Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) celebrates the 1st Annual Winners of the TEFF Student Filmmaker Awards

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Selections from the TEFF 2026 Jury’s Stellar Awards.

Grit – Jury’s Stellar Award - Documentary. 14 min. by Vanina Feldsztein, Brooklyn, NY, USA
A film about people who keep going. What does it mean to be old? Once we reach a certain age are we still being seen? “Grit” looks at old age with a fresh set of eyes on three people who defy perceptions.

Hollowgram – Jury’s Stellar Award - Experimental. 7 min. by Laura Iancu, Romania, and Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
“Hollowgram” conjures varicolored clusters of swirling images and sounds from places real and imagined as if looking through a flip book in a dream. It navigates the tension between the desire to share memories and possibilities with another person and the failure of the attempt. The soundscape is crafted from wild sounds captured in Romania that are core components of the film’s emotional space

The Oath – Jury’s Stellar Award - Screen Dance. 24 min. by Alla Kovgan, Harlem, NY, & Annie-B Parson, Brooklyn, NY, USA. Both communal and monstrous, the human urge to move in a large mass in unison – to bond, to battle, to promise, to intimidate, to gather, to dance; this is THE OATH. “I wondered if it was possible to create a film that could conjure this sharing of energy of live bodies in space. This became my goal for the film.” Annie-B Parson, Writer/Choreographer

The Anarchist and the Fridge – Global Insights Stellar Award 14 min. by Yunchang Zhang, Jersey City, NJ, USA. “The Anarchist and The Fridge” tells the story of a man named Thadeaus who moved from Boston to New York over 20 years ago to pursue his ideals. Inspired by the organization, “Food Not Bombs” he survived cancer, gained community support, and established New York's first free fridge in Bed-Stuy. Now, he sees replenishing the fridge as his duty, using free food to unite the community.

Randy Wicker – A Portrait – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Stellar Award. 8 min. by Nicole Pometti, Bloomfield, NJ and Rolando Nieves, Guttenberg, NJ, USA. An intimate glimpse into the life and legacy of LGBT pioneer Randy Wicker — told in his own words.

SOLD OUT!

The Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) and the Hoboken Historical Museum present the 45th Anniversary TEFF Hoboken Premiere on Friday, February 27th at 6:30pm. The program kicks off with a wine and pizza reception at 6:30pm followed by a selection of uplifting top award-winning films from the 2026 collection. Special guest filmmakers will join a Q&A.

The program includes, The Anarchist and the Fridge – Documentary by Yunchang Zhang, Jersey City, NJ, USA; Hollowgram – Experimental by Laura Iancu, Romania, and Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; The Letter – Documentary by Oliver Würffell, Germany and Brooklyn, NY, USA; Olive – Narrative by Tom Koch, France, and NY, NY, USA; In the Eyes of the Worm – Animation by Emily Hubley and Max Rosenthal, East Orange, NJ; A Mountain of Content – Experimental by Duncan Cowles, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK; Grit – Documentary by Vanina Feldsztein, Brooklyn, NY, USA; and The Undying Pain of Existence – Animation by Oscar Jacobson, Ludwigsburg, Germany.

Tickets can be purchased in advance on-line through the Hoboken Historical Museum website for $10, or at the door. The reception includes light refreshments, wine and pizza from Hoboken’s own, Benny Tudino’s, served at 6:30pm. Advance ticket purchases are advised as seating is limited.

The Littleman Parking-Independence Garage (Shipyard Lane, at 12th St.) offers 3 hours of free parking with Museum validation. Make sure to bring your ticket to the event at the Hoboken Historical Museum for validation.

For tickets click here.

The 45th anniversary season of the renowned Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) will premiere at the James Stewart Film Theater on the Princeton University campus in collaboration with the Lewis Center for the Arts with a pre-event reception and screening followed by a Q&A with filmmakers. The Stellar Award-winning short films to be screened, representing animation, documentary, experimental, narrative and screen dance genres, will also be available to view online Feb. 21- 28, on the TEFF website. TEFF is a designated Academy Awards® Qualifying Festival and a Canadian Screen Award Qualifying Festival.

Featuring a potluck supper celebrating Lunar New Year & selected shorts from the Festival’s collection including animation, documentary, narrative and screen dance films from China, Japan, Northern Kenya, and the US.

Funding has been made possible by The Puffin Foundation, Ltd.

Featuring uplifting films celebrating Valentine’s Day with stories about love, relationships, and connection between humans and nature. Featuring animation, narrative, and screen dance films.

This program was made possible through the generous support of the Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs/Tourism Development, Gina Hulings, Director.

Join Art21 and the Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) for a free screening of audience favorites selected by the TEFF jury for top awards.

Register here → https://bit.ly/45JoLIo

This screening of Art21 films—audience favorites selected by the TEFF jury for top awards—reflect the shared goal of celebrating artists.

Since 2022, the Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) has been honored to present exceptional and thought-provoking films produced by Art21. In our 45th anniversary year, we are delighted to celebrate this partnership with a special in-person screening at Anthology Film Archives. This public program features five Art21 films that reflect the shared mission of TEFF and Art21 by giving voice to the visual artists and filmmakers who shape our time.

Films in this screening are:

• "Trey Abdella's Miserable Dream" directed by Andrew Nadkarni
• Amy Sherald in "Everyday Icons" directed by Ian Forster
• "Arthur Jafa: Sequencing the Notes" directed by Jurrell Lewis
• "Shahzia Sikander: Melting Boundaries" directed by Andrea Chung
• Linda Goode Bryant in "Friends & Strangers" directed by Chiemi Karasawa

Following the screening Nick Ravich, Art21's Director of Production, will be available for Q&A.

The Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) is an international showcase celebrating innovation in filmmaking, inspired by the pioneering vision of Thomas Edison. TEFF is an Academy Award® qualifying festival for animation and experimental shorts - a socially conscious traveling exhibition that brings films to the people. TEFF celebrates under-represented voices, accomplished and emerging artists, and exceptional films that both empathize and engage.

Art21 is the world’s leading source to learn directly from the artists of our time. As a nonprofit, the organization’s mission is to educate and expand access to contemporary art through the production of documentary films, resources, and public programs. For more information about Art21, visit art21.org.

Since 1981, the mission of this festival has been to promote innovation in the art of the moving image with films that honor Edison’s vision. The selected international short films include animation, experimental, documentary, narrative, and screen dance works from all over the world. Festival director Jane Steuerwald will introduce the program.