Craig Goletz

I‘m sure if you asked any of us about our “deams” we would probably have a laundry list of things.  When my wife Maureen was younger she wanted to be a dancer, now she’d love to be a travel planner.  I always wanted my own business – a neighborhood restaurant where I envisoned my parents and my family working along side of me.  Instead I followed a career in the Financial Services Industry which has been a great journey.  I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world and meet marvelous people along the way.Twice a month we

gather around the Sorvino’s dining room table to discuss what we need to accomplish in the upcoming weeks to make Bill Sorvino’s “dream” of a Film Festival in Jersey City a reality!!  I look forward to those meetings!  It’s like gathering with your family for a holiday celebration.  The discussion is lively, but you feel the passion about the festival and as each of us give an update about another accomplishment you can sense the momentum building.

The number of submissions to the film festival has been amazing, especially when you think its the first year.

My wife and I weren’t there when the Sorvino’s and their family and friends decided to pursue the dream of a Film Festival in Jersey City, but I’m glad we’re now part of making that dream of a reality!!   It’s such an exciting time for Jersey City!

It is a little known fact that a woman-Alice Guy-Blaché , is widely considered not only the first female narrative film director but the first director of either gender!

She also set up one of the first film studios ever in existence here in New Jersey. As an organization whose foundation is to provide the “Golden Door” to filmmakers we feel that is very important to distinguish different groups who may be underserved in the filmmaking and film festival community.   We encourage you, if you are a female filmmaker to submit your film on withoutabox under the Women in Cinema category.  You will still be eligible for whatever other category your film falls under ie. Short, feature, doc etc.

 

Bill Sorvino

I have been asked several times now “what is a film festival?”  or worse yet “Am I allowed to go if I’m not an actor or director?”.  Perhaps in all of the fervent planning and cyclonic activity surrounding the creation of what is turning into a monumental event, we forgot to let the moviegoer (the actual target of our affections) in on the little secret…IT’S A FOUR DAY PARTY TO CELEBRATE AND PROMOTE INDEPENDENT FILMS!!!  and guess what…EVERYONE IS INVITED!!!  Now, you may be thinking “Why is this guy screaming?”  Well, it is because we have been hard at work forging an event that is meant to do a few things that I don’t want anyone to miss:

1. Show great independent movies from great independent filmmakers (that means the big guys like Paramount haven’t gobbled them up to spread them across 3,000 theaters…YET)

2.  Show off Jersey City by showing said movies in the coolest, hippest places in town AND having cool Hollywood style after-parties that ANYONE can go to (provided you actually went to a movie that day of course)

3. Recognize the talented and dedicated artists who have put their blood, sweat and tears into their work for us to enjoy if only a few moments, an escape from reality into the dimension of story.

4. Have one big FOUR DAY party where EVERONE IS INVITED!!!

To sum it all up, if you are so inclined to come to a fun atmosphere where you can soak in some great movies, have a cocktail or two while rubbing elbows with movie stars,  and be in the thick of a tremendously creative environment… then a film festival like this one is for you!

Bill Sorvino

Founder/President

Golden Door International Film Festival of Jersey City

 
Craig Goletz

I moved to Jersey City in 2009 after living my entire life in Central NJ.  My interest in the city began in 2003 when I starting working in NYC again after 17 years away from the financial district.  Driving up Grand St to Marin Blvd and taking the ferry from Liberty Harbor, I marveled at the transformation of the city from what I would see from the bus in the early 80′s.  The Paulus Hook section was intriguing as I watched the luxury condos rising along the waterfront.  I imagined what it would be like to live so close to lower Manhattan while being part of the urban renaissance.   I encouraged my wife to make to trip to Jersey City on weekends to explore the “urban renewal” and we were both pleasantly surprised by what we found, and Paulus Hook the “hidden gem” of Jersey City turned out to be so much more than what I could see as the ferry gently cruised up Liberty Harbor!

Jersey City means even more to me then just a place to catch the ferry.  It’s where my family roots began.  My mother was born and raised in Jersey City, leavng in 1956 after she married my dad.  But my ancestry is so much deeper.  My connection to this city goes back to to the 1860′s when my great grandparents were born in this great city.  They lived downtown on Second Street and Sixteenth Street.  My grandparents eventually moved to Greenville where my mom, her sister and brother all grew up.  I can walk the streets in so many sections of the city and see places that are part of my family history, St. Mary’s Church where my grandparents got married in 1924, St Paul the Apostle Church where my parents got married, my grandfathers house on Sixteenth St!!

For me moving to Jersey City is like “coming home” even though it took me 50 years to actually live here.  I love the urban experience, but Paulus Hook still provides the quiet neighborhood feel that we had in suburbia.  The renaissance of the city has been phenonimal and I’m happy to be part of the change.

Bringing a film festival to Jersey City is a perfect way to showcase what the city has to offer while celebrating our history.  Jersey City has had a long and significant history in the movie and entertainment industry with many of the entertainment greats having played in venues in the city including Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby.

I’m glad I met the Sorvino’s by chance at Casa Dante while dining there with my wife.  It’s been an incredible twist of fate to meet such wonderful people and to have the opportunity to help them make their dream of a film festival in Jersey City a reality.

A Film Festival In Jersey City?  There’s no better place to celebrate this great city, and to capitalize on the glorious history this city has had in film and entertainment.

Let’s spread the word!   October in Jersey City will be the place to be!!