The Golden Door Film Festival is a

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, which was inaugurated in 2011. The four-day festival takes place in fall, and shows features, documentaries, and shorts. The opening and closing night awards ceremony are located at the 1929 movie palace Loew's Jersey Theatre at

Journal Square Journal Square is a business district, residential area, and transportation hub in Jersey City, New Jersey, which takes its name from the newspaper ''Jersey Journal'' whose headquarters were located there from 1911 to 2013. The "square" itself is ...

with many screenings and other events at various Downtown venues. The festival was founded by actor, producer, and musician Bill Sorvino. There are competitive awards for features, shorts, documentaries, student works, LBGT-themed films and the Women in Cinema-

Alice Guy-Blaché Alice Ida Antoinette Guy-Blaché (née Guy; ; 1 July 1873 – 24 March 1968) was a French pioneer filmmaker. She was one of the first filmmakers to make a narrative fiction film, as well as the first woman to direct a film. From 1896 to 1906, s ...

Award for female directors.

America's Golden Door

The Statue of Liberty National Monument, comprising

Liberty Island Liberty Island is a federally owned island in Upper New York Bay in the United States. Its most notable feature is the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''), a large statue by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi that was dedicated i ...

and

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mil ...

, is located in the

Upper New York Bay New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

opposite

Liberty State Park Liberty State Park (LSP) is a park in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City opposite Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with bicentennial celebrations and is operated a ...

in Jersey City. "I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" is the last line of "

The New Colossus "The New Colossus" is a sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus (1849–1887). She wrote the poem in 1883 to raise money for the construction of a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''). In 1903, the poem was cast ...

," the poem by

Emma Lazarus Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887) was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish and Georgist causes. She is remembered for writing the sonnet " The New Colossus", which was inspire ...

. Many immigrants passed through the city's

Communipaw Terminal The Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, also known as Communipaw Terminal and Jersey City Terminal, was the Central Railroad of New Jersey's waterfront passenger terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey. The terminal was built in 1889, replacing ...

and it is sometimes referred to as "America's Golden Door". The festival's name is inspired by the immigrant experience.

2011

The first festival took place on October 14 to 17, 2011. 43 films were shown and there were 18 categories for competition. Lifetime achievement awards were given to

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winner

Leon Gast Leon Jacques Gast (March 30, 1936 – March 8, 2021) was an American documentary film director, producer, cinematographer, and editor. His documentary, ''When We Were Kings'' depicts the iconic heavyweight boxing match: The Rumble in the Jungle b ...

and

Paul Sorvino Paul Anthony Sorvino (, ; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law. Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese cri ...

. ''Night Club'' (2011) by director Sam Borowski won awards for Best Feature, Best Director of a Feature, Best Male Lead in a Feature (

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...

), Best Female Lead in a Feature (

Natasha Lyonne Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein ( ; born April 4, 1979) is an American actress, director, writer, and producer. She is known for playing Nicky Nichols on the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she ...

), and Best Acting by a Supporting Actor/Actress (

Sally Kellerman Sally Clare Kellerman (June 2, 1937 – February 24, 2022) was an American actress and singer whose acting career spanned 60 years. Her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in Robert Altman's film '' M*A*S*H'' (1970) earned her an Oscar n ...

). '' Life! Camera Action...'' and '' Another Day Another Life'' also picked up several nominations.

2012

Fiftythree films were screened during the 2012 festival held on October 11 through 14, 2012. Two new categories for competition were added: the Student Filmmaker Award and the Women in Film-Alice Guy Blache Award, named for

, the narrative film director whose studio was located in Fort Lee, the birthplace of

America's first motion picture industry Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, t ...

at the beginning of the 20th century. Guy-Blaché is also considered a pioneer in the business.

Michael Wolfe Michael B. Wolfe (born 3 April 1945) is an American poet, author, and the President and Co-Executive Producer of Unity Productions Foundation. A secular American born in Cincinnati, Ohio to a Christian mother and a Jewish father, Wolfe converted ...

's '' Maybe Tomorrow'' won several awards including Best Director, Best Actor and Best Screenplay. Best Supporting Actor went to

Dominik Tiefenthaler Dominik Tiefenthaler () (born 1971) is an Austrian-German actor, mainly working in American TV and films. His work includes ''Gossip Girl'',

2013

The 2013 festival opened on October 10 with the documentary ''

Fall to Grace ''Fall to Grace'' is the second studio album by English recording artist Paloma Faith. It was released by RCA Records on 28 May 2012. She worked on the album with producer Nellee Hooper, who previously worked with artists such as Madonna, Bjö ...

'' about former New Jersey Governor

Jim McGreevey James Edward McGreevey (born August 6, 1957) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004 following the revelation of his extramarital affair ...

