×
Alerts & Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Jon Favreau’s ‘Chef’ to Open Montclair Film Festival, Which Has Announced Complete Lineup

Jon Favreau's 'Chef' to Open Montclair Film Festival, Which Has Announced Complete Lineup
Jon Favreau's 'Chef' Open Montclair Film Festival, Which Has Announced Complete Lineup

Despite being in just its third year, the Montclair Film Festival debuted a robust lineup of films and special events today that boasts an impressive array of A-List comedy talent.

The festival is set to open with the Jon Favreau-directed comedy, “Chef,” which premiered at SXSW last month and is slated for theatrical release in May. “Fort Tilden,” another SXSW alum, will also screen at MFF as the festival’s Centerpiece.

In addition to hosting over 90 screenings, MFF will also bring back its popular conversation series with talent the likes of Kevin Smith, Patrick Wilson, Michael Moore, Julie Taymor and Stephen Colbert.

MFF has also partnered with the Blackhouse Foundation on an entire day of conversations with prominent African American filmmaking talent including filmmaker and author Nelson George, “Precious” executive producer Lisa Cortes and editors Sam Pollard and Lewis Erskine.

MFF will take place April 28-May 4.

See below for the full lineup of films, panels and special presentations:


Opening Night

Chef  (2014, Jon Favreau)

Centerpiece 

Fort Tilden (2014, Sarah-Violet Bliss & Charles Rogers), Winner of the Jury Prize at SXSW

Closing Night 

Wild Canaries  (2014, Lawrence Michael Levine)

Comedy 

Le Chef  (2012, Daniel Cohen)

The Double  (2013, Richard Ayoade)

I Am Road Comic  (2014, Jordan Brady)

Intramural  (2014, Andrew Disney)

Obvious Child  (2014, Gillian Robespierre)

The One I Love  (2014, Charlie McDowell)

Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon  (2013, Mike Myers)

Witching and Bitching  (2014, Alex de la Iglesia)

Women Aren’t Funny  (2014,  Bonnie McFarlane)

Words and Pictures  (2014,  Fred Schepisi)

Documentary

Advanced Style  (2014,  Lina Plioplyte)

Art and Craft  (2014, Sam Cullman & Jennifer Grausman, Co-director: Mark Becker) 

Bronx Obama  (2014, Ryan Murdock)

Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus  (2013, Madeleine Sackler)

Dinosaur 13  (2014, Todd Douglas Miller)

E Team  (2104,  Katy Chevigny & Ross Kauffman)

I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story  (2014, Dave LaMattina & Chad Walker)

The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz  (2014, Brian Knappenberger)

Ivory Tower  (2014, Andrew Rossi)

No No: A Dockumentary  (2014, Jeffrey Radice)

The Overnighters  (2014, Jesse Moss) Winner of a special jury prize at Sundance

Through a Lens Darkly  (2014, Thomas Allen Harris)

Whitey: The United State of America v. James J. Bulger (2014, Joe Berlinger)

Drama 

Belle  (2013, Amma Asante)

Beneath the Harvest Sky  (2014, Aron Gaudet & Gita Pullapilly)

Bright Days Ahead  (2013, Marion Vernoux) 

Chinese Puzzle  (2013, Cédric Klapisch)

Coherence  (2014, James Ward Byrkit)

Difret  (2014, Zeresenay Berhane Mehari) Winner of Sundance Audience Award

Felony  (2014, Matthew Saville)

Ida  (2013, Paweł Pawlikowski)

Mother of George  (2013, Andrew Dosunmu)

The Notebook  (2014, Janos Szasz)

Palo Alto  (2013, Gia Coppola)

Pioneer  (2013, Erik Skjoldbjærg)

Starred Up  (2013, David Mackenzie)

Venus in Fur  (2013, Roman Polanski)

Family 

I Am Eleven  (2012, Genevieve Bailey)

Kidz Shortz Winners  (2014, Various)

The Wizard of Oz  (1939, Victor Fleming)

Focus on Civil Rights 

American Promise  (2014, Joe Brewster & Michèle Stephenson)

Brothers on the Line  (2012, Sasha Reuther)

Freedom Summer  (2013, Stanley Nelson)

A Time for Burning  (1965, Bill Jersey)

Music on Film  

Finding Fela  (2014, Alex Gibney)

Frank  (2014, Lenny Abrahamson)

No Cameras Allowed  (2014, James Marcus Haney)

We are the Best!  (2013, Lukas Moodysson)

