editor’s letter
T
o hear the Montclair
Film Festival’s
origin story, you
might think that it
came into being like
one of those Judy
Garland-Mickey Rooney “Let’s put
on a show!” movies. In 2010,
co-founder Bob Feinberg was
showing a colleague,
John Servidio,
around; after point-
ing out the Clairidge
Theater, Servidio
joked, “When is the
film festival?,” and
the rest is history.
In real life, of
course, things are a
lot more… labor intensive. In its
first year, MFF showed 45 films to
7,500 viewers. Today, Montclair
Film is a year-round program
whose 2019 festival lineup
features twice as many movies
shown over 10 days to roughly
25,000 patrons; featured artists
include Mindy Kaling, Ben Stiller
and Olympia Dukakis. With a
track record like that, where can
they go from here? You’ll find
the answer in “What’s Next for
Montclair Film?”
Just as MFF is a highlight of
spring, the Montclair Jazz Festival
lights up the summer. Now in its
tenth year, the event and Melissa
Walker, the brilliant force behind
it, are the focus of “A Popular
Festival’s Foundations.” It’s no
wonder that with all this creativity
in town, many of our young people
are drawn to it. Learn about one
of them — Collin Kelly-Sordelet,
a cast member of The Ferryman —
in “Back on Broadway.”
The arts couldn’t thrive in our
community without an apprecia-
tive audience. What performances
have you seen locally, or been
a part of, that you’ve enjoyed?
Let us know at Montclair@
northjersey.com, on our
Facebook page or on Instagram
@montclairmagazine. ■
6
MAY 2019 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE
CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER