Trenton, NJ - Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells reminds everyone in the greater-Mercer County area that the 2009 Newark Black Film Festival celebrates its fourth week at the New Jersey State Museum Auditorium in Trenton with "Medicine for Melancholy," an award-winning independent film that will be shown on Thursday, July 16 at 6 p.m.

Admission to the Newark Black Film Festival in Trenton is free to the public and will be preceded by a pre-screening reception at 5 p.m.

An award-winning independent film by Barry Jenkin, "Medicine for Melancholy" redefines the date movie as it chronicles the lives of twenty-something urbanites in their search for personal understanding, definition, and fulfillment.

Immediately following the film, the audience will be treated to a discussion with leading actress and star Tracey Heggins, who will be on hand to discuss the feature presentation.

"Now in its fourth week, I'm proud to say that the 2009 Newark Black Film Festival in Trenton is one of the most memorable and successful to date - in no small part due to the extraordinary collection of films being offered this year," noted Secretary Wells. "This week's award-winning offering, "Medicine for Melancholy," continues the momentum, and I welcome everyone to come out the New Jersey State Museum for a wonderful evening of entertainment and discussion."

Throughout the Newark Black Film Festival's run at the New Jersey State Museum, youth cinema (ages 4-12) offerings will also be shown at 1 p.m. on Thursday afternoons. On July 16, those films will be "I Lost My Tooth in Africa," "Lincoln and Douglas," and "Apple for Harriet Tubman."

As with feature film showings, admission to all youth cinema films is also free.

Made possible by a grant from Bank of America, the Newark Black Film Festival in Trenton will celebrate its thirty-fifth year as the oldest running black film festival in the United States. Now in its sixth year in Trenton, the Festival has proven one of most popular annual events in the Capital City, offering weekly presentations of unique and educational works chronicling varying aspects of the African American experience, all while providing an outlet for emerging filmmakers, writers, and directors to showcase their work to a mass audience.

For more information on the history of the Newark Black Film Festival, times, descriptions of the films and their filmmakers, and a list of keynote speakers, please visit www.newjerseystatemuseum.org and www.newarkmuseum.org., respectively.

For a description of this year's youth cinema offerings Thursday afternoons at the State Museum, also visit www.newjerseystatemuseum.org.

To learn more about the diverse array of services and programs offered by the Department of State, visit www.state.nj.us/state.