For Immediate Release
Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Contact:         Christina Butterfield
                        News and Media Relations
                        Galloway, N.J. 08205
                        Christina.Butterfield@Stockton.edu
                        (609) 626-3845
                        www.stockton.edu/media

Galloway, N.J. – Asbury Shorts USA, New York City’s longest running short-film exhibition, will present their 35th Anniversary Short Film Concert at the historic Dante Hall Theater, located at 14 N. Mississippi Ave. in Atlantic City, N.J. The screening will be held on Friday, Nov. 18, with the first film shown at 7:30 p.m.

Scott Cronick of local WOND News Radio will serve as guest host.

Asbury Shorts USA combines classic short films with new, global festival honorees and creates a rare opportunity for audiences to see world class short films on a cinema screen rather than You Tube or smart phones.

Highlights of the Nov. 18 show include:

“Rust”  - A short documentary following an artist in Nova Scotia, Canada who creates pieces from found metal. The film won Best Short Film at the Shelburne International Film Expo in Canada this year.

“Tulip” – A former Academy Award nominee for Best Life Action Short Film, directed by acclaimed Australian actress Rachel Griffiths (a star of HBO’s “Six Feet Under”).

“Fait d’Hiver” - A classic dark comedy short film from director Dirk Belien of Belgium. The film was previously nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.

The Asbury Shorts are “the best short film show I’ve ever seen,” said Academy Award-nominated director Jason Reitman (“JUNO,” “Up in the Air,” “Thank You for Smoking” and “Young Adult”).

 

Asbury Shorts USA concerts have been presented at: the Museum of Fine Arts Boston; the Lake Shore Theatre in Chicago; Visions Cinema in Washington, D.C.; Summer Stage in Central Park; the Director’s Guild Theater in Manhattan; the Vero Beach Museum of Art in Florida; the AERO Theatre in Santa Monica, Calif.; Royal Festival Hall in London, U.K.; and the Leminske Theater in Berlin, Germany.

The program of international award-winning short films is presented by Stockton University and Asbury Shorts USA.

Dante Hall Theater, built by St. Michael’s Catholic Church in 1926, served the community as a church hall, gymnasium and community theater where school plays and St. Michael’s Opera Company staged performances.

When St. Michael’s closed its school in the 1980s, the building remained dormant until an 18-month, $3.5 million renovation, funded by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, was completed in 2003.

The restored performance space was renamed “Dante Hall Theater of the Arts,” and re-opened to serve as a home for the performing arts in Atlantic City and the surrounding communities. In 2011, Stockton University took control of the theater to strengthen New Jersey’s efforts of restoring Atlantic City to a cultural and family venue.

General admission tickets for the Asbury Short Film Concert are $12, and $10 for Stockton staff and students. For information and ticket reservations, call 609-626-3890 or visit Stockton.edu/dante

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