Hoboken Film Festival to leave Middletown

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MIDDLETOWN – There will be no fifth year of the Hoboken International
Film Festival being held in Middletown.

Mayor Joseph DeStefano said Tuesday the City has decided not to renew
the contract for a fifth year with festival founder Kenneth Del Vecchio.

The mayor cited “declining value and declining attendance”
among the reasons for not renewing the contract.

But, Del Vecchio sees the situation differently. He said it was he who
told the city that if they would not honor the current terms next year,
he would look for another venue. In fact, Del Vecchio called the city’s
decision “a mammoth blunder.” He said DeStefano wanted him
to accept terms that were less than he had previously and he rejected
them.

DeStefano said the city will go in a different direction with the Paramount
Theater, which has been home to the film festival for the past four years.

Del Vecchio is not worried about finding a new home for his festival.
“I have a lot of suitors waiting for me to relocated,” he
said. They include communities in Orange, Rockland and Bergen counties,
he said.

The festival has been held annually from the end of May through the first
week in June and has drawn several top name actors and actresses as well
as filmmakers, producers and other artists.

Del Vecchio has also filmed some of his own movies in Middletown.

   




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