New Jersey Film Fest To Screen 36 Premieres Across Hybrid Format in May

The 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival will present 36 films from May 29 to June 7 at Rutgers University and online. Organizers from the Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center are teaming up with the Rutgers University Program in Cinema Studies to pull off this event.

According to New Jersey Stage.com, the 31st edition runs on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays across the 10-day span. Films stream through video on demand for 24 hours, kicking off at midnight Eastern time on their show date.

In-person screenings happen at Voorhees Hall #105 on the New Brunswick campus at 71 Hamilton St. Shows start at 5:00 p.m. or 7:00 p.m.

A panel of judges picked the 36 finalists from more than 680 submissions by filmmakers worldwide. Media professionals, journalists, students, and academics reviewed entries.

Premieres include Pavan Moondi's feature Middle Life starring July Talk bandmates Leah Fay Goldstein and Peter Dreimanis. Nate Dorr's Chemical Meadows connects water chemistry and photochemistry in the New Jersey Meadowlands, while Tom Bell's Salt Marsh looks at art, climate, and solitude through artist Mitchell Rasor.

Vincent Turturro's Sonia and Lisa on Mushrooms will debut. So will Taylor Olson's What We Dreamed of Then. Rob Herring's Greenfield examines environmentalist Robin Greenfield, while Yehuda Sharim's Los Tres focuses on three Mexican-American artists.

The lineup features short, animated, and experimental works by Vito Trabucco, Patrik Söderlund, Ashley Gerst, James Sclafani, Owen Andrejco, and others. Directors and actors including Owen Andrejco, Adam Ansorge, Nicholas Diodato, Kat Lindsay, and Jamili Pacheco-Urquiza will appear in person. Virtual filmmaker introductions, panel discussions, and Q&A sessions will accompany many screenings.

Judges will pick prize winners alongside the director. Winners get announced on social media after screenings wrap on June 7.

Tickets cost $15 per program for general admission. An all-access pass runs $120, while student tickets for in-person screenings cost $10 per program. Each ticket or pass grants access to both virtual and in-person screenings.

Funding comes from the Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center, Middlesex County, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.