Each year, The Garden State Film Festival prints a program with an event schedule, synopsis of each film playing in the festival, honoring award winners, and ads of local businesses that support the GSFF. The printed program is essential to artists participating in the program and attendees to know where to go each day and time of the festival.

Since many of our films come from non-English speaking countries around the world, many of our films are subtitled. All subtitled films are designated as such in our printed program and online film information. These are great films for our hearing impaired friends. **Please note that GSFF creates entire film blocks for our hearing impaired friends that include subtitles in all films in the block and are designated as such in our program, website and app for your enjoyment.

Learn More About This Organization:

A film festival is a weekend full of current independent films from all over the world. They are made by filmmakers who are passionate about their art and not necessarily for any commercial reason. Many of these films will go on to get distribution, but right now you can see them first, right here with us!

Filmmakers do a Question & Answer session (Q & A) after the screening of each film block. You get to ask all those questions you always wanted the answers to! In addition to the screenings there are workshops, professional panel discussions and even an open talent casting call. (Hey who knows you may be discovered… it’s happened before at GSFF!!)

The Garden State Film Festival was born in 2002 after a chance encounter in a Sea Girt, New Jersey grocery store by film industry veteran Diane Raver and the well-known Hollywood actor Robert Pastorelli. Through their deep ties to Hollywood, Mr. Pastorelli and Ms. Raver were able to bring an all-encompassing event to the State of New Jersey. It premiered in 2003 and was immediately deemed a huge success.

Since that time, industry notables such as Glenn Close, Christopher Lloyd, Batman producer Michael Uslan, Austin Pendleton, Kurtwood Smith, James Gandolfini, Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen, Lainie Kazan, Diane Ladd, Laura Dern, Bebe Neuwirth, Armand Asante, Sally Struthers and our biggest supporter Ed Asner as well as others have lent their support.

The artistic philosophy of the Garden State Film Festival is rooted in the celebration of the independent film genre and the creation of a forum where local and other independent filmmakers can exhibit their work. It was also created to pay tribute to New Jersey’s legacy as the birthplace of the American filmmaking industry in Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park laboratories where he invented the first film cameras and projectors, to Fort Lee, where the original studios were founded. Our event provides novice and aspiring filmmakers, actors, and others interested in careers in the film business, the opportunity to meet and network with industry professionals in an atmosphere conducive to learning and mentoring. Further, we are happy to present each spring in Asbury Park and to serve as an added engine for the city’s vitality through arts, commerce and culture.