Armand Assante Armand Anthony Assante Jr. (; born October 4, 1949) is an American actor. He played mobster John Gotti in the 1996 HBO television film '' Gotti'', Odysseus in the 1997 mini-series adaptation of Homer's ''The Odyssey'', Nietzsche in ''When ...

was given a lifetime achievement award. Sorvino announced that he would be working with

Saint Peter's University Saint Peter's University is a private Jesuit university in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded as Saint Peter's College in 1872 by the Society of Jesus. The university offers over 60 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 2,600 un ...

to develop a film institute.

2014

The 2014 festival was held on September 16 through 21 throughout Jersey City, with its opening night and awards ceremony at the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre. Autism awareness was now one of the philanthropic missions of the festival.

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( /hɪlˈfɪgər/; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's Place in upst ...

, on the board of

Autism Speaks Autism Speaks Inc. is a controversial autism advocacy organization and the largest autism research organization in the United States. It sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, an ...

, became a sponsor of the festival in 2014, and kicked off the event. The two opening films were ''Six Letter Word'', a short about autism, and '' The Odd Way Home''. 92 films were shown during the festival. Best fFlm this year was ''African Gothic'', which also won Best Screenplay (Damon Shalit), Best Director (Gabriel Bologna), Best Actress (Chella Ferrow), Best Cinematography (Massimo Zeri), and Best Editor (Pavel Savchuk).

Garry Pastore Garry Pastore (born December 2, 1961) is an American actor, stuntman, writer, and filmmaker. Background Pastore was born in Great Kills, Staten Island, New York City, the middle child in a family of six. He resides in Central New Jersey with his ...

's ''Destressed'' best documentary.

2015

The festival took place from September 24 to 27. Brute Force, a Jersey City native, performed with Daughter of Force at Brightside Tavern after a showing of a documentary about his life and work. Many events took place at

New Jersey City University New Jersey City University (NJCU) is a public university in Jersey City, New Jersey. Originally chartered in 1927, and known as Jersey City State College for 40 years of its history, New Jersey City University consists of the School of Business, ...

. The organisation screened JR's '' Ellis'' in November.

2016

The festival ran from September 22 to 25. It hosted the world premiere of Chris Robert's ''Another You'', and screenings of

Miles Doleac Miles Christopher Doleac (born November 26, 1975) is an American actor, director, writer and producer. He has had acting roles in several films and television shows since 2011 including ''Watchmen, Lovecraft Country, Treme, Sleepy Hollow, Ameri ...

's ''

The Hollow ''The Hollow'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United States by Dodd, Mead & Co. in 1946 and in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in November of the same year. The US edition ...

'', Mara Lesemann's '' Detours'',

John Asher John Mallory Asher (born John Mallory, January 13, 1971) is an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He is perhaps best known for his performance as Gary on the USA Network's series spinoff of the movie '' Weird Science''. Early life A ...

's ''Po'', and Thomas Baldinger's ''Who's Jenna..?'', starring festival founder Bill Sorvino.

2017

More than 175 films were screened over four days at the seventh annual festival, which took place on October 5–8. '' The Girl Who Invented Kissing'' won four awards: Best Feature Film, Best Director (Tom Sierchio), Best Actor (

Dash Mihok Dashiell Raymond Mihok (; born May 24, 1974) is an American actor and director best known for playing Brendan "Bunchy" Donovan in the Showtime drama '' Ray Donovan''. Early life Mihok was born in New York City, the son of theater actors Andrea ...

), and Best Supporting Actor (

Vincent Piazza Vincent Piazza (born May 25, 1976) is an American film, television and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of gangster Lucky Luciano in the HBO television series ''Boardwalk Empire''. He has also played Earl Hefner in the comedy-dra ...

). ''Brooklyn in July'' received three awards in the short film category: Best Feature, Best Director (Bob Celli), and Best Actor (Thaddeus Daniels). ''Lonely Souls of Microbes'' received the Best International Short Film award.

2018

The festival took place from September 20 to 23, 2018. 265 films were screened at different venues: Pope Lecture Hall and the Roy Irving Theater at

in Liberty State Park, the Beacon Paramount Theater, Jersey City Theater Center's Merseles Studio, and

White Eagle Hall White Eagle Hall is a music, theatre, and dining venue in a restored historic building in the Village neighborhood of Downtown Jersey City, New Jersey, located on Newark Avenue. Originally built in 1910 as community center. It was used for even ...

2019

The festival ran from September 17 to 22, 2019. It included the New Jersey premiere of ''Cupid’s First Day'' and the world premiere of ''Last Rehearsal of the Dangerous Kitten'', by Bayonne-based Narrow Bridge. Best Local Film was ''Like Us''. The Best Music Video Winner was Jahan Nostra for his video ''Embrace The Rain''.

2020/21

The festival was scheduled to take place from September 19 to 26, 2020, but was postponed to 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Tango Shalom won best feature film.

References

{{Reflist

External links

2011 Awards

Golden Door

IMDb 2021
Film festivals in New Jersey Culture of Jersey City, New Jersey Tourist attractions in Jersey City, New Jersey Mass media in Hudson County, New Jersey Mass media in New Jersey