Montclair Film Fest to Open With ‘Jay Kelly,’ Close With Sydney Sweeney-Starrer ‘Christy’ and Feature Brendan Fraser-Starring ‘Rental Family’ (Exclusive)
By Hilary Lewis
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September 10, 2025 7:02am
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Laura Dern, George Clooney and Adam Sandler in Noah Baumbach’s ‘Jay Kelly.’
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The 2025 Montclair Film Festival has set its opening night, centerpiece and closing night films.
The 14th annual New Jersey event, set to run from Oct. 17-26, will open with Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, starring George Clooney, Adam Sandler and Laura Dern; close with David Michôd’s Christy, starring Sydney Sweeney as real-life West Virginia boxer Christy Martin; and screen Hikari’s Rental Family, starring Brendan Fraser, as its fiction centerpiece movie. And the festival will screen Ryan White’s Come See Me in the Good Light as its documentary centerpiece film.
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Netflix’s Jay Kelly follows Clooney’s titular movie star and his manager, played by Sandler, as they reflect on their life choices, relationships and legacies during a whirlwind journey through Europe. The movie will screen on Friday Oct. 17 at the Wellmont Theater and is set to hit theaters on Nov. 14 ahead of a Dec. 5 Netflix bow.
The following week, festivalgoers can catch Apple TV+’s Come See Me in the Good Light, which tells the love story of poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley amid Gibson’s battle with terminal cancer. Gibson died in July. Come See Me in the Good Light will screen on Friday, Oct. 24 at The Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School ahead of its Nov. 14 release date.
Searchlight’s Rental Family sees Brendan Fraser’s actor character work for a Japanese “rental family” agency, as he joins strangers’ worlds and forms real connections. The movie will screen on Saturday, Oct. 25 before its Nov. 21 release date.
Black Bear’s Christy tells the true story of West Virginia boxer Christy Martin (Sweeney) as she fights both inside and outside of the ring to reclaim her life. The movie also stars Ben Foster, Merritt Wever, Katy O’Brian and Ethan Embry and will screen on Sunday, Oct. 26 at The Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School. Christy is set get a Nov. 7 release.
“We are so excited to announce the opening, closing and centerpiece films of the 2025 Montclair Film Festival,” Montclair Film artistic director Tom Hall said in a statement. “This year’s program reflects the vital role filmmakers play in shaping our culture, and we look forward to continuing to engage our community through the power of film. I cannot wait to share these movies with our audiences.”
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