Inviting Viewers to Help Solve Vintage Movie Mysteries!
19th Annual Event features Guest Speakers including Film Producers, Screenwriters, & Historians!
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limited Seating… 1st come, 1st serve
SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE WEST ORANGE CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL
February 11th is Thomas A. Edison’s birthday. Supreme Bakery donated a tasty photo cake to help celebrate Thomas Edison’s birthday. We want to thank Supreme Bakery in West Orange, NJ for this wonderful donation. Happy Birthday Mr. Tom! Edison
West Orange Film Festival’s Movie Lineup
Click HERE to Buy Tickets Online
limited Seating… 1st come, 1st serve
WEST ORANGE, NJ (Dec. 23, 2024) – The West Orange Classic Film Festival is back for its 19th season, offering an exciting lineup of vintage cinematic gems filled with mystery and intrigue. Running from January 12 through March 2, 2025, the Festival is co-sponsored by the West Orange Arts Council and the West Orange Recreation Department.
Screenings happen every Sunday except Super Bowl Sunday at 2:00 PM at the AMC DINE-IN Theater in the Essex Green Town Center (495 Prospect Ave, West Orange, New Jersey). Each features an introduction and a lively Q&A session by distinguished guest speakers, including screenwriters, producers, authors, film critics, and educators.
“This unique festival celebrates West Orange’s rich cinematic history, rooted in Thomas Edison’s pioneering contributions to motion picture technology and the iconic Black Maria studio, and offers a rich cinematic heritage for film lovers to celebrate,” says Ken Mandel, the Festival’s founder Emeritus.
This year’s festival theme of “mysteries” is sure to please film aficionados and pop culture connoisseurs alike with movie icons including Alfred Hitchcock (FAMILY PLOT) and Abbott & Costello (WHO DONE IT), recently passed foreign film legend Alain Delon (PURPLE NOON), superstar singer-actress Madonna (DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN), cult classic CLUE featuring an all-star cast and based on the enduring board game, and two special selections, the rare HOUSE OF DIES DREAR being presented for Black History Month, and IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER which was voted on by the West Orange St. Patrick Day Parade’s Planning Committee.
For film enthusiasts, this is a rare opportunity to view classics as they were meant to be seen, on the big screen! Raffle tickets for film-related prizes are sold at each screening. At $15 per movie, audiences can enjoy an afternoon’s entertainment combined with a fun film class for the price of a single movie ticket!
Advance purchase is required via Eventbrite
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2025 West Orange Classic Film Festival line-up includes:
JANUARY 12: Alfred Hitchcock’s FAMILY PLOT (1976) with film historian, critic, author, and educator Stephen Whitty speaking. Hitchcock’s final film is a mysterious, delectably, delicious black comedy thriller.
JANUARY 19: CLUE (1985) with film aficionado John Chasse. It’s not just a game anymore: it’s murder, madness, mayhem, and mystery in a madcap comedy classic, with a who’s-who of some of the ‘80s leading comic talents.
JANUARY 26: PURPLE NOON (1960) with film historian, filmmaker, artist, and educator Gerard Amsellem. Legendary actor Alain Delon who passed away this summer takes the lead role in the first film adaptation of the acclaimed novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley.
FEBRUARY 2: IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER (1993) with author and Irish studies educator Alan DeLozier. This biographical crime drama from Irish filmmaker Jim Sheridan delves into the true story of the Guildford Four.
FEBRUARY 16: DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN (1985) with film producer Richard Baratta. An unconventional mystery that could have only come from the offbeat ‘80s, with that decade’s reigning Queen of Pop, Madonna.
FEBRUARY 23: THE HOUSE OF DIES DREAR (1984) with screenwriter Richard Wesley. The festival is honored to have screenwriter, Richard Wesley speak on his adaptation of Virginia Hamilton’s lauded novel, about a family who move into the ghostly Ohio house of an abolitionist who helped slaves escape.
MARCH 2: Abbott & Costello’s WHO DONE IT (1942) with film historian, author, and comics/animation writer Paul Castiglia. The massively popular comic duo are at the height of their powers in this madcap mystery comedy!
About the West Orange Arts Council
The West Orange Arts Council is dedicated to promoting the arts in West Orange and providing opportunities for artists and the community to connect through exhibitions, workshops, and events. The West Orange Arts Council’s mission is to cultivate, inspire, and support the arts in West Orange. Area artists and community leaders remain the core of this all-volunteer organization that operates the West Orange Arts Center Gallery and Gift Shop at 551 Valley Road, West Orange, NJ. For more info visit www.woarts.org, www.facebook.com/woac.org or EMAIL US HERE.
This program is made possible partly by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and administered by the Essex County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs and the New Jersey Arts and Culture Renewal Fund.