originally published: 04/09/2020



(HOBOKEN, NJ) -- The Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival, in partnership with the Hoboken Historical Museum and Princeton University, presents the Black Maria Virtual Film Festival showcasing award-winning selected shorts from the 2020 season and the Festival's vast archive. Filmmakers from all over the world, who have been Black Maria Film Festival award-winners in recent years have agreed to have their films screened for free – no strings attached – for as long as the pandemic lasts. Everyone can access the curated, award-winning films at www.blackmariafilmfestival.org.

For 39 years the Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival has been advancing the unique creativity and power of the short form. The Festival was founded in 1981 and is named for Thomas Edison’s original West Orange, New Jersey film studio, whose resemblance to the familiar black-box shaped police paddy wagons sparked the nickname “Black Maria.” The Festival is an international juried competition open to all filmmakers across the globe.

These film shorts are available online for the first time ever thanks to the generosity of Princeton University and The Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton, NJ State Council on the Arts, the Charles Edison Fund, the Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs and Tourism, the Hoboken Historical Museum, WithumSmith+Brown, Lowenstein Sandler LLP, Monster Remotes, Big Sky Edit, the NBA, Citrin Cooperman, Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP, Fairleigh Dickinson University, corporations and private donors.

We are deeply grateful to the following filmmakers who are contributing their outstanding films to the cause… Ani Anatova, Hadleigh Arnst, Michael Attie, Catherine Axley, Kate Balsley, Dianne Bellino, Lukas Berger, Magdelena Bermudez, Gregg Biermann, Daniel Boord, Tony Buba, Seoungno Cho, Vasily Chuprina, Luca Cioci, Shaun Clarke, Eva Colmers, Michael Cooke, Patrice Cordonnier, Jack Cronin, Jim Daniels, Mário Gajo de Carvalho, Sandro Del Rosario, Jeannie Donohoe, Anselmo Estrada, Melissa Ferrari, Kimberly Forrea-Arnias, Stephan Frandsen, Emily Fraser, Peter Freund, Thomas Freundlich, Yuri Gellman, Steve Gentile, Leandro Goddinho, Edith Goldenhar, Steven Gray, Gerald Guthrie, Ruben Guzman, Sean Hanley, Kay Hannahan, Willy Hartland, John Hawk, Clayton Hemmert, Harold Herbert, Jorge Malpica Hernandez, Jim Hollenbaugh, Sherng-Lee Huang, Heidi Janz, Minji Kang, Sarah Kanouse, Ed Kashi, Joel Katz, John Kelly, Byungian Kim, Na Kyung Kim, Allan King, Tara Knight, Andy Koeger, Seth Kramer, Barton Landsman, Eugene Lehnert, Theresa Loong, Anne Macksoud, Geoff Marslett, Wrik Mead, Dolissa Medina, Paulo Menezes, Agnes Meng, Daniel Mooney, Catherine Murphy, Peter Murphey, Jorge Lopez Navarette, Neil Needleman, Ramey Newell, William Noland, Ross Nugent, Alexia Oldini, Lizzie Olesker, Nathan Pancione, Daina Papadaki, Helen Parkes, S. Smith Patrick, Debora Peretz, Leah Bedrosian Peterson, Chelsea Pitti-Fernandez, Catya Plate, Keir Politz, Thomas Renoldner, Marta Renzi, John Rice, Peter Rose, Adolfo Ruiz, Lynne Sachs, Catalina Santamaria, Jesel Shah, Tiffany Shlain, Andre Silva, Shelly Silver, Peter Sluzska, Guilliermo Srodek-Hart, Stephanie Swart, Steven Swirko, Ann Tallman, Lynn Tomlinson, Ioanna Tsinividi, Paul Turano, George Ungar, Walter Ungerer, Livia Ungur, Christopher Upham, Luis Valdovino, Steven Vander Meer, Soetkin Verstegen, Julie Winokur, Eduardo Vieitez, Felicitas Yang, Douglas Blake Young, and Paul Zinder.

To learn more about the Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival and Thomas A. Edison Media Arts Consortium, and to make a tax-deductable donation visit blackmariafilmfestival.org.

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PHOTO: (TOP) A still from “New York City Sketchbook” – Jury’s Stellar Award for Animation 2018 - by filmmaker Willy Hartland, Brooklyn, NY, one of the films to be screened virtually throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo credit: Courtesy of Willy Hartland.

(BOTTOM) A still from “The Making of a Mensch” – Global Insights Award for Documentary 2016 - by filmmaker Tiffany Shlain, Mill Valley, CA, one of the films to be screened virtually throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo credit: Courtesy of Tiffany Shlain