Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gerard Amsellem. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Gerard, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

As i was a teacher in the public school system i created few different film classes for teenagers. and as i was doing it i realized that this will be an interesting class for adult who have a strong interest in world cinema .
I was at the time the manager of a painting gallery, i decided to try to screen classic foreign films. After few times the space got too small and i moved to a better place where i reinforced my vision of teaching cinema to adults outside of a school system.
Because i am a lover of cinema and a filmmaker , i understood introducing the film was essential and having a Q and A after could explain all aspects of the film (message of the director, technics used, acting, etc
Because this was different and the learning process was important, also being exposed to different cultures was essential in this process. for the last 12 years, i covered many countries and continents (from Asia, to South America, to Africa, to Europe etc.
i feel that the mission of my non profit is to connect and change the world with the help of film and art
i grew from a small space to a movie theater and now to the best indie film theater in Essex county-The Clairidge where i have been very successful. you can check my website New wave production.org and look at my paintings and also at my films

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As i said before my mission is to fight for good cinema, as the world of cinema become more commercial and leaving no place for films of a great artistic quality. i want to reinvent the cinema as an art form and as community event instesd of being just a commercial product in your house. this is very difficult vision and had been successful but need to grow and create small space where people can watch great quality films
new wave productions is a company which believe that art and film can make a difference in the world to bring humanity together and develop critical thinking

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Many times during these 12 years i was ready to not continue this vision. The best story is when i approached the main theater where i work now, they told me that this will never worked that foreign classic film do not really work
i continued explaining and calling them for 5 years telling them that i believed that this had a potential.
After 5 years we did a pilot and was very successful and i and still continuing growing after two years and hope this will continue

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

i build my reputation by putting a lot of research on the subject and presenting film with the best knowledge possible spending days and sometimes weeks. Also being very passionate about the subject
these elements helped to build a following

Contact Info:

• Website: https://newwaveproduction.org
• Instagram: newwave.productions
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lacinemathequefilmclub/
• Youtube: New Wave Productions @newwaveproductions8489

Image Credits

Poster is for a film just finished on an French artist Bernard Requichot director Gerard Amsellem
These two paintings are made in collaboration with Mikel Frank called Lightness and Activate (2013)
First poster on the French film series that i present in the Clairidge in Montclair,NJ, curated and presented by Gerard Amsellem