05/01/2026
COUNT BASIE CENTER BREAKTHROUGH FILMMAKER FEST 2026 (Sponsored
by Netflix, Sony, Sony Picture Classic ): Congratulations to MAY MISS THE
MAGIC by Caleb Sambucci (Senior), OUR DIENASTY by Josias Ortiz (Senior),
TABLETOP by Devin DeVico (Sophomore), DEVIANT by Josias Ortiz (Senior),
and A CARDINAL SIN by Caleb Sambucci, Josias Ortiz, Jayden De Jesus,
Christopher Figueroa Beltre, & Traysten L. Korpi (Seniors) for being named
Official Selection • High School Category . The Digital Film program would
like to say congratulations to Josias Ortiz for winning BEST FILM AWARD &
BEST ACTOR AWARD - HIGH SCHOOL. Festival took place at The Vogel &
Basie Center Cinemas in Red Bank, NJ on April 25, 2026 . The 2026 festival
marks the Basie Center’s ninth annual emerging filmmaker competition,
which has attracted creators from all 21 Garden State counties, as well
‘Jersey-based filmmakers attending schools around the globe. In this time,
the state has become a hotbed for the film industry; new tax incentives have
planted countless productions on state soil – from A Complete Unknown, the
Oscar-nominated Bob Dylan biopic filmed partially at the Count Basie Center
itself, to Steven Spielberg’s celebrated take on West Side Story – while
several studios have announced plans to amplify their presence in the state.
Netflix, the streaming giant, is in the early stages of building a massive lot of
studios and production facilities just minutes from the Basie Center campus.