The classic 1960s band The Kinks, in their song “Celluloid Heroes,” once pointed out that everybody is a star. And the reception to open the Golden Door International Film Festival, which kicked off at the Landmark Loews Theater on Sept. 24, proved the point.
Local and international film makers, actors, and others made their way down the red carpet where they posed for pictures and then mingled with audience members.
Perhaps the most notable were the members of the cast of “Jack of the Red Hearts,” a film directed by Janet Grill and starting Famke Janssen and Anna Sophia Robb.
“There’s a little bit of everything for everyone.” – Bill Sorvino
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But Jannsen had plenty of company as famous and not-so-famous people in film dressed up for the walk of fame.
The festival runs from Sept. 24 to 27, with the opening and closing nights at the Landmark Loews Theater and screenings in venues all over the city.
This year’s festival has drawn 50 percent more films submitted than last year, and from more than 20 countries.
“We are screening 155 films, with feature films and short films spanning several genres, as well as documentaries. So there’s a little bit of everything for everyone,” says Bill Sorvino, founder and president of GDIFF.
Founded in 2011, the GDIFF has screened more than 290 films from over 80 countries and has drawn in excess of 10,000 attendees. More importantly, Sorvino said, the festival has drawn attention to Jersey City, his home town.
Some of the celebrities who are supposed to attend the festival as some point during the week include Alysia Reiner, Ed Asner, Matthew Asner, Eric Roberts, Armand Assante, Federico Castelluccio, William Forsythe, Sean Young, and Stephen Baldwin.
The schedule of events, films, places and ticket prices can be found at the festival website: http://goldendoorfilmfestival.org/
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.