A film festival that draws veteran and up-and-coming actors and filmmakers to Jersey City each year is back for its first in-person festival since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Stories told by independent filmmakers will dominate the Golden Door International Film Festival next week.

“In indie films, it’s more about getting to the nitty-gritty and the gust of living life,” says actor and festival founder Bill Sorvino. “It’s coming from filmmakers who are trying to grind it out.”

Sorvino founded the festival in 2010. The festival will screen films this year at Sip Studios in Journal Square and Nimbus Arts Center in downtown Jersey City. There will be 45 movies screened in all, over three days.

“My uncle, Paul Sorvino, kind of paved the way for film in the family. One of the stars of ‘Goodfellas’ and many, many, many other films and TV shows. And of course, my cousin Mira, his daughter, Academy Award winner,” Sorvino says.

He says the festival brings together filmmakers from around the country, propelling future projects and bringing audiences to films that they otherwise might not experience.

The festival runs May 12-14.