It’s a weekend of movies at The Garden State Film Festival

🎥 The 2024 Garden State Film Festival is March 21-24

🎥 More than 200 films from 14 countries will be featured at eight venues

🎥 Watch some films, meet celebs, and take part in panel discussions

Attention all movie buffs.

The 22nd Garden State Film Festival takes place Thursday, March 21 through Sunday, March 24 at various venues in Asbury Park and Cranford more than 200 films from independent filmmakers not just from New Jersey but also from around the world.

The four-day event kicks off with a “Meet the Filmmakers Event” on March 21. Tickets are still available for that, said Lauren Concar, GSFF Executive Director.

The star-studded red carpet gala on Friday, March 22 is sold out.

“Then on Saturday and Sunday, it’s fun mayhem all over Asbury and Cranford. We have over 200 films this year from 14 countries at eight venues,” Concar said.

Those venues include different rooms at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel in Asbury Park, Asbury Lanes, Asbury Hall, The Asbury Hotel, The Jersey Shore Arts Center, and the Cranford Theater.

Some of the Films

Be sure to check out the “homegrown category” of films. This features movies from New Jersey filmmakers, she said.

Concar said something cool the festival does every year is “Cinema for the Ears.” Instead of watching a movie, you’re listening to a film.

“We are always on the forefront of ADA and our services for ADA, so it was really thrilling to work with Daniel Meyers who’s a Shrewsbury filmmaker who created this series. It’s a four-part series. You can listen to the trilogy and also the prequel so we’re excited to present that once again this year,” Concar said.

Another film to check out is Jersey Bred at The Jersey Shore Arts Center on Sunday, March 24. Set in Newark, Asbury Park, and Atlantic City, the story follows a Jersey mob prince who plans to become completely legit and leave behind his life of organized crime. But when his cousin gets released from prison, he has other plans for the family’s gambling activities.

St. Michael of the City is also playing at The Jersey Shore on Saturday, March 23. Also on Saturday night “Don Q” starring Armand Assante, Vincent Pastore and a whole array of actors will be showing at Asbury Lanes at 6:15 pm.

If you like horror films, there will be plenty to check out, she said.

Monmouth County will be celebrating America’s 250th anniversary. There is a beautiful short film telling us all how in 2026, we’ll be celebrating the 250th anniversary of Monmouth County, Concar added.

Other great films include “I Think I’m Sick” being shown at The Cranford Theater, and “Be Not Afraid.” Witness the extraordinary journey of incarcerated individuals at Garden State Correctional Facility. There’s something for everyone, she said.

New Jersey Documentary

One film not to miss is the local New Jersey documentary called “Climb for a Cure: Save the First Child.” Showing at the Berkeley Kingsley Ballroom on Sunday, March 24 at 12:15pm, this film explores how far one Manalapan father, Jim Raffone is willing to go to find a cure for the deadly disease, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Raffone is desperately trying to save his son, Jamesy’s life and the lives of other children stricken with Duchenne’s. He’s dedicated his life to try and “save the first child” through his organization, “Jar of Hope.”

High School Films

There will be plenty of high school screenings on Saturday and Sunday at the Berkeley Kingsley.

Dr. David Stout, the president of Brookdale Community College is the host of those film blocks, Concar said. More than 50 individual high school films will be shown. She said this is wonderful because the GSFF has year-round educational outreach with these students.

Every year there is a statewide field trip on cinema careers. This year, on Thursday, March 21, the GSFF will be doing demos about animation. Students had to do lesson plans in their class. The festival will pick the animations that they made and show them how to make them into something bigger.

The GSFF also has a partnership with You Art. They are giving $250 to the best overall high school student and a $250 award for the best animation.

The GSFF also has a category with the New Jersey School Boards Association called The New Jersey Hometown Documentary Short. It’s a short film the students make that’s five minutes or less about the arts in their hometown. The winner gets $500, Concar said.

Music and Celebrities

“We have a lot of wonderful music. We have a movie music competition. So, when you go to the film screenings, you can hear the winning composing songs and it’s really wonderful because we have a lot of New Jersey composers that have won there, also,” Concar said.

Many celebrities will be on hand at the GSFF, as well, such as Bridget Moynihan, Frankie Edgar, Vincent Pastore, Matthew Modine, Ed Begley Jr., and Armand Assante, to name a few.

What many people may not know is that the GSFF has a winning screenplay competition table read. The screenplay competition has a short, a feature, and a teleplay. The winning feature this year is called “The Dude is Legit” written by Dan Clemens and Laurie Clemens Maier. All the actors and celebrities will take part in a table read for a shortened version of the script.

“That’s really interesting to kind of see how a screenplay is written and to hear how everybody works together for a table read,” Concar said.

To check out a full schedule of all the films, visit the Garden State Film Festival website. You can search by venue, by day, and by genre.

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