Montclair Film Festival Announces 2023 Filmmaker Tribute To Martin Scorsese

Montclair Film, New Jersey’s leading film non-profit, has announced that The Montclair Film Festival will present its 2023 Filmmaker Tribute to Martin Scorsese with Stephen Colbert hosting the Oscar-winning director on stage for a career conversation at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in downtown Newark, NJ on Friday, October 27, 2023 at 8:00 PM.

One of the most influential filmmakers of all time, Scorsese was fresh out of New York University’s School of Film in the late 1960s where he began making short films and his first feature, 1967’s Who’s That Knocking on My Door. In 1970s his career took off with 1973’s Mean Streets, which began his life long collaboration with Robert De Niro. From Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990) and more, Scorsese’s name became synonymous with cinema. Scorsese has directed numerous documentaries including the Peabody Award winning No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, the Emmy Award winning George Harrison: Living in the Material World, the Emmy nominated docuseries Pretend It’s a City, and the critically acclaimed feature docs The Last Waltz and Personality Crisis: One Night Only. In 2007, his film The Departed won an Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture. 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street and 2019’s The Irishman also both received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Picture. His latest feature, Killers of The Flower Moon, made its World Premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and will be released exclusively in theaters worldwide October 20, 2023 before streaming globally on Apple TV+. 

“Over the course of his career as a filmmaker, preservation advocate, and film historian, Martin Scorsese has made an unparalleled impact on the art of cinema” said Tom Hall, Co-Head and Artistic Director of Montclair Film. “To honor him with our festival’s 2023 Filmmaker Tribute is an absolute thrill, and we look forward to a delightful, celebratory evening of stories and conversation hosted by Stephen Colbert.”

“We are so excited to return to NJPAC for our 2023 Filmmaker Tribute to Martin Scorsese,” said Montclair Film Executive and Co-Head Beth Gottung. “We are grateful to our partners, sponsors, and Trustees for their enduring support, and are excited to share this wonderful event as the signature program of the 12th Annual Montclair Film Festival.”

Tickets for the Filmmaker Tribute to Martin Scorsese hosted by Stephen Colbert go on sale Wednesday, September 13 at 10:00 AM to Montclair Film Members. American Express members and NJPAC donors will receive pre-sale access on Thursday, September 14 at 10:00 AM, with public ticket sales beginning on Saturday, September 16 at 10:00 AM. Public tickets will be available online at www.njpac.org and ticketmaster.com, by telephone at 1-888-GO-NJPAC (1-888-466-5722), and at the NJPAC Box Office at One Center Street in downtown Newark.

The full program for the 12th Annual Montclair Film Festival will be announced on September 29, 2023, with the festival taking place October 20-29, 2023.

Photo: Brigette Lacome