Garden State Film Festival Rolls Out the Red Carpet to Celebrate 21 Years

2023 Honorees Announced

Asbury Park, N.J. February 1, 2023– New Jersey’s Premier Independent Film Festival announces this year’s honorees. The Garden State Film Festival [GSFF] will roll out the red carpet to celebrate 21 years when it returns this year bigger and better than ever March 23 – 26.  The upcoming 2023 Festival adds a new venue and a return to an in-person only event to experience 235 films from 23 countries over four Days in nine Venues hosting parties, professional panels, events, special honors and more.  

First to walk the festival’s red carpet will be Monmouth County Commissioner Director, Thomas A. Arnone, who will serve as the Honorary Chair of the event.  “It is an honor and a privilege to be selected as the Honorary Chairperson for this year’s Garden State Film Festival,” said Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone. “Monmouth County is incredibly excited to be able to host creative filmmakers, dedicated actors and production members, and visitors from around the world at the Festival and we invite our visitors to take time to explore all that Monmouth County has to offer.”

Monmouth County Commissioner Director, Thomas A. Arnone

Other honorees include Dr. Jennifer Turner who is the Executive VP of TriStar Television for Sony Pictures Television where she manages the development and production of new premium television series and chairs the content committee Time for Change initiative. Dr. Turner is being honored with the Exceptional Women in Film Award.

Up next is the award-winning cinematographer, Ron Vidor.  Ron will be receiving the Lifetime Achievement in Cinematography Award. Ron’s envious career in cinematography spans five decades of often dangerous and death-defying conditions having shot twenty-seven westerns, setting him apart as a landmark artist, still active in his craft. His numerous movie credits include Jaws, Rocky III, Stand by Me, Lethal Weapon, Romancing the Stone, Boogie Nights, Revenge of The Nerds, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Grease II, Carrie, Pretty Woman, Hello Dolly and Funny Girl, among others.  Catch the not to be missed panel, Behind the Lens with Ron Vidor, Saturday, March 25th at 9:30 am in the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel Johnny and June Room.

Kenny Vance, Singer, songwriter, music producer, actor, film director is receiving the Spirit of New Jersey Award. Kenny’s recordings and live performances with his group, Jay and the Americans, as well as Kenny Vance and The Planotones, express the heart and soul of Doo-Wop, and Heart & Soul: A Love Story, his debut as a film director at the Festival, continues his mission to illuminate the makers and the magic of the midcentury bedrock of rock & roll. In addition to his musical career Kenny will screen his directorial debut with the film Heart & Soul at the festival on Saturday March 25^th. Tickets are $18 in advance as well as at the door while supplies last.

The Broader Vision Award goes to an organization who is using filmmaking for the greater good and this year NJ Natural Gas is in recognition of their Annual Conserve to Preserve® (CTP) Kids and Conservation Video Contest. These delightful videos stress energy conservation and protecting our environment.  The CTP Kids and Conservation Video Contest is open to all fifth-grade students in NJNG’s service area. Students are encouraged to use their imagination to illustrate energy-saving ideas for a chance to win. Many have been selected to screen at GSFF. Well done NJNG!

“GSFF is proud to assist in providing advocacy and support to advance public education. We believe in the transformative power of arts education to substantially improve children’s lives and academic outcomes, and prepare them for 21st-century careers,” said Lauren Concar Sheehy, the Festivals Executive Director. “GSFF has high school and younger categories,” continued Concar Sheehy, “which many families attend to celebrate their child’s achievement and to explore the career and technology resources we offer. It's a great way to get a better understanding of your filmmaker's passion and the opportunities that are available to them.”

Asked to reflect on the past 21 years and the festival's exciting growth, Treasurer and Founder of the Festival, Diane Raver said: “The show must go on! Every year the GSFF, a nonprofit organization, pays tribute to Thomas Edison’s legacy and the state of New Jersey as the birthplace of the American filmmaking industry. It was right here in Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park, NJ, laboratories where he invented the first film cameras and projectors.”

 The GSFF event provides novice and aspiring filmmakers, actors, and others interested in careers in the film business, the opportunity to meet and network with industry professionals in an atmosphere conducive to learning and mentoring. “I look forward to welcoming our filmmakers, fans and students to this year’s Festival events. It is an amazing feeling to share the joy with the creators of this visual art,  and being able to bring film lovers from all over the world to New Jersey,” said Lauren Concar Sheehy, Executive Director of the Festival. “We look forward to continuing to provide a platform to showcase filmmakers and directors from all walks of life and we are thrilled to give people the total festival experience." For more information and details on this year’s honoree and events go to www.gsff.org.

About the Garden State Film Festival:

A 501-c-3 non-profit organization, GSFF was named winner of the 2022 Global 100 Best Independent Film Festival – USA, Corporate Vision Media Innovator Award 2021, Film Festival of the Year (New Jersey) 2021 – Lauren Concar, 2021 Corporate America Today Best Independent Film Festival – USA, 2020 Brookdale Community College Foundation for Service to the Community, 2017 Global Excellence Awards “Best Independent Film Festival – East Coast” by TMT News, 2018 Corporate USA Today Best Independent Film Festival – USA, and the 2019 Spinnaker Arts & Culture Award from the Eastern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce. 

Diane Raver created an all-encompassing event to the State of New Jersey. It premiered in 2003 and was immediately deemed a huge success. Since that time, industry notables such as Glenn Close, Christopher Lloyd, Batman producer Michael Uslan, Austin Pendleton, Kurtwood Smith, James Gandolfini, Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen, Lainie Kazan, Diane Ladd, Laura Dern, Bebe Neuwirth, Armand Asante, Sally Struthers and our biggest supporter the late Ed Asner as well as others have lent their support. The artistic philosophy of the Garden State Film Festival is rooted in the celebration of the independent film genre and the creation of a forum where local and other independent filmmakers can exhibit their work. It was also created to pay tribute to New Jersey’s legacy as the birthplace of the American filmmaking industry in Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park laboratories where he invented the first film cameras and projectors, to Fort Lee, where the original studios were founded. Our event provides novice and aspiring filmmakers, actors, and others interested in careers in the film business, the opportunity to meet and network with industry professionals in an atmosphere conducive to learning and mentoring. Further, we are happy to be present each spring in Asbury Park and to serve as an added engine for the city’s vitality through arts, commerce, and culture. For more information visit https://www.gsff.org