday, October 26 at 5 pm at The Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School.
Director Rebecca Miller will attend the festival’s presentation of MR. SCORSESE (Parts I & II) and participate in a Q&A after the screening, taking place Saturday, October 18 at 12:30 pm at The Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School. Producer and star Lucy Liu joins director Eric Lin at the festival’s screening of their new film ROSEMEAD, and will participate in a post-screening Q&A on Monday, October 20 at 7:00 pm at The Bellevue Theatre in Upper Montclair.
Author and Executive Producer Warren Zanes will attend the festival’s screening of SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE, which was adopted from his book “Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making Of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.” Warren Zanes will also participate in a Q&A after the screening, taking place Thursday, October 23 at 7:00 pm at The Bellevue Theatre in Upper Montclair.
Comedian and Producer Tig Notaro joins director Ryan White at the festival’s screening of their new film COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT, and will participate in a post-screening Q&A on Friday, at 7:30 pm at The Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School. Subject E. Jean Carroll joins director Ivy Meeropol for the festival’s screening of their new film ASK E. JEAN, and will participate in a post-screening Q&A on Saturday, October 25 at 3:30 pm at The Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School.
Author and entrepreneur Bobbi Brown will appear in conversation on Sunday, October 26 at 1:00pm at The Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School. Bobbi will be discussing her new memoir Still Bobbi: A Master Class in Leading an Authentic Life, in which she shares a lifetime of intimate stories, hard-won practical wisdom, tips, and business savvy. Bobbi’s transformational memoir urges readers to embrace their own potential and pursue their dreams with confidence and clarity of purpose. This event is presented in partnership with Watchung Booksellers.
Due to the community’s outpouring of support for Montclair Film’s acquisition and re-opening of The Bellevue Theatre, the Montclair Film Festival will present Robert Wise’s 1965 classic THE SOUND OF MUSIC as the first film to screen at the newly re-opened Bellevue on Saturday October 18, at 12:00 pm. The film, which ran at the cinema for three years in the mid-1960s, was overwhelmingly cited by community members as an unforgettable cinematic memory of The Bellevue, and the Montclair Film Festival is honored to present the film in a new 4K restoration.
In Competition
This year, the Montclair Film Festival presents juried awards to films in three categories; Documentary, Fiction, and Future/Now, which seeks to support emerging voices in independent filmmaking with The Mark Urman Award, a $5,000 cash prize to help support & encourage future work for the winning filmmaker.
This year’s Documentary Feature Competition features are BLKNWS: TERMS & CONDITIONS, directed by Khalil Jospeh, COVER-UP, directed Mark Obenhaus and Laura Poitras, CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS, directed by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, LOVE+WAR, directed by Chai Vasarahelyi and Jimmy Chin, and SEEDS, directed by Brittany Shyne.This year’s Fiction Feature Competition features are A POET directed by Simón Mesa Soto, SENTIMENTAL VALUE, directed by Joachim Trier, SIRÂT, directed by Oliver Laxe, SOUND OF FALLING, directed by Mascha Schilinski, and TWO PROSECUTORS, directed by Sergei Loznitsa.
This year’s Future/Now Competition features, competing for the 2025 Mark Urman Award, are BLUE FILM, directed by Elliot Tuttle, FANTASY LIFE, directed by Matthew Shear, MAD BILLS TO PAY (OR, DESTINY, DILE QUE NO SOY MALO) directed by Joel Vargas, OMAHA, directed by Cole Webley, and REBUILDING directed by Max Walker-Silverman.
Each year, the Montclair Film Festival presents awards to short films in three juried categories; Documentary, Fiction, and New Jersey Films. The 2025 Documentary Shorts Competition features FREEMAN VINES, directed by Tim Kirkman and André Robert Lee, THE LONG VALLEY, directed by Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, OH WHALE, directed by Winslow Crane-Murdoch, LA ORQUESTA, directed by Monica Villavicencio and Stephanie Liu, and TESSITURA, directed by Lydia Cornett and Brit Fryer.
The 2025 Fiction Shorts Competition features BLOOM, directed by Chloë Levine, HENRI’S PARTY, directed by Alex O. Eaton, THE LONG-REIGNING KING OF ROLLERCASTLE SKATELAND, directed by David Hull, THE SENTRY, directed by Jake Wachtel, SUSANA, directed by Amandine Thomas and Gerardo Coello Escalante, and TERROR KEEPS YOU SLENDER, directed by Daniel Serafini-Sauli.
The 2025 New Jersey Shorts Competition features BRENDA, directed by Jasmine Wang and Danny Monico, FIRE AT WILL, directed by Morgan Gruer, GOODNIGHT, directed by Isabel Pask, THE PICKUP, directed by Karen Wang, SEÁNA, directed by Audrey Lane, and STANDBY, directed by Robert Gomes.
HIGHLIGHT SCREENINGS
The Montclair Film Festival highlights several highly anticipated films in our program. In addition to our previously announced films, this year’s program includes:
- ASK E. JEAN, directed by Ivy Meeropol
- BUGONIA, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
- HAMNET, directed by Chloé Zhao
- IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT, directed by Jafar Panahi
- NOUVELLE VAGUE, directed by Richard Linklater
- A PRIVATE LIFE, directed by Rebecca Zlotowski
- SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE, directed by Scott Cooper
- THIS IS BUZZ, directed by Mark Pellington (World Premiere)
- TRAIN DREAMS, directed by Clint Bentley
- WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY, directed by Rian Johnson
These films join the festival’s previously announced Opening, Closing, Centerpiece films and Festival Honors:
- Opening Night: JAY KELLY, directed by Noah Baumbach
- Fiction Centerpiece: RENTAL FAMILY, directed by HIKARI
- Documentary Centerpiece: COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT, directed by Ryan White
- Closing Night: CHRISTY, directed by David Michôd
- Filmmaker Tribute: Spike Lee
- Performance Award: Brendan Fraser for RENTAL FAMILY
- Visionary Award: Pamela Abdy
- Composer Award: Nicholas Britell for JAY KELLYScreenwriter Award: Will Tracy for BUGONIA
- Casting Award: Ellen Lewis for CHRISTY
- Breakthrough Director Award: Shih-Ching Tsou for LEFT-HANDED GIRL
- David Carr Award For Truth In Filmmaking: Mark Obenhaus & Laura Poitras for COVER-UP
“This year’s lineup is an extraordinary collection of incredible films,” said Montclair Film Artistic Director Tom Hall. “Cinema shows us the world, and provides an opportunity for connection and dialogue with bold ideas, unique perspectives, and boundless creativity. As we look to find ways to understand and engage with our times, we hope this year’s festival can be a meaningful experience for our patrons and filmmakers, allowing the art of film to bring us together to participate in the global conversation that only cinema can provide.”
Tickets for Montclair Film Festival events go on sale on Monday, September 29, 2025 at 10:00 AM for Montclair Film Members and Friday, October 3, 2025 at 10:00 AM for the public. Tickets will be available at montclairfilm.org.
