The New Jersey Independent Film Festival will bring a four-day showcase of global independent films to the Cranford Theater, in Cranford NJ. Not only will the festival bring a diverse selection of cutting-edge films, but it will also honor the area's Hispanic population by featuring a special section featuring the achievements and heritage of Latin American filmmakers. 

The New Jersey Independent Film Festival is one of the newest members of a family of film festivals including the Venice Film Week, the Boston Short Film Festival, the Hong Kong Arthouse Film Festival, and many more! It's fair to say the festival is in good company. For its inaugural edition, NJIFF included a 2 hour retrospective with a selection of award winning independent cinema in association with these partners.

Schedule of Events:

7:00 pm: Before Marriage and Shorts

This screening includes 4 short films and 1 feature film, with a total running time of approximately 95 minutes.
All films are in English and-or have English subtitles.

Location: Roy W. Smith Theater, 1033 Springfield Ave, Cranford, NJ 07016

Sylvia (United States) by Hannah Zipperman, Ezekiel Goodman
- A newly divorced woman decides to go after what she's always wanted.

Running time: 00:07:06

Sio Roho Yangu - Not My Soul (United States) by Joe LoBianco (Out of Competition)
- In 1807, a young slave is condemned to a sweltering hot box for her defiance, facing torment and uncertainty. Trapped in the oppressive heat, she struggles to survive, oscillating between fleeting hope and crushing despair. She draws strength from distant memories and spirituals. As her spirit is tested, the journey transforms from a desperate victim into a determined fighter, in a powerful testament to resilience and the unbreakable human will.

Running time: 00:14:29

Brain Freeze (United States) by Kelsey Comeau
- A snapshot of life long friends Carrie (Sofia Hublitz, Ozark) and Rae, Madison Hu (Brother's Sun, Boogeyman) as their relationship crumbles at the seams. In their safe bubble of Northern New Jersey, the friends have hit their breaking point on Rae’s eighteenth birthday. Crossing paths years later, in the queer paradise that is Fire Island Pines, the friends are no longer. Dealing with themes of adulthood, queer identity, female friendship and mortality, Brain Freeze tackles two formative moments in adolescence otherwise overlooked: the friends who fade away.

Running time: 00:14:36

Before Marriage (United States) by Matt Spade
- Marriage wasn't always an option, especially in gay and lesbian relationships. Diane Marini, one of the seven plaintiff couples who fought for the right to marry in the state of New Jersey, tells her tale of the road to equal marriage as we hear from seven other couples about what they went through to get married and why it is important.

Running time: 00:49:00