Festival showcases short independent films

”Counting the Dead” is not showing at the nearest multiplex. Nor is “Umbrella House” to be found in the queue in Netflix.

But for Jane Steuerwald, those two documentaries are as compelling as “Boyhood” or any of the other films that will be anointed as Oscar winners this weekend.

“Counting the Dead” and “Umbrella House” are short works from independent filmmakers. Both are part of the 34th annual Black Maria Film Festival, part of the Thomas A. Edison Media Arts Consortium at New Jersey City University.

Steuerwald, executive director of the consortium, arranges for screenings of various films in the festival at a number of locations in the United States.

Two such screenings are scheduled in Morris County: the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship on Feb. 21 and the Madison Public Library on Feb. 28. (A third program will be held at Centenary Stage Co. in Hackettstown on March 11. Funding for the screening in Hackettstown is made possible in part by the Warren County Cultural and Heritage Commission.)

For Steuerwald, the festival is an opportunity to introduce audiences to different subjects in eye-opening and intriguing ways.

For example, the 2013 documentary “Umbrella House” depicts a squatter community living in a building in Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

“Most of the residents are immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries who are trying to clean up the building and turn it into makeshift dwellings,” Steuerwald says. “They are, in essence, revitalizing the area.”

Steuerwald says that Catalina Santamaria, director of “Umbrella House,” will attend the Madison screening for a question-and-answer session with the audience.

The Madison event will also include “Counting the Dead,” a documentary about Gladys Hansen, an 88-year-old former librarian who has spent 50 years tracking down the names of the people killed in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.

“It’s a fascinating story,” says Steuerwald. “(Hansen) found out that San Francisco never had an official list of the dead. City officials actually underestimated the count, because they didn’t want to scare away people from investing in the city.”

Though Steuerwald takes the festival to locations as far-flung as New Orleans and Rome, its roots are in New Jersey. The name “Black Maria” refers to the original production studio near Thomas Edison’s laboratories in West Orange.

Each stop in the festival has a different line-up of films, which run in length from a few minutes to an hour. Not all the works are documentaries; some are animated, some are narratives, and a few are experimental in nature.

“I always try to pick films that will speak to the specific audiences,” Steuerwald says. “But I also try to challenge the audience.”

The festival has visited Madison almost annually since 2007 under the sponsorship of Madison Arts and Culture Alliance (MACA).

“It affords our community a different kind of arts and cultural experience,” says Deborah Farrar Starker, president of MACA. “It’s important for use to have access to something like this.”

Starker adds that post-screening discussions are equally vital. “Films inspire talk, sometimes heated,” she says. “People love to have the chance to express themselves.”

Steuerwald says that some aspects of the festival have changed dramatically in 34 years. The digital revolution enables her to carry virtually all the films (which would once have required numerous 16mm reels) on one thumb-drive.

“But the mission and essence of the festival remains the same,” Steuerwald says. “We’re still committed to bringing new and interesting work to a wide audience.”

34th ANNUAL BLACK MARIA FILM FESTIVAL

WHAT: Screening of several short independent films, including animated works, narratives, experimental pieces, and documentaries. The program is part of the Thomas A. Edison Media Arts Consortium, based at New Jersey City University. The festival takes place at several sites across the state (as well as in other states). At many locations, at least one filmmaker will be in attendance to participate in a question-and-answer session with the audience.

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21

WHERE: Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, 21 Normandy Heights Rd., Morristown

ADMISSION: $25

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28

WHERE: Madison Public Library, 39 Keep St., Madison

ADMISSION: $10 at the door

WHEN: 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 11

WHERE: Sitnik Theatre, David and Carol Lackland Center, 715 Grand Ave., Hackettstown

ADMISSION: Free

INFORMATION: 201-200-2043 or www.blackmariafilmfestival.org