September 23, 2022, Montclair, NJ – Today, Montclair Film announced its Centerpiece, Closing, Special Event films, and talent awards for the 2022 Montclair Film Festival, taking place October 21-30, in Montclair, NJ.
On Saturday, October 22 at 3:30 PM at The Wellmont, Elegance Bratton will be honored with the festival’s Breakthrough Director & Writer Award after the screening of his new film THE INSPECTION. Inspired by his own story, Elegance Bratton’s deeply moving THE INSPECTION is the story of a young, gay Black man named Ellis (Jeremy Pope, in a stunning performance). Rejected by his mother and with few
options for his future, Ellis decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. But even as he battles deep-seated prejudice and the grueling routines of basic training, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength, and support in this new community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that will shape his identity and forever change his life. Elegance Bratton’s THE INSPECTION is a searing portrait of a hard-won self-discovery and is the Montclair Film Festival’s 2022 Breakthrough Film. THE INSPECTION is an A24 release, produced by Effie T. Brown and Chester Algernal Gordon.
On Saturday, October 22, at 7:30 PM at The Wellmont, Academy Award® winner Eddie Redmayne will be honored with the festival’s Performance Of The Year Award, after Tobias Lindholm’s THE GOOD NURSE screens as the festival’s Fiction Centerpiece, with Tobias Lindholm and Eddie Redmayne attending for a post-screening Q&A with Stephen Colbert. Amy (Jessica Chastain), a compassionate nurse and single mother struggling with a life-threatening heart condition, is stretched to her physical and emotional limits by the hard and demanding night shifts at the ICU. But help arrives when Charlie (Eddie Redmayne), a thoughtful and empathetic fellow nurse, starts at her unit. While sharing long nights at the hospital, the two develop a strong and devoted friendship, and for the first time in years, Amy truly has faith in her and her young daughters’ future. But after a series of mysterious patient deaths sets off an investigation that points to Charlie as the prime suspect, Amy is forced to risk her life and the safety of her children to uncover the truth. THE GOOD NURSE is a Netflix release.
On Sunday, October 23, 12:00 PM at The Wellmont, Mark Fletcher’s PATRICK AND THE WHALE screens as the festival’s Nonfiction Centerpiece, with subject Patrick Dykstra attending for a post-screening Q&A session. For years, Patrick Dykstra has dedicated his life to traveling the globe, following and diving with whales. Over the years, Patrick has learned how whales see and hear, how they perceive other
creatures in the water, and how they behave at close quarters. He has a finely tuned sense and knows how to act when within touching distance of a whale – what to do, what not to do and when. This allows him to consistently get closer than anyone else alive – a truly unique skill. Using stunning underwater footage, PATRICK AND THE WHALE explores the fascinating nature of the sperm whale, attempting to shine a light on its intelligence and complexity, as well as highlighting its current and past relationship with humankind.
On Sunday, October 23 at 7:30 PM at The Wellmont, Darren Aronfosky’s THE WHALE screens as a Special Event, with star Brendan Fraser joining Stephen Colbert for a post-screening Q&A. Based on the acclaimed play by Samuel D. Hunter, Darren Aronofsky‘s THE WHALE is the story of Charlie (Brendan Fraser, in a career best performance), a reclusive English teacher living with severe obesity who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink) for one last chance at redemption. A heartbreaking portrait of love, loss, and second chances, THE WHALE is a profoundly beautiful story of a fractured family trying to find forgiveness in a sea of regret. Sure to be one of the most talked about performances of the year, the Montclair Film Festival is proud to welcome Brendan Fraser and THE WHALE to this year’s festival. THE WHALE is an A24 release (December 9).
On Sunday, October 30 at 7:45 PM at Montclair Kimberley Academy’s Upper School, Maria Schrader’s SHE SAID will Close the 2022 Festival. In SHE SAID, Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan star as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who together broke one of the most important stories in a generation— a story that helped propel the #MeToo movement, shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood and altered American culture forever. SHE SAID is a film about the process and power of good journalism and the ways in which we depend on reporters to bring injustice to light at a time when the truth still has the power to change the world. SHE SAID is a Universal Pictures release.
These films and special guests join the festival’s previously announced 2022 Tribute to Daniel Craig hosted by Stephen Colbert, taking place October 28th at NJPAC in Newark, NJ, and the festival’s 2022 Opening Night Film GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY screening October 21, at The Wellmont in Montclair.
Tickets for Montclair Film Festival events go on sale on Monday, October 3, 2022 at 10:00 AM for Montclair Film Members and Friday, October 7, 2022 at 10:00 AM for the public. Tickets for this event will be available at montclairfilm.org.
Tickets for the festival’s Tribute to Daniel Craig hosted by Stephen Colbert are on sale now by visiting njpac.org, ticketmaster.com, montclairfilm.org, or 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 2022 Montclair Film Festival program, including the 2022 Competition Films and The Audible Storyteller Series, will be announced on Friday, September 30.
“We are incredibly honored to be able to welcome these artists and their films to the Montclair Film Festival,” said Montclair Film Co-Head and Artistic Director Tom Hall. “This year’s lineup is a reminder of the vitality and urgency of cinema as a path forward, a way for us to come together and celebrate the range and diversity of human experience. We can’t wait to share these powerful stories with our community.”
ABOUT MONTCLAIR FILM
Montclair Film, a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization connects filmmakers from around the region and world with audiences by presenting films and year-round programs that engage, educate, and entertain through the power of visual storytelling. In addition to owning and operating The Clairidge, Montclair’s six screen art house cinema, the organization also hosts the annual Montclair Film Festival, presented by Investors Bank, which will take place from October 21-30, 2022. Montclair Film is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and all programs are made possible with funds from the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel and Tourism, as well as the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, among many others. Montclair Film provides unique and meaningful ways to engage with diverse, creative, and sophisticated audiences and seeks sponsors for its signature film festival, educational programs, and other year-round community events that attract more than 46,000 annual attendees and generate more than 800 million media impressions yearly. For information about Montclair Film, visit www.MontclairFilm.org.
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