Montclair Film Launches Summer Showcase Series with ‘Sing Sing’ as Centerpiece Feature
New Jersey’s leading film non-profit Montclair Film has officially launched the inaugural Summer Showcase series as part of the 2024 Prudential Presents North to Shore Festival.
Taking place from June 27-30 at The Clairidge Cinema, breakout indie features from other festivals will screen prior to their respective releases. The series starts with documentary “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” with “Sing Sing” starring Colman Domingo as the centerpiece feature. The closing film of the showcase is Dawn Porter’s “Luther: Never Too Much” about singer Luther Vandross.
As previously announced, a conversation with Stephen Colbert and Paul Giamatti will take place June 29 at NJPAC in Newark as part of Montclair Film’s signature programs during this year’s Prudential Presents North to Shore Festival.
Additional festival highlights include Sean Wang’s “Didi,” “Janet Planet,” and “My Old Ass.”
The special Summer Showcase is presented as part of the Prudential Presents North to Shore Festival which spans three weekends of performances, screenings, parties, and conversations in three of the state’s most iconic cities. Hosted by Asbury Park, Atlantic City, and Newark, the North to Shore Festival brings together events at more than 100 venues.
“We are so grateful to have the opportunity to share these extraordinary films at our first ever Summer Showcase,” Montclair Film Artistic Director and Co-Head Tom Hall said. “As proud partners of the Prudential Presents North To Shore Festival, we look forward to welcoming audiences from all over the tri-state area and beyond for a weekend of filmgoing, conversation, and community.”
Check out the full lineup for the Summer Showcase below.
COMPLETE PROGRAM
In Conversation With Stephen Colbert and Paul Giamatti Saturday, June 29 at 8:00 PM
NJPAC, Newark, NJ
Opening Film
SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY
Directors: Peter Ettedgui, Ian Bonhôte
The inspirational story of the actor Christopher Reeve who, after an accident left him paralyzed, became a powerful advocate for people with disabilities.
Centerpiece Film
SING SING
Director: Greg Kwedar
A community of incarcerated men unite to create a unique piece of theater that will transform their lives.
Closing Film
LUTHER: NEVER TOO MUCH Directors: Dawn Porter
Montclair Film Announces Inaugural Summer Showcase For 2024 Prudential Presents North To Shore Festival
A beautiful portrait of the life and work of iconic musical performer Luther Vandross, from childhood talent to worldwide fame.
The Films
1-800-ON-HER OWN
Director: Dana Flor
Singer, songwriter, and guitar goddess Ani DiFranco’s D.I.Y. ethos inspired a generation of musicians, but came at an unexpected cost.
20,000 SPECIES OF BEES
Director: Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren
An achingly tender story of a family’s path to acceptance of a young child whose gender expression defies their expectations.
BETWEEN THE TEMPLES
Director: Nathan Silver
The hilarious story of a cantor at the end of his rope who finds new inspiration when he takes a late life convert to Judaism under his wing.
BREAK THE GAME
Director: Jane Wagner
After coming out as trans, world-record-holding gamer Narcissa Wright loses her massive fan base. To win them back, she sets out to break a new record and livestreams every minute of her quest.
CROSSING
Director: Levan Akin
Lia, a world-weary former schoolteacher from the nation of Georgia, heads to Istanbul to fulfill her recently deceased sister’s last wish – to find her long lost daughter, Tekla.
DAUGHTERS
Director: Natalie Rae and Angela Patton
Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C., jail.
DIDI
Director: Sean Wang
In 2008, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom.
DORY PREVIN: ON MY WAY TO WHERE
Directors: Dianna Dilworth, Julia Greenberg
A chronicle of the genius of songwriter Dory Previn on her journey from classic Hollywood movie lyricist to cult singer-songwriter.
GREEN BORDER
Director: Agnieszka Holland
At the border between Belarus and Poland, a Syrian family fleeing war find themselves stuck with dozens of other families, at the mercy of the military.
A HOUSE IS NOT A DISCO
Director: Brian J. Smith
A curious and empathetic look into the present-day life experiences of those who live, work, and pursue a season of pleasure in the world’s most radically queer, “homo-normative” community: Fire Island Pines.
Montclair Film Announces Inaugural Summer Showcase For 2024 Prudential Presents North To Shore Festival
JANET PLANET
Director: Annie Baker
11-year-old Lacy spends the summer of 1991 at home, enthralled by her own imagination and the attention of her mother, Janet.
LAST SUMMER
Director: Catherine Breillat
Anne, lives in perfect harmony with her husband Pierre and their six and eight-year-old daughters, in Paris, until Théo, 17, Pierre’s son from a previous marriage, moves in with them.
MAJORITY RULES
Director: AJ Schnack
The story of how ranked choice voting transformed electoral politics in Alaska and, if given the chance, might just help save American Democracy.
Montclair Film Announces Inaugural Summer Showcase For 2024 Prudential Presents North To Shore Festival
MAYA AND THE WAVE
Director: Stephanie Johnes
World-champion Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira battles against monster waves as well as chauvinism in the field of competitive surfing.
MY OLD ASS
Director: Megan Park
An 18th birthday mushroom trip brings Elliott face-to-face with her wisecracking 39-year-old self.
A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY
Director: Rachel Elizabeth Seed
A filmmaker ventures into the archives of her photographer mother to construct a personal story of love, loss, and finding someone in the work they leave behind.
PRECONCEIVED
Director: Sabrine Keane, Kate Dumke
An examination of the pervasive but overlooked presence of Crisis Pregnancy Centers, exploring the complex role of deception, finances, faith, and privacy.
SKYWALKERS: A LOVE STORY
Director: Jeff Zimbalist
Co-Directed by Maria Bukhonina
Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, a pair of Moscow daredevils who have made a career out of scaling some of the world’s tallest buildings. They’re also in love, which means their date nights are a touch riskier than yours.
SUGARCANE
Directors: Emily Kassie, Julian Brave NoiseCat
An investigation into the Canadian Indian residential school system that ignited a reckoning in the lives of survivors and descendants.
WIDOW CLICQUOT
Director: Thomas Napper
After her husband’s untimely death, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot flouts convention by assuming the reins of their fledgling wine business, revolutionizing the champagne industry to become one of the world’s first great businesswomen.
XCLD: THE STORY OF CANCEL CULTURE
Director: Ferne Pearlstein
An exploration of the evolution of Cancel Culture, from its history in different forms, to its contemporary genesis on Black Twitter, to where it is today.
