2023 Montclair Film Festival Competition and Audience Awards: ‘The Holdovers,’ American Symphony,’ ‘The Taste of Things’ and more

DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD directed by Radu Jude wins the 2023 Montclair Film Festival Fiction Feature Competition, Lila Avilés awarded a Special Jury Prize for Direction for TÓTEM

PERFECT DAYS directed by Wim Wenders wins The Junior Jury Prize, with a Special Jury Award for Andrew Haigh for Screenwriting for ALL OF US STRANGERS

The Montclair Film Festival (MFF) today announced the winners of the festival’s 2023 film competitions. This year’s festival featured four competitive categories: Fiction, Documentary, Future/ Now, and New Jersey Filmmaking. Additionally, the Fiction and Documentary juries also awarded films for the festival’s Short Film competitions. The MFF also announced the festival’s 2023 Audience Awards and Junior Jury prizes.

DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD directed by Radu Jude was awarded the festival’s Fiction Feature Prize with a Special Jury Prize for Direction awarded to Lila Avilés for TÓTEM.

The Fiction Feature Competition featured LA CHIMERA directed by Alice Rohrwacher, DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD directed by Radu Jude, EVIL DOES NOT EXIST directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, INSIDE THE YELLOW COCOON SHELL directed by Phạm Thiên Ân, and TÓTEM directed by Lila Avilés.

The Fiction jury was composed of Clayton Davis (Variety), Kate McEdwards (Track Shot), and Alison Willmore (New York Magazine, Vulture).

FOUR DAUGHTERS directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, was awarded the festival’s Bruce Sinofsky Award for the Documentary Feature Competition, the festival’s documentary competition prize with a Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Documentary Editing to PIANOFORTE directed by Jakub Piatek.

The Documentary Feature Competition featured FOUR DAUGHTERS directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, ON THE ADAMANT, directed by Nicolas Philibert, PIANOFORTE directed by Jakub Piatek, QUEENDOM directed by Agniia Galdanova, and RULE OF TWO WALLS directed by David Gutnik.

The Documentary Feature Competition Jury was composed of Sam Adams (Slate), Greg Bousted (Sandbox Films), Joe McGovern (The Wrap).

THE FEELING THAT THE TIME FOR DOING SOMETHING HAS PASSED directed by Joanna Arnow won the Future/Now Competition and the $5000 The Mark Urman Award For Fiction Filmmaking, honoring early career filmmakers. This award was established in 2019 in

memory of the film distribution executive Mark Urman, a longtime Montclair resident, and funded through Montclair Film’s Mark Urman Award Fund. PLAYLAND directed by Georden West was awarded a Special Jury Prize for Daring Visual Splendor.

The Future/Now Competition featured THE FEATHERWEIGHT directed by Rob Kolodny, THE FEELING THAT THE TIME FOR DOING SOMETHING HAS PASSED directed by Joanna Arnow, FREE TIME directed by Ryan Martin Brown, PET SHOP DAYS directed by Olmo Schnabel, and PLAYLAND, directed by Georden West.

The Future/Now jury was composed of Lisa Macabasco (Vogue), Tim Molloy (Moviemaker Magazine), Miles Warren (Filmmaker).

TELL THEM YOU LOVE ME directed by Nick August-Perna took home the New Jersey Films Competition prize.

The New Jersey Feature Competition featured JESSZILLA directed by Emily Sheskin, LEAD AND COPPER directed by William Ha SCREAM OF MY BLOOD: A GOGOL BORDELLO STORY directed by Nate Pommer & Eric Weinrib, TELL THEM YOU LOVE ME directed by Nick August-Perna, and YOU WERE MY FIRST BOYFRIEND directed by Cecilia Aldarondo &. Sarah Enid Hagey.

The New Jersey Films Competition jury was composed of Julie Cohen (Filmmaker), Georgette Gilmore (Montclair Local), Kase Wickman (Vanity Fair).

Audience Awards

The Audience Award for Fiction Feature was awarded to THE HOLDOVERS directed by Alexander Payne.

The Audience Award for Documentary Feature was awarded to AMERICAN SYMPHONY directed by Matthew Heineman.

The Audience Award for World Cinema was awarded to THE TASTE OF THINGS directed by Trân Anh Hùng.

The Audience Award for Short Film was awarded to OUTSIDER directed by Ted Haimes.

Junior Jury

Each year, The Montclair Film Festival welcomes our Junior Jury, made up of fifteen area high school students representing twelve area schools. The Junior Jury awarded their top prize to PERFECT DAYS directed by Wim Wenders. Award for Andrew Haigh for Screenwriting for ALL OF US STRANGERS. The Junior Jury also awarded a Special Jury Award for for Andrew Haigh for Screenwriting for ALL OF US STRANGERS.

The 2023 Montclair Film Festival Junior Jury participants were May Bahoora (Columbia High), Faith Brolly (Verona High), Sabrina Camacho (Donald M. Payne High), Nicholas Giordano (Pascack Valley HIgh), Amadis Gonzalez (Passaic High), Caitlyn Huang (Hanover Park High), Willow Killebrew (Montclair Kimberly Academy), Sylvia Koenig (Montclair High), Emile La Morte (High Tech High), Elisabeth Rose Powell (Montclair High), Robbie Rechtschaffer (Montclair High), Jason Simon (Glen Rock High), Lex Stipanov (Green Meadow Waldorf School), Michael Trinidad (Passaic High), Trey Wakeshima (West Essex High).

Short Film Jury Awards

THE PEDESTRIAN directed by Nora DeLigter and Claire Read, won the festival’s Fiction Short Film Competition. The Fiction Shorts jury was composed of Clayton Davis (Variety), Kate McEdwards (Track Shot), and Alison Willmore (New York Magazine, Vulture)

RICKY directed by Rashad Frett won the festival’s Documentary Short Film Competition. The Non-Fiction Shorts jury was composed of Sam Adams (Slate), Greg Bousted (Sandbox Films), Joe McGovern (The Wrap).

PUSHOVER directed by Brian Lederman, won the festival’s New Jersey Shorts competition. The Competition featured films in the fiction and non-fiction categories from New Jersey. The New Jersey Shorts Competition jury was composed of Julie Cohen (Filmmaker), Georgette Gilmore (Montclair Local), Kase Wickman (Vanity Fair).

“The work of this year’s festival filmmakers proves once again that cinema is thriving as an art form,” said Montclair Film Artistic Director and Co-Head Tom Hall. “We could not be more honored to have been able to share each and every one of the films in our program, and we extend our immense gratitude to all of the filmmakers whose work made this year’s Montclair Film Festival a success.”

Photo: Seacia Pavao/Focus Features