2026 Rutherford Film Festival

SCHEDULE BELOW!!! Join us for the third annual Rutherford Film Festival at the Williams Center in Rutherford, NJ. Held in an artist-run art center, unlike any other, there will be lectures, parties, and celebrations of the beauty and versatility of cinema. Three screens, including the 104-year-old Rivoli Theater, will be dedicated to up-and-coming filmmakers from across the world. Submit your film, and help us start the newest and truest film festival in the state. Thursday - 09/17 5:00--8:00PM --- Opening Mixer 6:00--7:30 PM --- <<< Rewind Block (Crowd Favorites from Previous Years) 8:00--9:30PM --- Rivoli Revival (Buster Keaton's The General with Live Accompaniment by Brett Miller) 8:00--10:00PM --- Movie Night Trivia (Hosted by Cinema Underground) Friday - 09/18 4:30--6:00 PM --- Aspire for Greatness! 5:00--6:45PM --- Holy Joe (Feature Screening and Q&A) 6:00--7:30 PM --- (Culture Shock) 7:00--8:30 PM --- Film & TV Makeup Workshop (with Alexa Branco) 7:00--8:00 PM --- Happy Hour Mixer 8:00--10:00 PM --- Ordinary Kids Shadow Cast: Frank Oz's Little Shop of Horrors 8:00--9:30 PM --- *Shot at the Willy 10:00--11:30PM --- <<< Rewind Block (Reprise from Thursday, No Q&A for this Block) 10:30 PM--12:00 AM --- Out of Bounds? Saturday - 09/19 11:00 AM--1:00PM --- The Family Recipe (Feature Screening and Q&A) 12:00--2:00PM --- Brews N' Tunes (Cozz Coffee & Live Music by Jamie Fett, Roe Knows Best and Psycho Pat) 12:00--1:15 PM --- The Shackleton Row (Documentary Screening and Q&A) 2:00--3:30PM --- Inner Monologue... 2:00--3:30PM --- Improv in Storytelling (with Howdy Stranger) 2:00--4:00 PM --- Lunar Sway (Feature Screening and Q&A) 4:00--5:30 PM --- "The Birthplace of Film" 4:00--6:00 PM --- Winning Screenplay Table Read: Longtime (writer, John Franklin) 5:00--7:00 PM --- Our Hero Balthazar (Feature Screening and Q&A) 6:00--7:30 PM --- Connecting the Dots. 7:00--8:00 PM --- The Sight Unseen (Documentary Screening and Q&A) 8:00--9:00 PM --- Awards Ceremony 9:00--11:00 PM --- Closing Night Mixer 11:00PM--1:00 AM --- Almost-Midnight Screening: Zia Anger's My First Film