DAVID CHARLES RODRIGUES’ GAY CHORUS DEEP SOUTH TO OPEN FESTIVAL
AMBER MCGINNIS’ INTERNATIONAL FALLS TO CLOSE FESTIVAL
LOCAL ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND BREWERIES WILL UNITE TO CELEBRATE
SOME OF THE YEAR’S BEST IN INDEPENDENT FILM
Red Bank, NJ (June 27, 2019) — The Indie Street Film Festival (ISFF) proudly announced its feature film lineup today. The opening night selection for its 2019 festival is GAY CHORUS DEEP SOUTH (a 2019 Tribeca Film Festival official selection). The documentary film follows Conductor Tim Seelig and 300 singers in the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus as they embark on a tour of the Deep South in 2017 to confront a resurgence of faith-based anti-LGBTQ laws brought about in the Trump era. Director David Charles Rodrigues is a Greek-American-Brazilian filmmaker and equal rights activist. He's a Sundance New Frontier and Documentary Lab fellow. Gay Chorus Deep South is his feature debut. The film will be followed by a live musical performance by members of the Monmouth Civic Chorus.
INTERNATIONAL FALLS, by Amber McGinnis, will close the festival. INTERNATIONAL FALLS tells the story of a woman (Rachael Harris) stuck in a small, snowbound border town who has dreams of doing comedy when she meets a washed up, burned out comedian (Emmy Award-nominated Rob Huebel) with dreams of doing anything else. The screening will include a special comedy performance by actor/comedian Erik Griffin (I’m Dying Up Here), also featured in the film.
The 4th Indie Street Film Festival runs July 24-28, 2019 in Red Bank, NJ, and celebrates art, community, and independent storytelling.
Nearly a dozen feature film selections have been revealed as part of ISFF’s 2019 lineup. Among these are notable films from Tribeca Film Festival including the New Jersey Premieres of Ani Simon-Kennedy’s SHORT HISTORY OF THE LONG ROAD and Yang Sun and S. Leo Chiang’s OUR TIME MACHINE, films from Sundance Film Festival such as Kirill Mikhanovsky’s GIVE ME LIBERTY and DIVINE LOVE from Brazilian filmmaker Gabriel Mascaro, and others including the east coast premiere of David Lee Morea’s WE ARE MERMAIDS, Erin Derham’s STUFFED (SXSW Selection), Karen Winther’s EXIT (DOC NYC Selection), and the New Jersey Premiere of the Brooklyn Film Festival award-winning documentary, SANCTUARY, directed by Andrea Cordoba.
Each year the Indie Street Film Festival also focuses on discovering talented filmmakers local to New Jersey.This year ISFF has selected 15 short films from NJ filmmakers, and for the second straight year, is including a Jersey Spotlight feature film. This year’s selection is YES from Rumson native Rob Margolies, who is also an ISFF alumnus.The film stars Nolan Gould from Modern Family and is an adaptation of Tim Realbuto’s critically acclaimed Off-Broadway play.
Indie Street Film Festival’s artistic director, Jay Webb says this film program “is a wonderful representation of how the arts, film, and music can be so important to finding common ground between people with differing perspectives…that is what our film festival is about.”
The festival’s director of programming, Natalie Gee, feels it is essential to offer a diverse program of films and filmmakers. The 68 films that are being presented at this year’s ISFF come from 15 different countries, and 48% of the films are creations by female directors.Along with 12 feature films, ISFF presents 56 short films from around the globe that will be screened within 8 uniquely crafted programs.
“For 2019, Indie Street is celebrating the underdog, the boundary pusher and those putting everything on the line to take destiny into their own hands.” Explains Gee. “We’re cheering on this year’s filmmakers for exploring cultural and moral shifts…for creating honest stories about gender, age and identity with stunning and heartfelt results.”
The festival screens films at Bow Tie Cinemas, Two River Theater, and Detour Art Gallery, showcasing some of what makes Red Bank one of the best arts towns in the state.This year at ISFF, the team has also partnered with select local restaurants and breweries in order to showcase what some of the artisan beer makers in the area have been creating, as well as advancing the hyper local feel to the event.Red Bank Rivercenter is a major sponsor of Indie Street, and executive director Jim Scavone thinks that “it’s just wonderful that our 2 new breweries in town, Red Tank and Triumph Brewing Company, are both so supportive of the arts and involved with community events like Indie Street.The festival gets to introduce the incoming film crowd to some of our local crafts and food, so the whole 5 days ends up being a nice boost for our local economy.”
