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Asbury Park may have lost the Garden State Film Festival to Atlantic City last year, but a new film festival is breaking the horizon.

The nonprofit Asbury Park Musical Heritage Foundation [APMHF] announced the inaugural Asbury Park “Music in Film” Festival will take place April 10 — 12, 2015. The Paramount Theatre and Convention Hall’s Grand Arcade will host the three-day festival and many of the city’s businesses, galleries and clubs will act as screening venues, according to a news release from event organizers.

The Garden State Film Festival was purchased by Atlantic City in 2013. The loss of the eleven year economic mainstay had a significant negative impact on local businesses, many of which were still struggling to recover from Superstorm Sandy, the release stated. The festival will incorporate the rich musical heritage of Asbury Park with the successful elements of the former film festival.

After attempts to recruit another film festival to the city proved unsuccessful, Tom Gilmour, the city’s director of economic development, decided to leverage the Asbury Park’s ability to host a film festival and integrate one of its most valuable assets: the long and amazing role that music plays in the past, present and future success of Asbury Park. He secured a partnership with the Asbury Park Press to usher in the new festival.

“I became very frustrated with trying to attract another film festival to the city. There were many interested but the fit just wasn’t right, so I reached out to the Asbury Park Press and we decided to create a new festival tailored for the city,” Gilmour said in the release.

The festival will have music-related categories, like music videos, for filmmakers to submit their entries. There will also be an open category, and a special category for local filmmakers. In the next couple of weeks, festival organizers will call out to city businesses to ensure they are afforded opportunities to become part of the festival.

A call for entries has launched on the festival’s website. Filmmakers are invited to log on and submit entries prior to the Jan. 31, 2015 deadline. A late submission deadline has been set for Feb. 5.

In addition, festival organizers are on the hunt for festival judges and volunteers. Those interested can apply via the festival website, or by visiting the administrative offices for the festival in the Musical Heritage Foundation’s exhibit and performance space located at 708 Cookman Ave.

The nonprofit selected Matt Hockenjos as the executive director of the Asbury Park Music in Film Festival.

For more information, visit www.apmff.com or call 732.775.8900.

[Correction: The original press release stated the deadline for entries was set for Jan. 15, 2015. It has since been extended to Jan.5, with a late entry deadline of Feb. 5, according to event organizers. This article has been updated to reflect that change.]

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