Bernardsville sits at the very seat of the American Revolution. This quiet, historical town is the perfect location to celebrate this uniquely American art form. Motion Pictures.
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It is with that spirit that the Bernardville Cinema and FenceSitter Films has announced the first annual Bernardville Film Festival. 
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The goal is to bring movie lovers together to celebrate the future of cinema with four days of parties, award ceremonies, and most importantly, MOVIES!
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The Bernardsville Film Festival highlights a varied and diverse slate of films.

2023 Award Winners:

Best Film; "Tied"
Best Documentary: “Flint: For Those Who Dare..."
Best Screenplay: “Box of Chocolates”
Best Director: Maxwell C. Blackriver
Best Actor: Edward Hightower "Critic"
Best New Jersey Film: “Can I Grow Old”

-Features (narrative and documentary form)
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-Documentaries

-Shorts (narrative and documentary form)
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-Exit 10 tract which will celebrate New Jersey filmmakers. 

Awards & Prizes

Best Feature

Best Documentary Feature

Best Narrative Short

Best Documentary Short

Best Screenplay (Narrative and Short)

Best Actor

Best Director (Narrative and Short)

Rules & Terms

 1.  Submissions must be accompanied by the applicable submission fee PER ENTRY and a completed online entry form via FilmFreeway.com.  All films must be in English or have English subtitles at the time submitted.

 2.  All submissions must be submitted as an online streaming video via FilmFreeway.com. 

 3.  BFF screens films as digital files during the Festival. If you are unable or unwilling to provide us your film as a digital file for exhibition, DO NOT SUBMIT your film.

 4.  Films must have been completed after October  1, 2022. Films must be available for screening during the Bernardsville Film Festival, October 19–22, 2023.

 5.  Films with US distribution are ineligible for competition, but may be considered for a special screening. 

 6.  Short films that are publicly available online prior to the Festival may be considered for exhibition during the Festival, but will be ineligible for Jury Awards.  We prefer that shorts not be publicly available online. Online, private screenings through a festival’s online program do not count as publicly available online.

 7.  Private invite-only screenings (for instance for cast and crew or donors) do not affect a film’s eligibility.

 8.  BFF reserves the right in its sole discretion to reject or disqualify any ineligible entries, without a refund.

 9.  Films that are selected to screen at the Festival may not necessarily be selected to be “in competition” for awards purposes. Notifications regarding potential selection for competition status possibly may occur subsequent to notifications of acceptance for exhibition.
5 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Maxwell C. Blackriver

    Beautiful historic theater with stand up professionals running the event. Very much enjoyed the whole festival and will be going back to the theater again. Looking forward to next years film festival.

    November 2023
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  • Harry Waldman

    Thanks for selecting “Enter the Room” into your festival. I wasn’t able to attend the event in person, but was impressed by the level of communication and detail provided. I had a good experience overall and will definitely consider submitting future projects to this festival.

    November 2023
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  • Dave Musolf

    Highly recommend this one! Film Festival Director Kyle Schickner and his team really put together a great event! Honored to have "The Man From Granada" screened at a wonderful theatre; the Bernardsville Cinema. Fantastic films and networking!

    November 2023
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  • Cris Thorne

    Look out for this festival! In only its first year they have an amazing theater for screenings and an extremely supportive and communicative team. They embrace the voices of filmmakers who go largely unheard and unseen at many of the larger festivals. I highly recommend!

    November 2023
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  • Raul Barquet

    We were honored that “Flint. For Those Who Dare…” was awarded Best Documentary at The Bernardsville Film Festival 2023! The beautiful venue has been in operation over 110 years and was a Vaudeville Theatre before showing movies. Kyle and his team were courteous, professional and kept great communication. For a festival in its inaugural year we were pleasantly surprised at the high level of production!

    October 2023
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