ATLANTIC CITY The 12th annual Atlantic City Cinefest, formerly known as the Downbeach Film Festival, has added Stockton University Atlantic City campus as a venue for its 2019 film festival being held Oct. 4-6 in Atlantic City.
The festival screens some 70 shorts, documentaries and feature films, many from New Jersey filmmakers.
"Stockton University has been a proud partner of the Atlantic City Cinefest through Dante Hall Theater and the Noyes Arts Garage since 2012, said Dante Hall theater manager Stephanie Clineman.
The two venues have served as the main screening sites for the past seven years.
In addition to Dante Hall, Stockton will be screening films at the Fanny Lou Hamer Event Room located in Stockton's Academic Center, and in a screening room in the Residence Complex on the Boardwalk, Clineman said.
The first Ursula Ryan Lifesaver Award will be presented during the Oct. 6 awards ceremony. Named after the late owner of Weist-Barron-Ryan, the iconic Pleasantville acting school and casting agency, the award recognizes lifetime achievement.
Former Lifesaver Award winner, Blanche Baker, returns as writer and director of a musical, Make America Safe, a satire on the gun culture. Baker, who co-starred in Sixteen Candles as the loopy bride sister of Molly Ringwald's character, will also participate in the annual filmmakers panel set for Saturday, Oct. 5 at Dante Hall.
As in past years, Cinefest will present a mix of films, including comedies, dramas, animation and documentaries. And, for the first time this year, Cinefest will feature blocks of films from students at Northern Burlington Regional and Middletown North high schools.
Christopher Cullen, TV film production teacher at Middletown, said participation in Cinefest is a great opportunity for students.
Not only do they have the chance to meet others with their same interest and artistic abilities, but have the chance to network with filmmakers who have been in the industry and get to experience all aspects of a film festival at an early age, Cullen said. Being able to screen their work in front of the public to show what they can do is the most rewarding for these students I think it is amazing that film festivals give these young talented filmmakers a chance to express themselves and screen their work."
Tickets are $5 for a single block, $25 for a daily pass, and $40 for the entire festival.
Tickets can be purchased at www.dantehallstockton.org.
A schedule of film showings will be posted at the AC Cinefest page on Facebook.
