The Garden State Film Festival’s
Four-Day event took place in
Cranford & Asbury Park, March 23-March 26, 2023

Asbury Park, New Jersey-April 5, 2023 – Thousands of people attended New Jersey's Premier Independent Film Festival®, the Garden State Film Festival’s much-anticipated four-day event in Cranford and Asbury Park, New Jersey, March 23-March 26, 2023. The spectacular multi-day event welcomed over 18,496 celebrities, honorees, film industry execs and movie fans to multiple iconic venues.  

Lauren Concar Sheehy, Garden State Film Festival Executive Director, said, “Each year our attendees and fans love exploring the numerous shops, restaurants, and other locations all over the city by the sea in Asbury Park and in downtown Cranford.  Union and Monmouth County are always a fun time, with so much to do, and so many places to go with family and friends, adding the Garden State Film Festival is a busy and beneficial time of year for restaurants, businesses, hotels, and more. I am very proud to provide arts education as well as being a catalyst on economic development.”

The Festival included networking opportunities, state wide student field trip, informative panel discussions, winning screenplay reading with in-depth celebrity talk backs, star-studded red-carpet gala and entertaining parties—all in addition to the screenings of 237 films from 23 countries around the world.

Over 425 students attending the statewide filed trip were introduced to vocations by award-winning cinematographer Ron Vidor as well as demonstrations from stunt performers led by Roy Farfel and Calvin Ahn.  The weekend culminated with the 2023 Garden State Film Festival Awards Dinner event on Sunday evening March 26th, where this year’s honorees were recognized, and Festival winners were announced.   “Filmmakers are beaming from their GSFF experience and have been contacted by distributors and press worldwide,” said Concar Sheehy.

The Garden State Film Festival concluded its 21st season in triumph. “It was an enormous success,” declared Diane Raver, the Festival’s founder, “and our attendance was actually bigger than last year.”

Lauren Concar Sheehy, continued with this year’s Festival as being “absolutely impressive” with “an international flavor as well. Also, we promote student creativity, make the arts accessible to underserved populations and preserve heritage arts. The Festival benefits the local community in far-reaching ways. It brings people, venues, businesses, and organizations together around a shared goal. It also brings social value for our economy, culture, heritage, and well-being.”

Vice Chair, Heather Brittain O’Scanlon boasts, “Attendees took advantage of the networking opportunities and educational panels throughout the multi-day event. Thank you and congratulations to all the participants, and especially to this year’s honorees and winners.”

The Festival’s founder Diane Raver adds, “Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to everyone who joined us in celebrating our 21st Anniversary. We hope to see you next year for our 22nd annual Festival.”

Monmouth County Commissioner Director Thomas Arnone acted as Honorary Chair. Other honorees included Independent Spirit Award Recipient, Ron Perlman; Broader Vision Award, New Jersey Natural Gas; Lifetime Achievement for Cinematography, Ronald Vidor; Lifetime Achievement for Photography, Donald Kravitz; Spirit of New Jersey, Kenny Vance; Exceptional Women in Film, Dr. Jennifer Turner; and Educator of the Year, Jody Lazarski.

David W. Schoner Jr., NJ Motion Picture & Television Commission Associate Director, NJ Motion Picture & Television Commissioner Janice Kovach, Tahesha Way, Esq. New Jersey Secretary of State,  Lauren Concar Sheehy, Garden State Film Festival (GSFF) Executive Director, Diane Raver, GSFF Founder Doreen Sayegh, Cranford Theater owner.

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