MG Film Fest: ‘Harold,’ a fowl tale by Pat Griffin of Morris Township

This was the second video, in order, screened last Friday at the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film fest.

It’s by Patrick Griffin of Morris Township, and when we call Harold a fowl movie, we mean that in the nicest possible way.

The soundtrack is Time Has Flown, by E.J. Enright, a freshly minted graduate of Morristown High School who has just released his second CD.

A video salute to the musicians in the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Fest

This video kicked off the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Fest last week. It’s a montage of all the local artists who submitted soundtracks. Eric Ruhalter--remember that name--paired various clips together, and he did so under tight deadline pressure.

Stay tuned this week as we post all the entries from the Film Fest!

MorristownGreen.com Film Fest video: Jackson & Miranda’s Dance Extravaganza

We didn’t quite have time to show this one Friday at the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Fest. But we’re sure that Morristown’s Jackson and Miranda Campbell will be stars someday, and so our panel of judges has awarded them an Honorable Mention in our Junior Division.

The dance fest features music by local artists Bill Griese, Busterman and Steve Honoshowsky’s No Use for Humans.

But will the Campbell couch ever be the same after this film?

More festival video is on the way…

Video: Highlights from the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Fest

Two scenes from Friday’s Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Fest stand out for me.

One came when Boys Nyte finished its set. The crowd was clamoring for more, and so your correspondent asked the band for an encore.

The quintet exchanged puzzled glances. For just a moment, they were 12-year-olds again, and not musical prodigies. After some quick huddling with their manager, the kids got their act together and obliged the audience like seasoned pros.

The other scene came right before the movie screenings.

A slide show cycled on the wall. As still images from each movie on the program flashed onto the wall, cheers erupted from different corners of the Great Lawn of St. Peter’s.

It was like a sporting event with multiple teams, and multiple rooting sections. The slides kept looping, and the fans kept whooping.

Speaking of slide shows, we hope you enjoy this one, which attempts to convey the good vibes. The festival’s theme required directors to use soundtracks by local artists. Ours today is “Out in the Moonlight” by Bill Griese of Morris Plains.

Stay tuned for the videos from the festival.

In the meantime, if you enjoyed Friday night and would like more encores from us, please consider making a donation to help defray our costs. We also have a limited number of very cool festival t-shirts for $15; please drop us a line to order yours.

FESTIVAL COVERAGE:

Video of Boys Nyte performance at the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Fest

Eric Ruhalter’s ‘Good for the Earth’ wins Best Picture at Third MG Film Fest

More scenes from the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Festival

Pictures of Boys Nyte from the Third MG Film Fest

Babies, ice cream and music: More scenes from the MG Film Fest

PROFILES OF THE FILMMAKERS AND MORE

Hats off to the volunteers of the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Fest

Many thanks are in order for Friday’s Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Fest: To our gracious hosts at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, the sensational Boys Nyte band, the filmmakers and musicians who shared their talent, Peter Jorge for his fine work on the audio, the sponsors who donated great prizes (Rios’ Engraving, the New York Film Critics series, the Community Theatre and Sandrian Camera) and especially, to everyone who came out to root for the artists.

None of this would have been possible without the help of a truly wonderful team of volunteers, and, at the risk of inadvertently overlooking someone, I want to acknowledge them here, starting with Sharon Sheridan.

Sharon, creator of our colorful MG Kids section, attended to details large and small that made the festival run smoothly–while taking lovely pictures, too!

Nayna Shah was a writing machine, cranking out entertaining profiles on the filmmakers in the run-up to the show.

Illustrator Fred Caracci hit a home run with his festival logo.

MG Kids reporter Alyse Jefferson, sister Alex and mom Crystal did a great job at the MG table, and overseeing Best Picture voting.

Nathaniel Rossoff made sure the video portion of the evening went according to plan.

Cathy Veit gathered the all-important shoe boxes for the voting, and distributed programs.

Victoria Birmingham, Dan Stronetta and Paul Hausman (with help from his MG Kids assistant, Carl Hausman) documented the festival with some beautiful photos.

Patrick Allocco made his reporting debut, and Augie King helped with setup and cleanup.

When our initial run of 260 programs ran out, Marie Patterson, despite being very near her due date for child No. 2, dashed upstairs in the church to print another batch.

John Dyer serenaded Morristown on the bells of St. Peter’s to put people in a festive spirit.

Della Berg and Barbara Snyder whipped our program into shape on 20 seconds’ notice.

And last but never least, Chef Melody McGinley Whitelaw, caterer to the stars, shared her delicious brownies, cupcakes and Carolina Rice with grateful grazers.

Guaranteed, I am forgetting some important people here, so apologies in advance, with my pledge to make amends.

