Montclair Film Festival announces lineup, including an appearance by Rob Reiner

by JAY LUSTIG
Montclair Film Festival participants will include, top from left, Rob Reiner, Margo Martindale and Roger Ross Williams, and, bottom from left, Patrick Wilson, Princess Shaw and Richard Curtis

Montclair Film Festival participants will include, clockwise from top left, Rob Reiner, Margo Martindale, Roger Ross Williams, Richard Curtis, Princess Shaw and Patrick Wilson.

Stephen Colbert — who, as previously announced, will interview filmmaker Richard Curtis (“Love Actually,” “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral”) at the Montclair Film Festival, April 30 at 4:30 p.m. — will also interview director and actor Rob Reiner, May 1 at 5 p.m.

Reiner — whose hits, as a director, include “A Few Good Men,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “The Princess Bride” and “This Is Spinal Tap” — directed and co-produced “Being Charlie,” a drama about a recovering drug addict that will screen at the April 29-May 8 festival. In all, more than 150 films and events will be offered over the fest’s 10 days, at various Montclair venues. (The Reiner and Curtis interviews will take place at the Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School.)

The festival’s complete schedule has been announced today, with tickets going on sale to MFF members today, and to the general public on Friday. For information, visit montclairfilm.org.

Events with actors Margo Martindale and Patrick Wilson have also been added.

Martindale, known for her work in both television (“The Americans,” “Justified”) and movies (“Million Dollar Baby,” “Dead Man Walking,” “August: Osage County”), will be interviewed by journalist Jason Lynch at the Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School, May 1 at 12:30 p.m. Wilson, whose credits range from “The Full Monty” on Broadway to “Fargo” on television, will be featured in an event titled “In Conversation With Patrick Wilson & Friends,” May 1 at 2:30 p.m. at the Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School.

The following films will be among those featured at the festival:

“Life, Animated” — a documentary about Owen Suskind, an utistic boy who couldn’t speak for years but subsequently memorized dozens of Disney movies — will be the 7:30 p.m. April 29 opening night film at the Wellmont Theater, and director Roger Ross Williams, Suskind and members of Suskind’s family will appear at a post-show discussion moderated by Colbert.

Ido Haar’s “Presenting Princess Shaw,” about New Orleans singer Samantha Montgomery (known as Princess Shaw), will be the documentary centerpiece, May 6 at 8 p.m. the Wellmont, with Princess Shaw participating in a Q&A session.

“Indignation,” adapted from the Philip Roth Novel, will be the narrative centerpiece on May 7 at 4:30 p.m. at the Wellmont, and director James Schamus will participate in a Q&A session

The closing night film, May 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Wellmont, will be Barbara Kopple’s “Miss Sharon Jones!,” a documentary about soul singer Sharon Jones. Kopple and members of Jones’ band The Dap Kings will appear in a Q&A session.

Colbert, a Montclair resident, is on the festival’s advisory board, and is also the husband of the president of its board of trustees, Evelyn Colbert.

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