Montclair Comes To Red Bank With Film Fest Showings This Month

RED BANK, NJ — For the first time, the Montclair Film Festival will extend its reach into Central Jersey with the presentation of three new films at Red Bank’s Basie Center Cinemas.

Tickets for the screenings, being shown on Oct. 25 and 26, are on sale now via www.basiecentercinemas.org.

Single tickets are priced at $12.50, with a limited number of $30 combo passes also available, Basie Cinemas says. The theater is at 36 White St., Red Bank, 07701.

“Nonprofit film institutions need support more than ever, and we are proud to collaborate with The Count Basie Center for the Arts and its independent cinema to celebrate our mutual passion for building community through film and storytelling,” said Montclair Film Artistic Director and Co-Head Tom Hall.

“As the Montclair Film Festival continues to grow, we are thrilled to be able to share these exciting films with the Count Basie community. We look forward to continuing our partnership as we work together to bring the best in cinema to film lovers throughout New Jersey," Hall said.

Here are featured films. Just click the links to read more about the films from Sony Pictures Classics:

• "A Little Prayer," directed by "Junebug" screenwriter and playwright Angus MacLachlan: Wednesday Oct. 25, 6:30 p.m.
• "They Shot The Piano Player," animated, from 2012’s Best Animated Feature Oscar nominees Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal: Thursday, Oct. 26, 6 p.m.
• "The Teachers’ Lounge," Germany’s 2023 entry into the Academy’s Best International Feature Film’ category: Thursday, Oct. 26, 8 p.m.

Each film comes from Sony Pictures Classics, the Hollywood studio co-founded and led by Tom Bernard, an advocate for filmmaking and promotion in New Jersey, and longtime Count Basie Center board member, the organization said.

“I am proud to have three Sony Pictures Classics films presented in the Montclair Film Festival—a valuable institution and a beacon for film lovers—at a time when it is reaching new communities,” Bernard said.

“Giving more people the chance to watch independent film is crucial to nurturing love of the art form. This is exactly how I discovered cinema as a kid growing up in New Jersey: in a theater, surrounded by other moviegoers,” he said.

And Adam Philipson, president and CEO, Count Basie Center for the Arts, which programs and operates Basie Center Cinemas, said “This is a partnership that resonates on every level. Our organizations share in the belief that film is an important and vital art form, and that the promotion and preservation of cinema is crucial.”

For more information about showtimes, live events and more coming to Basie Center Cinemas, visit www.basiecentercinemas.org.

Basie Center Cinemas is programmed and operated by the nonprofit Count Basie Center for the Arts, www.thebasie.org.

The 12th annual Montclair Film Festival will take place from Oct. 20 to 29. For more information about Montclair Film, visit www.MontclairFilm.org.