Montclair State University is hosting Oscar Shorts – Celebrate the Underdog!, an all-day marathon screening of this year's Oscar-nominated short animated, live action and documentary films February 24 - the day of The 85th Academy Awards. The event, sponsored by the Montclair Film Festival and the Underdog Film Festival, will be held in Room 1070 at University Hall in conjunction with the University's Film Program and newly created School of Communication and Media, from 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

“We are very excited to partner with the Montclair Film Festival this year,” said Corinna Sager, co-founder and producer of The Montclair Underdog Film Festival. “Our festival is considered a legacy of the Montclair Arts Council and has doubled its audience every year over the last three years, but we would like to see it continue to grow and flourish. This partnership gives both organizations the opportunity to serve a wide number of film fans in the area.”
   
In August, Sager and co-producer Jeanne Reilly approached Bob Feinberg, Chairman of the MFF Board, with the idea to fold “Underdog” under MFF.

“After the enormous success of the first edition of the Montclair Film Festival, we thought partnering with them would provide the greatest opportunity for growth for ‘Underdog’,” said Reilly. “The community loves these films and the more people who get to see them the better!”

“When the partnership was presented to us, we saw that it ties in perfectly with our mission, which is not only to showcase talented filmmakers but to also host film-related events that bring together families, students and the entire Montclair community,” said Feinberg. “‘Underdog’ has been presented at Montclair State University in association with the Montclair State University Film Program, so we felt it was exactly the kind of program the MFF can support.”

Thom Powers, executive director of MFF, said he felt that, as part of the growth strategy, the name of this year’s festival should directly reflect its mission: “Oscar Shorts - Celebrate the Underdogs.”

“Oscar Shorts” follows the MFF’s Annual Fundraising Oscar party on Saturday, February 23.

“We’re excited about a whole weekend of Oscar activities here in Montclair,” said Feinberg. “We hope to have big turnouts for both events.”

Montclair State University students and faculty may attend free with valid ID. For others, tickets may be purchased in advance here and are priced as follows:

•    Morning (animation & live action programs): $12
•    Afternoon (documentaries): $12
•    Full day: $20