Montclair Film Festival To Honor Tony Gilroy, Jack O’Connell, Ava DuVernay & More

EXCLUSIVE: The Montclair Film Festival will be honoring filmmaker Tony Gilroy, star Jack O’Connell, filmmaker Ava DuVernay among many others at this years 14th edition in Montclair, NJ.

The festival runs from Oct. 16-25.

The fest will screening Gilroy’s latest movie, Searchlight’s Behemoth! on its closing night, Sunday, Oct. 25. Stephen Colbert will moderate the post screening Q&A with Gilroy where the latter will receive the 2026 Filmmaker Tribute.

On Monday, Oct. 19, The Montclair Kimberly Academy Upper School, the festival will honor O’Connell with their 2026 Performer Award. He stars in Danny Boyle’s latest Netflix movie, Ink as Larry Lamb, the editor who fired up The Sun in the UK with the help of Rupert Murdoch.

Oscar nominee Ava DuVernay will be honored with the Documentary Filmmaker Award for her film 14th. She’ll be bestowed with the award at the MKA Upper School on Oct. 23. She’ll also be in conversation with Colbert following the screening of 14th.

On Sunday, Oct. 18 at The Bellevue Theatre, the festival honors director Beth de Araújo with the 2026 Breakthrough Director following a screening of her new film Josephine.

Also on Sunday, Oct. 18 at The Montclair Kimberly Academy Upper School, the festival will honor screenwriter Stephen Beresford with our 2026 Screenwriter Award for Focus Features’ Elsinore. The Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman follows the story of actor Ian Charleson who faced incredible odds while preparing to give the performance of his life in Hamlet at the National Theatre in London.

“This year’s Montclair Film Festival Honors feature artists whose work has given shape to contemporary cinema,” said Montclair Film Artistic Director and Co-Head Tom Hall. “We are proud to award these artists for their commitment to the art of film, and we look forward to sharing these wonderful films at this year’s festival.”