After receiving a Masters Degree in film editing from Columbia University 1975, John Columbus moved to New Jersey.  One day took a trip to the site of Thomas Edison's fabled Black Maria film studio in 1975 and had an epiphany.  He revived a small film festival that he had run at Stockton College in New Jersey and turned it into one of the most innovative and respected film festivals in the world. In its first year, Black Maria screened at three New Jersey locations.  Now it travels across the United States and internationally. With over 700 submissions to choose from, the festival screens 50 to 60 short films in each year's program.