The winning films will be selected by a jury consisting of industry gurus, including Derek Nguyen from Gamechanger Films, Pamela Nemoto from Tribeca Film Festival, local documentary filmmaker and ISFF alumnus Robin Kampf, Maya Anand from Cohen Media Group, and Denae Peters from Picture Motion. The award winning filmmakers will be honored during a ceremony at Oyster Point Hotel on Sunday July 28th at 5pm.
Full Schedule and individual ticket sales will be public soon!!!
Narrative Features Films in Competition
- International Falls, directed by Amber McGinnis
- The Short History of the Long Road, directed by Ani Simon-Kennedy
- Give Me Liberty, directed by Kirill Mikhanovsky
- Divine Love, directed by Gabriel Mascaro
Documentary Feature Films in Competition
- Our Time Machine, directed by Yang Sun & S. Leo Chiang
- Sanctuary, directed by Andrea Cordoba
- We Are Mermaids, directed by David Lee Morea
- Stuffed, directed by Erin Derham
- Exit, directed by Karen Winther
Feature Film Special Screenings
- Opening Night Film: Gay Chorus Deep South, directed by David Charles Rodrigues
- New Jersey Spotlight: Yes, directed by Rob Margolies
Short Films - Narrative
ALL THESE CREATURES, directed by Charles Williams
BODEGA, directed by Rebecca Halfon
DEEP TISSUE, directed by Meredith Alloway
DELIVERY, directed by Alex C. Vaughn
DIVA & ASTRO, directed by Angel Barroeta
FUCK YOU, directed by Anette Sidor
I'M NO HOLIDAY, directed by Rick Gomez
LOCKDOWN, directed by Logan George & Celine Held
NORTENOS, directed by Grandmas Directors
ONE CAMBODIAN FAMILY PLEASE FOR MY PLEASURE, directed by A.M. Lukas
THE ORPHAN, directed by Carolina Markowicz
PATISION AVENUE, directed by Thanasis Neofotistos
YOUR LAST DAY ON EARTH, directed by Marc Martínez Jordán
LIBERTY, directed by Faren Humes
THE 8TH YEAR OF THE EMERGENCY, directed by Maureen Towey
EVIE, directed by Mike Peebler
JUNIPER, directed by George Martens
KATE IN OXNARD, directed by Emily Tomson
PONYBOI, directed by Sadé Clacken Joseph, Kevin Alexander Gallo
WHO DECIDES, directed by Mylissa Fitzsimmons
Short Films - Documentary
99 PROBLEMS, directed by Ross Killeen
JUCK, directed by Ulrika Bandeira, Julia Gumpert, Olivia Kastebring
SHARE, directed by Ulrika Bandeira, Julia Gumpert, Olivia Kastebring
TUNGRUS, directed by Rishi Chandna
ANAS V. THE GIANT, directed by Adrienne Collatos
THE CLINIC, directed by Elivia Shaw
GIRL'S SECTION, directed by Kathryn Everett
GUNS FOUND HERE, directed by David Freid
THE NUMBER, directed by Manuela Gray
REALITY BABY, directed by Nodlag Houlihan
SWATTED, directed by Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis
THE TRIAL, directed by Johanna Hamilton
WEEDMAN, directed by Brian Scully
BROOKLYN, directed by Charles Mysak
WINNERS BITCH, directed by Sam Gurry
HOOKED, directed by Tamara Campbell
FORGOTTEN, directed by Herb Cremer, Joe Cremer
MY NAME IS ANON(YMOUS), directed by Jennifer Seitis
TO BE STRONG, directed by Ken Spooner
THE GUY: THE BRIAN DONAHUE STORY, directed by E.J. McLeavey-Fisher
Short Films - Animation
GOOD BIRD, directed by Jacob Watson
THE LIKES AND DISLIKES OF MARJ BAGLEY, directed by Taylor Stanton
UNDER COVERS, directed by Michaela Olsen
A DAY IN THE PARK, directed by Diego Porral Soldevilla
AL GHORBA, directed by Alia Hijaab
FLOREANA, directed by Louis Morton
GOOD INTENTIONS, directed by Anna Matzaris
EGG, directed by Martina Scarpelli
LAS DEL DIENTE, directed by Ana Perez Lopez
TIGHTLY WOUND, directed by Shelby Hadden
HOLE, directed by Gil Goletski
