RED BANK: STUDENT FILMFEST RETURNS

Mar 15, 2017

‘Sock Monster,’ by Middletown South sophomore Victoria Pater, is among the finalists in the High School category of this year’s Project FX festival at the Count Basie Theatre this Saturday.

High school and college student filmmakers from all over New Jersey — including two from here on the Greater Red Bank Green — are among the finalists who will see their short works displayed on the big screen of the historic Count Basie Theatre when the Project FX statewide film competition invites the public to its third annual festival this Saturday.

Sponsored by Bank of America and presented in partnership with Sony Pictures Classics, the contest assembles hundreds of short-form narrative and documentary entries each year, showcasing young talent in acknowledgment of the DIY revolution that’s placed pro-grade videography and editing tech into the hands of aspiring filmmakers everywhere.

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March 15, 2017 - 9:00 am |

RED BANK: 3RD ANNUAL COMPETITION IN ‘FX’

Sep 30, 2016

Press release from Count Basie Theatre

The third annual edition of PROJECT FX, the statewide student film competition presented by the Count Basie Theatre and Bank of America, is now live at www.projectFXbasie.com. Starting now, students enrolled at any New Jersey high school or college can visit the site to learn about entering the competition, with an internship experience with Sony Pictures Classics, a high-end Sony camera, and $1,000 cash at stake as the contest’s grand prize.

On Saturday, March 18, 2017, the Count Basie Theatre will proudly host the daylong PROJECT FX Festival, which will include workshops with film industry professionals, plus a showcase of the top vote getters in both the high school and college categories.

PROJECT FX is open to students enrolled in any New Jersey high school or college as of September 1, 2016. Students have until January 15, 2017 to enter their films, which will then be judged upon by a panel of regional and industry-wide experts. Last year’s PROJECT FX competition and festival attracted more than 80 high school and college applicants from throughout the state (go here to view last year’s finalists).

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September 30, 2016 - 5:00 am |

RED BANK: CAUSE AND FX, AT BASIE FILMFEST

Apr 14, 2016

Broadcast news legend Dan Rather joined Academy Award winner Timothy Hutton and other esteemed adjudicators for PROJECT FX, the Count Basie Theatre’s annual competition for New Jersey student filmmakers. The winning entries receive a free public screening this Sunday afternoon, April 17.

The revolution that placed pro-grade videography and editing tech into the hands of aspiring filmmakers everywhere — and the social media mechanism that allows neighborhood auteurs to have their work be viewed by mass audiences — is at the heart of Project FX, the Count Basie Theatre’s statewide film competition for students of New Jersey high schools and colleges.

Sponsored by Bank of America and presented in partnership with Sony Pictures Classics, the contest collected hundreds of short-form narrative and documentary entries between October 2015 and March 2016 — and on Sunday, April 17, the winning films will be showcased on the big Basie screen during a second annual Project FX Festival that also features workshops with film industry professionals.

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April 14, 2016 - 12:00 pm |

RED BANK: FILM FEST FINALISTS NAMED

Mar 23, 2016

Press release from Count Basie Theatre

The Count Basie Theatre has revealed the films that will compete in its second-ever Project FX statewide student film festival and competition, taking place at the Red Bank theatre on Sunday, April 17.

The competing films – ten entries from Garden State high schoolers, and an additional ten entries from students attending New Jersey colleges – are viewable now at projectFXbasie.com and facebook.com/projectFXbasie. The public can have their say by “liking” or “sharing” the films on Facebook, which will figure into each film’s final score.

Films will also be viewed and voted on by a panel of esteemed adjudicators, including Sony Pictures Classics co-founder and Middletown resident Tom Bernard; Oscar winner Timothy Hutton; Oscar nominated screenwriter James Schamus, legendary broadcast journalist Dan Rather, Clerks and Mallrats star Brian O’Halloran (pictured), United Talent Agency Independent Film Group head Rena Ronson, Breaking Bad cinematographer Peter Reniers and others.

The Project FX Festival will also feature a panel discussion featuring industry experts and a discussion / audience Q&A on breaking into Hollywood and the motion picture industry. Entry into the festival is free, though advance tickets must be obtained by visiting www.countbasietheatre.org.

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March 23, 2016 - 5:00 am |

RED BANK: A VERY SPECIAL ‘FX’ FOR BASIE

Feb 16, 2016

Academy Award winner Timothy Hutton (above) joins CLERKS star Brian O’Halloran (below) on the panel of esteemed adjudicators who will select finalists in the Count Basie Theatre’s annual Project FX competition for New Jersey student filmmakers. The deadline for entries has been extended until March 1, 2016.

Press release from Count Basie Theatre

The Count Basie Theatre has extended its entry deadline and announced its panel of esteemed judges for Project FX, its statewide student film festival presented by Bank Of America and Sony Pictures Classics.

Students aged 16-25 and presently enrolled in a Garden State-based high school or college now have until midnight on March 1, 2016 to enter their films at www.projectfxbasie.com. The top vote-getter in each category will win a paid internship experience with Sony Pictures Classics in New York, as well as a screening during the first-ever Indie Street Film Festival in Red Bank in July. Second place winners in each category will receive Sony video cameras, while third-place finishers will receive a $500 cash prize.

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February 16, 2016 - 5:01 am |

RED BANK: BASIE OPENS PROJECT FX 2.0

Oct 12, 2015

Press release from Count Basie Theatre

They come from communities all over New Jersey; from high schools and colleges with a campus anywhere in the Garden State. And on April 17, 2016, the Count Basie Theatre spotlights the work of a new generation of directors and documentarians, with the second annual edition of the statewide student film competition known as Project FX.

From now through February 1, 2016, filmmakers affiliated with a New Jersey college or high school are encouraged to enter a short work in the competition, with the winning films in each category receiving a screening and distribution consideration via a new, major film festival coming to the Basie, to be announced in 2016. The event’s grand prize winner will be granted an internship with Sony Pictures Classics, the major distributor headed by Middletown-based Tom Bernard.

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October 12, 2015 - 5:00 am |

RED BANK: BASIE ‘FX’ THE FUTURE OF FILM

Apr 17, 2015

The Sony Pictures Classics rockumentary LAMBERT AND STAMP is screened as part of statewide student film competition Project FX, with finalists in the High School and College categories showcased at the Count Basie this Sunday, April 19.

They hail from places like Middletown High School South, Christian Brothers Academy and Brookdale Community College — and for a few minutes at least, they’re peers on a par with such Jersey-bred filmmakers, movers and shakers as Kevin Smith, John Sayles, Danny De Vito — even Tom Edison and his Black Maria studio.

The revolution that placed pro-grade videography and editing tech into the hands of aspiring filmmakers everywhere — and the social media mechanism that allows neighborhood auteurs to have their work be viewed by mass audiences — is at the heart of Project FX, the Count Basie Theatre’s statewide film competition for students of New Jersey high schools and colleges.

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April 17, 2015 - 12:00 pm |

RED BANK: A SPECIAL FX FOR BASIE, SONY

Oct 10, 2014

The promo video for the film competition.

Press release from Count Basie Theatre

On Monday, Project FX, the Count Basie Theatre’s statewide student film competition, went live at www.projectFXbasie.com.

Under the program, sponsored by Bank of America, students enrolled at any New Jersey high school or college can visit the site to learn about entering the competition, with an internship with Sony Pictures Classics at stake as the contest’s grand prize.

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October 10, 2014 - 7:00 am |