Arthouse Film Festival Gears Up for 10-Week Run

The Arthouse Film Festival will run starting March 3 for 10 weeks at two New Jersey theaters: AMC Loews Mountainside and AMC Loews Monmouth Mall. 

The festival has hosted 1,611 movie premieres with 1,034 live guest appearances over the past 23 years.

The South Orange-Maplewood Adult School is now offering Filmmakers Symposium’s Arthouse Film Festival.

Oscar winners and nominees Danny Aiello, Alan Arkin, James Cromwell, Frank Darabont, Jesse Eisenberg, Ethan Hawke, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Melissa Leo, Viggo Mortensen, Chazz Palminteri, John Sayles, Aaron Sorkin, Fisher Stevens and David Strathairn have joined Dylan Baker, Famke Janssen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Derek Luke, Mary Stuart Masterson, David Morse, Connie Nielsen, Joe Pantoliano and Kevin Smith as guest speakers who have come to share their insights with festival participants.

"The program will always be flexible in order to take advantage of opportunities as they arise,” festival director Chuck Rose said. “Wonderful surprises and fantastic celebrities can pop up out of nowhere, so we try to keep the schedule as fluid as possible. 

"Even before we started 23 years ago, I began working to create an international VIP network of actors, directors, screenwriters, producers, journalists and film industry pros whose jobs involve creating and evaluating the cream of Sundance, Cannes, Toronto, Venice, Berlin, SXSW, Tribeca and the other important film festivals.  We also work to ferret out potential hits in the development and production stages so we are ready to pounce on the best films first."

Three of the films premiered last year have received a total of 16 Oscar nominations. "12 Years a Slave" received nine nominations, "Nebraska" earned six and "The Broken Circle Breakdown" received one.

For information, to see what films were screened in the past, or to register, visit: www.ArthouseFilmFestival.com or call 732-870-6012.

The festival is open to anyone, but seating is limited, so early enrollment is advised.  Subscription is $133 for five weeks or $235 for all 10 weeks. A specially priced flex ticket will also be offered so the user may choose any 8 out of 10. Discounts will be available for early registration. 

Confirmed films and those under consideration for the upcoming festival include:

• “Belle” with Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, director Misan Sagay;
• “Breathe In” with Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, director Drake Doremus;
  
• “A Coffee in Berlin” with Tom Schilling, Friederike Kempter, director Jan Ole Gerster;
  
• “The Double” with Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Sally Hawkins, director Richard Ayoade;
• “Fading Gigolo” with Sofia Vergara, Woody Allen, director John Turturro;
• “Four Dogs” with Oliver Cooper, Dan Bakkedahl, director Joe Burke;
  
• “The Immigrant” with Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix, director James Gray;
  
• “Chef” with Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, director Jon Favreau;
• “Ida” with Agata Trzebuchowska, Agata Kulesza, director Pawel Pawlikowski;
  
• “Le Week-End” with Jim Broadbent, Lindsay Duncan, Jeff Goldblum, director Roger Michell;
  
• “Locke” with Tom Hardy, Ruth Wilson, director Steven Knight;
  
• “Neighbors” with Seth Rogen, Zac Effron, director Nick Stoller;
  
• “Night Moves” with Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard, director Kelly Reichardt;
  
• “The Retrieval” with Tishuan Scott, Ashton Sanders, director Chris Eska;
• “Rob the Mob” with Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda, director Raymond De Felitta;
• “St. Vincent” with Bill Murray, Naomi Watts,  Melissa McCarthy, director Theodore Melfi;
  
• “We Are the Best!” with David Dencik, Liv LeMoyne, director Lukas Moodysson;
  
• “Wild” with Reese Witherspoon, Gaby Hoffmann, director Jean-Marc Vallee;
• “The Young and Prodigious Spivet” with Helena Bonham Carter, Kathy Bates, director Jean-Pierre Jeunet.