New Jersey Spotlight 

1 Way Up in 3D  (2014, Amy Mathieson)

The Abominable Crime  (2013, Micah Fink)

Althea (work-in-progress)  (2014, Rex Miller)

Exposed  (2013, Beth B)

The Front Man  (2014, Paul Devlin)

Girl, Adopted  (2014, Melanie Judd & Susan Motamed)

Jammed  (2014, Yedidya Gorsetman)

Landfall  (2013, A.D. Pearson)

A Life Outside  (2014, Catherine Brabec)

Men of the Cloth  (2013, Vicki Vasilopoulos)

Next Year Jerusalem  (2014, David Gaynes)

One: A Story of Love and Equality  (2014, Becca Roth)

A Place To Become  (2014, Allison Bonner Shillingford) 

The Rule  (2014, Marylou & Jerome Bongiorno)

Tricked  (2013, John-Keith Wasson & Jane Wells)

Two Pints Lighter  (2013, Matthew John Lawrence)

Unorthodox  (2013, Anna Wexler and Nadja Oertelt)

White, a Memoir in Color  (2012, Joel Katz)

Movie Love 

The Dog  (2013, Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren)

Network  (1976, Sidney Lumet)

What is Cinema?  (2013, Chuck Workman)

Shorts Program

New Visions from MSU  (2014, Various)

NJ Shorts: Documentaries  (2014, Various) 

NJ Shorts: The Unexpected  (2014, Various)

NJ Shorts: Love – For Better or Worse  (2014, Various)

In Conversation

Homegrown: A Conversation with Kristen Connolly & Ben Rosenfield  

Actors Kristen Connolly (House of Cards) and Ben Rosenfield (Boardwalk Empire) both grew up in Montclair and now return to discuss their craft.

Patrick Wilson & Friends  

Patrick Wilson, star of stage and screen, interviews an esteemed colleague (to be announced) about their work.

Julie Taymor & Stephen Colbert In Conversation  

Tony Award-winning director and Academy Award-nominated director Julie Taymor discussed working on stage and screen with Stephen Colbert.

What is Kevin Smith Thinking? 

From Clerks to AMC’s Comic Book Men, Kevin Smith is a provocateur, a pop culture junkie, and a very funny man. He shares his wit and insights in a wide-ranging conversation.

Michael Moore & Dangerous Docs  

Oscar-winning director Michael Moore makes his third MFF visit interviewing a distinguished group of documentary filmmakers.

Writing and Directing with Nelson George  

Writer and director Nelson George shares clips from his work-in-progress about the black ballet dancer Misty Copeland; and talks about his new book on the history of Soul Train. 

Editing with Sam Pollard & Lewis Erskine 

Two acclaimed editors – Sam Pollard and Lewis Erskine – share tales of solving story problems.

Producing with Lisa Cortes 

Lisa Cortes’s career spans helping to launch Def Jam and producing Precious. She shares her expertise in producing bold projects.

Free Panels 

Filmmaking in New Jersey – Why aren’t more films and TV shows produced in New Jersey? In this conversation, key stakeholders discuss the factors including more competitive tax incentives in other states. In Person:  Sony Pictures Classics Co-President and Co-founder Tom Bernard, producer Carol Cuddy and others.

The New Golden Age of TV  – Television dramas command more serious attention from critics and audiences than ever before. This conversation explores where the field is headed. In Person: AMC executive Joel Stillerman, others.

Masters of Horror & Suspense: Why We Love Scary Movies – Mark Fitzmartin shows clips from a variety of PG-13 horror and suspense films to show how directors tap into our primal fears.

Digital Distribution and the Filmmaker – Noted area filmmakers take us inside the process of getting their independent films funded, produced, and distributed.

What to Expect When You’re Expecting Film School – Chuck Workman, head of SUNY Purchase’s Film School and director of What is Cinema? leads a panel discussion about film school.

Special Presentations

Filmmaker Party  – The Filmmaker Party puts you in the room with people whose work you’ve enjoyed on the big screen: directors, producers, screenwriters, actors, comedians, documentarians, distributors and more. If you love the movies, this is the place to be. 

House Party – Named with a wink to the 1990 hit movie—celebrates black films at the festival, co-presented by the Blackhouse Foundation.

The New York Times Op-Docs  (2014, Various) A premier showcase for documentary shorts, the Op-Docs editors share favorites on the big screen. In Person: Andy Rosenthal, Jason Spingarn-Koff, special guests

Daily Headlines
Daily Headlines covering Film, TV and more.

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Must Read
PMC Logo
IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 IndieWire Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.