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Now in its 29th year, the New Jersey Film Festival still has the power to surprise itself and its faithful audiences. According to curator Al Nigrin, the selection of films for the fall 2010 installment of the festival - which kicks off Friday (Sept. 3) and is presented by the Rutgers Film Co-Op/New Jersey Media Arts Center and the Rutgers University Program in Cinema Studies - is different than the typical batches of movies which are selected for the program.
"The juries (that select the films) are always different and the films that we get (selected) ... seem to be different themes,'' Nigrin said. "We got a number of films that deal with retrospective looks of certain battles and wars ... we normally don't get stuff like that, but these were really quite good.''
In Nigrin's opinion, the reason for that prevailing theme in the films submitted to the festival is that "these wars that are currently taking place have motivated filmmakers to do retrospective looks at the folks that serve in the military and trying to give them legacies they can be proud of.
"I mean, I think it's something that we don't normally get films like that, so it was kind of nice and refreshing to get that perspective. By no means does the festival condone war, and I don't think these films do either; I think it's really focusing on the individual fighting the battles and those people that are fighting for our freedom, basically, so that was unusual.''
Among the military-minded films which will be screening as part of the festival is "Chosin,'' a documentary directed by Brian Iglesias, a Jackson Memorial High School graduate and current Hazlet resident who, as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, served two tours of duty in Iraq.
Through interviews with 185 veterans, "Chosin'' tells the story of the 1950 Chosin Reservoir Campaign, an important battle in the Korean War. "I didn't even know about this battle that took place in Korea, and it's really, really a very interesting documentary,'' Nigrin said of the film, which screens as part of the block of films starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 24, in Voorhees Hall on Hamilton Street.
"Most military documentaries are very academic; we are completely opposite,'' Iglesias said. "('Chosin') might look like it would be academic, but when you watch it, it's all about an emotional journey of what it would be like to be there as an 18-year-old kid. The approach we took was, 'What would it be like if you sat down with your grandpa and heard the most amazing story you've ever heard in your entire life?,' and I think we've done that.''
Iglesias, who is a captain in the Marine Corps Reserves, said "Chosin'' is on track to be adapted into a $100 million Korean War action film titled "17 Days of Winter,'' written by Academy Award-winner and World War II veteran Frank Pierson (1975's "Dog Day Afternoon'' and 1967's "Cool Hand Luke'') and directed by Eric Brevig (2008's "Journey to the Center of the Earth'') with Iglesias serving as executive producer.
The director also said it's important to have "Chosin'' screen in his home state as part of the New Jersey Film Festival. "I'm from New Jersey ... I spent the last 13 years of active duty away from home, and I moved home,'' he said. "(I'm) raising my family ... I have a wife and a two-year-old son in New Jersey, and having (the film) play at home is nice. It's important to me."
THE NEW JERSEY FILM FESTIVAL FALL 2010: Sept. 3 through Nov. 4, screenings held at Voorhees Hall, 71 Hamilton St., New Brunswick, and the Ruth Adams Building, 131 George St., New Brunswick‚ $10 general admission; $9 for students and seniors; $8 for friends of the Rutgers Film Co-Op/NJMAC‚ for more information call (732) 932-8482 or visit http://www.njfilmfest.com or click here.
