Kenneth Gifford and his team put on an impressive weekend that was full of creators who filled the streets of downtown Newark to celebrate, compete and showcase their projects at the 4th annual Newark International Film Festival.

The weekend started with a opening night gala hosted at the revived Hahne & Co. building which highlighted stars like Larenz Tate and Tobias Truvillion and brought a ton of Local bloggers and fashionistas to an area filled with panels, acting workshops with renowned acting coach Wendy McKenzie and a drone flying class with Raymond Spencer. The biggest creator butterflies probably sat within the directors and actors who have weathered long periods of time to have their projects viewed. Additional pressure also sat with creative film teams who participated in the 24-hour film contest — the creators had 24 hours to create a script, film, edit, use famous in-town locations and, most importantly, actually be good. The award winning Something in the Water, directed by Nimi Hendrix, gave a deep perspective into the Newark-led crisis:

The weekend ended at Newark Museum for an awards ceremony with Mack Wilds taking an award for Best Actor in the movie Fifteen while a movie he executive produced took home an award via actress Yvette Williams (Anime). Other notable awards went to LaRon Lee, who took home an award for To Catch a Girl, a film that touches base on the rape culture in today’s society. This would be the second time Lee has an award for a film (he also took one home two years ago), and is a film maker you should keep you eyes on. The full list of award recipients is listed below.

Judging from the packed theaters, the competitive camaraderie, and appreciation for new blood on the film scene, the 2019 Newark International Film Festival was a success with more to come.

24 hour film contest best film -Something in the Water-

Lincoln Park Music speaks award Best Music video -Give Me Back My Heart, Lovari
Dir. Nancy Vazquez

AUDIENCE CHOICE FILM AWARD -Business Ethics

Best Screenplay- “Blackbird” by Nicole Thompson

BEST BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE-PRAIZE, Kei Landa Rembert

BEST WEB ORIGINAL-Bubbly Brown Sugar

BEST NEWARK SHORT-Zahra and the Oil Man

BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT-Nikita (Brazil)

BEST SHORT DIRECTOR-To Catch a Girl, LeRon Lee

BEST ACTOR-Fifteen, Mack Wilds

BEST ACTRESS-Loreen’s Gotta Boogie, Jowin Batoon

BEST Documentary-The Mayor of Art

BEST NARRATIVE-About the People

BEST DOCUMENTARY-Being Gladys

BEST DIRECTOR-Decade of Fire, Vivian Vazquez, Gretchen Hildebran

BEST FEATURE-Always a Bridesmaid

BEST DIRECTOR-Thicker Than Blood, Anthony Williams

EXCELLENCE IN STUNT ACTION AWARD-Made in Chinatown, Jay Kwon

BEST ACTRESS-Anime, Yvette Williams

BEST ACTOR-Made in Chinatown, Vincent Pastore

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