On November 1, we at the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music (BSACAM) at Monmouth University had the great privilege of co-hosting the very first New Jersey Archival Film Festival in our campus’s gorgeous and historic Great Hall. The day was a celebration of our state’s history, creativity, and the moving image as a tool for preservation and education.
The Great Hall, November 1, 2025. Photo by Fred Pachman.
Organized in coordination with the NJ Studies Academic Alliance (NJSAA) and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC) NJ Caucus, the festival brought together archivists, historians, filmmakers, students, and community members who share a common passion: keeping New Jersey’s stories alive. Together, we demonstrated that preserving history isn’t just about storage—it’s about storytelling, education, and community.
The NJ Archival Film Festival Planning Committee: Michele Rotunda, Diane Biunno, Melissa Ziobro, and Tara Maharjan. (Not pictured: Tara Kelley.)
Over the summer, institutions from across the state were invited to submit up to 15-minute-long films from their archival collections for consideration. We wound up with 20 entries (far exceeding our expectations). From rare home movies to newsreel footage to documentaries, each screening offered a window into the past—and a reminder of how fragile and vital our visual history can be. Some of the films shown were over 100 years old and had only recently been restored and digitized.
A still from The Curtain Pole, 1909. Presented by the Milestone Films archive.
As the screenings unfolded, I found myself floored by the diversity of the submissions. It’s hard to pick my favorite films of the day. There were some that tied to our work here at the Archives, and those of course stood out:
There’s No Place We Would Rather Be, entered by the Middletown Township Historical Society, was a 1980s film sponsored by the town’s Chamber of Commerce and meant to induce businesses and families to move into the town. It makes my favorites list for its mention of Monmouth “College,” now University.
Bud Powell Musical Performances and Vacation Footage, entered by the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University Libraries, makes my list partly because Powell’s performances were so inspired, but mostly because the behind-the-scenes footage helped paint a portrait of the artist as a man—something we’re always trying to do for Bruce Springsteen.
TV-34 News Collection, Asbury Park’s Convention Hall (1987), entered by the Monmouth County Archives, resonated with me for obvious reasons—from Bruce’s longtime ties with the venue to our pop-up merchandise store there in recent years!
A still from TV-34 News Collection, Asbury Park’s Convention Hall (1987). Presented by the Monmouth County Archives.
Another highlight for me, though largely unrelated to our work at the Archives, was the film shown by the Morven Museum and Garden. As home to one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Richard Stockton, and five New Jersey governors, Morven has played a role in the history of NJ and the nation for more than 200 years. Curator Elizabeth Allen introduced the film, Morven During the Revolution: A Story as Told by Bayard Stockton to his Great Nephew. It was a silent film dating to roughly the 1920s, in which descendants of Richard Stockton donned costumes and acted out the site’s Revolutionary War history. It was absolutely fascinating if, as Allen noted, largely historically inaccurate.
On behalf of the BSACAM, I showed a number of archival clips woven together to illustrate the depth and breadth of the type of video footage we collect—from oral histories to public programming to concerts.
For me, helping to organize and host this inaugural event was deeply meaningful. At the Springsteen Archives, we think constantly about how history, music, film, and memory intersect. Springsteen’s work in particular—rooted in the sights, sounds, and struggles of New Jersey—reflects the same themes that drive archival preservation: identity, community, and continuity.
As Michele Rotunda, Associate Professor of Economics, Government & History at UCNJ Union College of Union County, NJ and Chair of the NJSAA, observed, “NJSAA is dedicated to everything and anything NJ studies and this event was an opportunity to highlight different facets of our state, and other organizations doing this great work.”
And Tara Maharjan, Electronic Records Archivist for the NJ State Archives and a member of the NJSAA Executive Committee, noted, “For me, I was a film studies and history undergrad, who then went on to become an archivist. This brings everything together for me.”
The audience made clear that they hope this will become an annual event. Stay tuned—we’re already imagining how next year’s festival might continue to showcase the stories that make New Jersey unique, while celebrating the repositories that safeguard our shared heritage.
Special thanks to our archivist, Graciela St. Onge, for joining me at work on a Saturday.
Melissa Ziobro
Director of Curatorial Affairs
Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music
Monmouth University
November 3, 2025
Schedule of Films
MORNING SESSIONS: 10:00 – 12:30
Welcome
About the Hindenburg
Roaming Dingo Historical Archive
There’s No Place We Would Rather Be
Middletown Township Historical Society
The Bookmaking Process of Marilyn Schmidt
Stockton University, South Jersey Culture and History Center
Growing American: The Alliance Agricultural Colony in South Jersey
The Alliance Heritage Center
Soul of the Decoy Show
Ocean County Cultural & Heritage Commission
Field Day, May 1931
South River Museum/South River Historical & Preservation Society, Inc.
New Jersey Fire History
New Jersey State Archives
Bud Powell Musical Performances and Vacation Footage
Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University Libraries
TV-34 News Collection, Asbury Park’s Convention Hall (1987)
Monmouth County Archives
Bricks, Mortar, Memories and Pride: The James Street Commons Reconsidered
Mark J. Papianni Archives
LUNCH: 12:30 – 1:30
Please enjoy lunch on your own.
AFTERNOON SESSIONS: 1:30 – 4:00
Marvin Creamer, Circumnavigating the Globe
Rowan University Archives & Special Collections
Trenton Elementary School Children
The College of New Jersey
Island Voices, Jeanette Lloyd and Martha Kremer, A Childhood Friendship From the 40’s and 70’s
Long Beach Island Historical Association Oral History Project
A Special Nurse Called Mary
Monmouth Medical Center – Medical Library
Morven During the Revolution: A Story as Told by Bayard Stockton to his Great Nephew
Morven Museum & Garden
A Brief History of Wells Mills
Ocean County Parks & Recreation Department
‘Education is the Salvation’ Substitute Teacher Rap
Plainfield Public Library
Harry Robinson Safford L. 1930 Silent Film, 1928
The Stephan Archives, The Lawrenceville School
Made in New Jersey
Milestone Films
Springsteen Past, Present, and Future: Inside the Archive
Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music