An Interview with FilmOneFest Director Robert O'Connor
Written by Kathleen Ligon
Thursday, 25 June 2009 15:00

It Takes a Village [and a vision] to Create a Festival
ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, NJ - What can a film-maker say in 60 seconds? Capture a
precise gesture, an lovely scene? Illustrate a funny punch line or a quick story, share a single
"ah-ha"minute? Yes - and do it all with just an idea and an inexpensive camera.

On Saturday, July 18, New Jersey's first one minute film festival, FilmOneFest, comes to
Atlantic Highlands. The music and fun start at 7 pm at the Municipal Harbor at the end of
First Ave. Beginning at 9 pm, see a movie a minute on a large inflatable screen outside by
the shore.


Robert O'Connor, Director, and Julie Gartenberg, Assistant Director,
FilmOneFest, Atlantic Highlands' One Minute Film Festival, July 18, 2009.
Photo credit: Matt Denton, http://www.besceneimages.com/

Robert O'Connor, director of FilmOneFest, is himself an award winning artist and film-
maker. When the Atlantic Highlands Arts Council proposed a summer arts celebration, he
saw a perfect opportunity to produce the first New Jersey One Minute Film Festival.
"I knew a one minute film festival could be a powerful community event. The format is
easy and accessible, and allows for wide creative participation." O'Connor says. "You do
not need expensive resources, crews, multiple cameras to create an exciting film."
To Robert O'Connor, the one minute format offered another important advantage. "I felt it
was something I could handle professionally - I understand the technical aspects of
producing the festival. And the Atlantic Highlands Arts Council, a small all-volunteer
organization, could handle the finances, raise the funds and find the support to succeed."
The creation of the FilmOneFest has become a real community effort, capturing the
imagination and winning the support of a wide array of individuals, businesses, and institutions.

"The support we have received from the artistic and business communities here in Monmouth
County, and especially in our small town of Atlantic Highlands, has been beyond our most
optimistic hopes." O'Connor says. "The idea seems to have a life of its own. People from
artists and industry professionals who live in town to arts administrators like the organizers of
the Red Bank Jazz Festival and Rusty Young of the Count Bassie Theater have called to
volunteer services and provide valuable contact information and resources."

The Monmouth County Arts Council offered an early grant for administrative expenses. The
Atlantic Highlands Chamber of Commerce was also an early supporter, as was Atlantic
Highlands Mayor Fred Rast, who says: "FilmOneFest is just the kind of event that helps to
make Atlantic Highlands a destination. This town is known as the "Jewel of the Bayshore. It is
unique events like this that make the jewel shine."

The Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club provided space for a benefit dinner catered by Bella's
Restaurant with deserts donated by the Flaky Tart, both First Ave. businesses. Atlantic
Highlands resident Tom Bernard of Sony Pictures Classics donated a preview showing of the
Woody Allen picture 'Whatever Works.' Atlantic Highlands' boutique hotel, the Blue Bay Inn,
offered a lodging package. Sponsors, including local businesses and organizations and
national corporations and organizations, have contributed everything from popcorn and posters
to cash, equipment, and services. St. Agnes Parish has offered the Charles Hesse Parish
Center in event of rain or high winds on the night of the festival. FilmOneFest has become a
whole town's favorite project.

Film professionals in the community have joined the effort, giving the festival a stellar panel of
judges, including video artist and animator Bob Mataranglo, syndicated writer and movie critic
Eleanor O'Sullivan, truTV producer Jon Crowley, movie critic Joan Ellis, and award winning
sound editor Gedney Webb. In turn, FilmOneFest is supporting the Atlantic Highlands Food Pantry through donations of money and non-perishable food items collected at every FilmOneFest event.

On Saturday, July 18, all this creative energy and hard work will come together in New
Jersey's first One Minute Film Festival, the area's first outdoor film festival, the bayshore's
premiere summer event.

From 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm, at the Atlantic Highlands Municipal Marina, FilmOneFest presents
an old-fashioned home-town party, fun for the whole family. The Jose Loo Trio will entertain
with popular music and songs from movie soundtracks over the years. A 'name that movie'
competition is in the works, jugglers and stilt walkers and face painters will mingle with the
audience, free popcorn and drinks will be provided by Whole Foods, Middletown, t-shirts and
tote bags will be available to purchase.

At 9:00 pm, one-minute movies received from local and international film-makers will be
screened on a huge inflatable outdoor screen, with prizes awarded. Admission is free and
parking is available. Premium reserved seating can be purchased, benches are available, or
audience members can bring lawn chairs, cushions or blankets, to enjoy the show against a
backdrop of sailboats at anchor, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and the distant New York
skyline across the Raritan Bay.

On Sunday, July 19, at 2 pm, there will be an Awards Reception with wine and hors d'oeuvres
at Julia's Restaurant, 91 First Ave. for all the winners at the first FilmOneFest. The Awards
Reception is $15 per person. Tickets can be purchased at the door, or online at http://www.fil
monefest.org

And what's next for FilmOneFest? As the Arts Council packs the screen and sweeps the
sidewalks, a grant application is pending for FilmOneFest 2010. Director Robert O'Connor
would like to see a video installation at the Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor someday - a
celebration of the art of film and the community collaboration that is the FilmOneFest.

"When I was in school I dreamed of being an international artist, but my work with the Atlantic
Highlands Arts Council and FilmOneFest has made me profoundly aware of the joy of living
and acting locally," says O'Connor. "We are proud that FilmOneFest has attracted
submissions from around the world, but I am most proud that it has given voice to local artists,
students and "non-filmmakers" who were inspired to pickup a camera and share a minute of
their lives so that we might understand each other and our world more fully."

About FilmOneFest:
http://www.filmonefest.org/
Saturday, July 18, 2009, at the Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor, First Ave. at the bayshore,
Atlantic Highlands NJ. Alternate indoor location in event of rain or high winds: The Charles
Hesse Parish Center, 55 South Ave, Atlantic Highlands

Entertainment provided by the Jose Loo Band, plus jugglers, stilt-walkers and more.
Free popcorn and drinks courtesy of Whole Foods, Middletown
Plentiful free parking with shuttle bus to the harbor.

This program is made possible in part by the Monmouth County Arts Council through funding
from the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the County Historical Commission,
and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the
National Endowment of the Arts