RED BANK – The Monmouth Film Festival has come to Red Bank. They announced their arrival with two solid days of closely spaced movies at The Two River Theater on Bridge Avenue.
Nicholas Marchese, 21-year-old founder and president of the organization, is the spark plug of a group of determined young movie lovers. On Saturday Dec. 17, they opened their first festival and showed Monmouth County just how serious they are.
An articulate program delivered the weekend schedule that was designed in two blocks of ten 15-minute high quality shorts. Between those blocks the audience watched “Swim Team,” a full-length feature documentary about parents who build and run a competitive swim team that offers the boys physical discipline, success, and meaning that changes their lives. This was followed in the evening by “Colby,” a feature film so well acted that its dark theme became sad rather than depressing.
On Sunday the offerings again ran to two blocks of shorts, a feature narrative and a feature documentary followed by an awards ceremony. “Jackson,” the documentary, is a searing look at the pro- and anti-abortion forces that have been battling over shutting down all abortion clinics in Mississippi. It was also an extraordinary look at the North/South cultural differences on the subject.
What makes this festival superior? First reason is the obvious dedication of the organizers and their supporters. They received several hundred submissions which their judges then sorted and ranked. The result of that was an extraordinary level of quality in the 38 films they showed. The production quality, scripting, and acting of all the films was extremely high and the subject matter was refreshingly original.
The Monmouth Film Festival, or MFF, has said: “The festival is more than an opportunity for artists to have their work showcased, it is a forum for educational opportunities through workshops, networking, Q&As and special panels with industry guests that provide insight, growth, and inspiration.”
