September 25, 2017

WESTFIELD, NJ – Lovers of the silver screen, both filmmakers and film enthusiasts alike, gathered this weekend to celebrate and experience the 5th Annual Rahway International Film Festival at Downtown Westfield’s James Ward Mansion. Running Friday evening through Sunday, guests could come and go to partake in any or all of the weekend’s many offerings.

September 21, 2017

Director Elena Beuca’s feature-length drama “D-love” will be screening at the Rahway Film Festival’s James Ward Mansion on Saturday, September 23rd at 8:00pm.  The film—which is based on a real-life encounter experienced by Bueca and her husband, New Jersey native Dave Rogers-- tells the story of a couple who is approached at the Los Angeles airport by a Danish vagabond, who asks them for a ride out of the area. The wife wants nothing to do with the wanderer but her husband--much to his wife's horror-- offers to bring this stranger to their home. 

I talked with Elena about the story behind the film, along with the fascinating cast decisions and camera choices.

September 19, 2017

WESTFIELD, NJ - The Rahway International Film Festival (RIFF), presented by Big Dreams & Silver Screens, will open its fifth annual celebration on Friday, September 22, 2017. The weekend of short and feature films, seminars, and discussion panels will begin at 6:30 pm with a Gala Cocktail Hour at the James Ward Mansion in Westfield, NJ. Actors Daniel Dexter, Jr. and Zayna Allen will be gracing the red carpet as the evening's Red Carpet Correspondents, interviewing attending filmmakers and guests as they arrive.

September 15, 017

WESTFIELD, NJ - The 5th Annual Rahway International Film Festival finds a new home this year at the James Ward Mansion in Westfield from Friday, September 22, through Sunday the 24. This year’s event includes seven feature-length films and 36 short films from across the world, to be screened for guests and fellow movie-makers in attendance. Global filmmakers from NJ to Estonia and India will share the screen as their independent films are showcased during the three-day event.

September 5, 2017

WESTFIELD, NJ - Celebrating its 5th Anniversary, the Rahway International Film Festival has relocated to Westfield, New Jersey, taking root at the stunning James Ward Mansion.  The move comes at the heels of their ongoing transition to the new 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Big Dreams & Silver Screens Inc. The festival will ring in its 5th season with their Opening Night Gala on Friday, September 22, 2017 and will continue through Sunday, September 24, 2017.  Showcasing films from as far as Estonia and India and as well as those from the Garden State the festival presents the work of independent artists across the globe.

August 18, 2017

WESTFIELD, NJ - Founded and produced by two young women in New Jersey, in an industry still largely dominated by men, the festival has publicly supported feminism - the advancement of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. 

They do not shy away from screening films by male filmmakers nor do they tout only female-driven stories because this would undermine their mission to promote equality. Festival directors Gina Marie Rodriguez and Stacy Ignacio advocate for equality among the sexes, and as such, make every effort to screen films by both male and female filmmakers in balanced numbers.

August 18, 2017

WESTFIELD, NJ - The Rahway International Film Festival is now celebrating its Fifth Anniversary as well as its first year under the newly minted non-profit organization, Big Dreams & Silver Screens. A transitional year in more ways than one, their fifth year sees the festival moving from Rahway, NJ to Westfield, NJ and beginning to rebrand as Big Dreams & Silver Screens, Inc.

February 7, 2017

WESTFIELD, NJ - A new year brings new changes for Rahway International Film Festival, who is kicking off 2017 by growing into the non-profit organization, Big Dreams and Silver Screens, and with the expansion comes a brand new relocation. Rahway International Film Festival, a Big Dreams and Silver Screens Production, will now call Westfield, New Jersey home.  The James Ward Mansion, an architectural wonder in Westfield, will host the 5th Anniversary of RIFF in 2017.

June 7, 2017

RAHWAY, NJ - Big Dreams & Silver Screens Youth Festival (formerly the Rahway Film Festival Jr), successfully wrapped its second annual event this past weekend and three young filmmakers will now be making room on their mantle for a shiny new trophy.  After enjoying an afternoon of fantastic student films, red carpet interviews and photo ops, students and friends raised their glasses of Shirley Temples to the talent of one another. 

June 2, 2017

RAHWAY, NJ - Big Dreams & Silver Screens Youth Festival (formerly the Rahway Film Festival Jr), is now moving into its second season. Twenty films created by talented student filmmakers from middle and high schools across New Jersey will screen at Patria Latin Bistro on Saturday, June 3, 2017 from 2pm to 4pm. The attending filmmakers will participate in a Q&A afterwards, hosted by Edison TV's Ron MacCloskey of "Classic Movies with Ron MacCloskey."