Videos of the festival movies coming soon…

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE THIRD ANNUAL MORRISTOWNGREEN.COM FILM FEST

Babies, ice cream and music: More scenes from the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Fest

Pictures of Boys Nyte from the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Fest

They say dynamite comes in small packages. These 12-year-olds cranked out BIG sound at Friday’s Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Festival.

Boys Nyte charmed the crowd on the lawn of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown. Here are some photos that try to capture the excitement.

More scenes from the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Festival

Here are some more scenes from Friday’s Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Fest, courtesy of Paul Hausman.

Eric Ruhalter’s ‘Good for the Earth’ wins Best Picture at the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Festival

Eric Ruhalter’s wicked comedy, Good for the Earth, was the overwhelming fan favorite at Friday’s Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Festival.

The five-minute short, starring Eric’s friends and former neighbors in a send-up of overzealous environmentalists, was voted Best Picture on a gorgeous August evening that drew more than 300 people to the lawn of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown.

Boys Nyte, a quintet of 12-year-olds, got things off to a rocking start. The crowd demanded an encore from Jaylon and Jevon Jorge, Ryan Skoletsky, Ricky Webber and Domenico Randazzo, and they obliged with gusto.

Slide show by Victoria Birmingham:

When darkness fell, MG volunteer Nathaniel Rossoff fired up the projector for an hour of short videos. Filmmakers were asked to include music by local artists in their entries; among the artists who attended last night were Christine DeLeon; E.J. Enright; Derek Gazal and Mark J. Goldberg of The Community, and Matt McCormack of Universal Rebel. Jordan Black, Travis Fielding and Johannes Berger of The Members also appeared, along with their mentor, jazz guitarist Grover Kemble.

A group from the Franklin Corners section of town moved its weekly gathering to St. Peter’s for the festival, spreading a picnic in the shade on the Great Lawn.

“Every Friday night, the neighbors get together,” explained the week’s co-host, Linda Stamato. “So we decided to transfer it here to support the festival.”

Eric Ruhalter, who lives in Morristown and works for AMC, left with a towering trophy, courtesy of Rios’ Engraving of Morristown, and tickets to the fall season of the New York Film Critics series in Morristown. Music by The Members, another precocious kids band, was featured in Good for the Earth.

Episcopal seminarian Diana Wilcox took second place–good for a tripod from Sandrian Camera and tickets to the Community Theatre–for A New Day, a documentary on the Morristown Church of the Redeemer’s youth mission trip to Louisiana. The film showcased music by singer-songwriter Christine DeLeon.

Third place went to Kevin Ruth, an aspiring filmmaker from Morris Plains, for his music video, Way Too Young. The piece, which looks at fleeting youth through the twin prisms of comic books and rap, included music by the Morristown band Universal Rebel. Kevin won tickets to see An Evening with Kevin Smith at the Community Theatre.

Asked the inspiration for his award-winning film, Eric Ruhalter admitted, “I don’t know.”

His talent as a director?

“He’s a motivator,” declared Phil Fielding, a.k.a. “The Smoker.”

“He helped me a lot,” he said. “I’m a smoker now!”

Max Huber, who portrayed the earth-saver’s long-suffering husband, arrived with his arm in a sling. Ruhalter wasn’t responsible, he said. At least not directly.

“I fell in the shower after that (shower) scene,” he said. “It’s okay now.”

Eric revealed his cameo role as the trash fairy. He reassured the audience: “No little bugs were harmed in the making of this movie — or children.”

The film’s children, meanwhile, said they didn’t get paid, either. “We wish we did!” said one.

MORE PHOTOS, VIDEOS TO COME…

MG Correspondent Sharon Sheridan contributed to this report.

Roll ‘em! The MorristownGreen.com Film Fest is tonight at 6:30

If you like great music and fun movies, have we got a night for you!

It’s the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Fest, at 6:30 tonight on the lawn of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown. (South Street and Miller Road.) Admission is free; bring lawn chairs or beach towels.

Boys Nyte will get things cooking. Jaylon and Jevon Jorge, Ryan Skoletsky, Ricky Webber and newcomer Domenico Randazzo combine youthful energy (they are 12 years old!) with scary talent that will delight and amaze you.

At sundown, we roll out an hour of home-brewed videos.  Learn what lurks in Lake Pocahontas. Discover the serious side of Morristown High School valedictorian Daniel Knapp, whose rap valedictory took Morristown by storm.

We asked the filmmakers to use music by local artists; you will hear some gorgeous soundtracks.

After the closing credits, everyone will vote for Best Picture, and some great prizes will be awarded, courtesy of Rios’ Engraving, the New York Film Critics series, the Community Theatre and Sandrian Camera.

See you tonight!

READ ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS AND MORE…

« Previous Page — Next Page »