Photo Courtesy of Chuck Rose Above is a still from ‘Next Exit,’ a film that will premiere at the Arthouse Film Festival in South Orange.
Above is a still from ‘Next Exit,’ a film that will premiere at the Arthouse Film Festival in South Orange.
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Arthouse Film Festival is moving! After 25 years at AMC Mountainside, the festival will unspool for 10 weeks, beginning Sept. 19, at The Village at SOPAC, located in the South Orange Performing Arts Center, 1 SOPAC Way.
Festival founder and director Chuck Rose, who grew up in Maplewood, is excited to set up shop in South Orange.
“My first movie experiences were at the Maplewood Theater. I saw my first Roadrunner cartoon there. I fell in love with cinema at the Maplewood Theater. Over-the-counter popcorn was 25 cents for a large container, but they had a separate machine where you could put in a dime and fill a small bag. I put a lot of dimes in that machine,” Rose said. “At that time, South Orange didn’t have a movie theater. Now, The Village at SOPAC is the movie theater for South Orange and Maplewood. Bringing the Arthouse Film Festival to SOPAC is a tremendous thrill for me.”
Arthouse Film Festival has been running in New Jersey for 32 years. The festival has hosted 1,998 movie premieres with 1,225 guest appearances.
“The program will always be flexible in order to take advantage of opportunities as they arise,” Rose said. “Wonderful surprises and fantastic celebrities can pop up out of nowhere, so we try to keep the schedule as fluid as possible.
“Even before we started in 1991, I began working to create an international VIP network of actors, directors, screenwriters, producers, journalists and film industry pros whose jobs involve creating and evaluating the cream of Sundance, Cannes, Toronto, Telluride, Venice, Berlin, SXSW and the other important film festivals,” he continued. “We also work to ferret out potential hits in the development and production stages so we are ready to pounce on the best films first.”
For more information or to register, call 732-870-6012 or visit ArthouseFilmFestival.com. The festival is open to anyone, but seating is limited, so early enrollment is advised. Admission is charged.
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