Shortly after Stephen Colbert closed the curtain on his run as host of CBS’ Late Show, his wife Evie Colbert stood in the spotlight for a different kind of send-off. At a Manhattan ceremony this week, Montclair Film honored Evie with the inaugural Evelyn McGee Colbert Visionary Award and the couple announced a new fund to support the nonprofit’s future programming and industry engagement.
The event, held at Joe’s Pub and punctuated by live music from Joe McGinty & The Loser’s Lounge, celebrated Evie’s decade of front-line service to the New Jersey-based organization as she transitions to president emeritus of Montclair Film’s board.
Growth from a local festival into a year-round cultural hub
Board leaders used the evening to trace Montclair Film’s evolution from a modest community festival into a larger arts institution. New board president Mary Anne Vaughn credited a casual early meeting between founder Bob Feinberg and Evie Colbert for sparking what has become a multi-faceted nonprofit that now operates year-round.
Evie, who emphasized she’s “not going anywhere,” described a far different organization than the group that once draped makeshift step-and-repeat backdrops at early events. She noted the nonprofit’s expanded scale and reach as part of her remarks.
- Annual operating size: approximately $6.5 million
- Staff: about 23 full-time employees
- Education: programs reaching more than 5,000 students per year
- Venues: two independent art-house theaters
- Festival: a flagship, 10-day film festival that launched the organization
Why the new fund matters
Alongside the award, the Colberts established the Evelyn McGee Colbert Visionary Fund, a reserve intended to underwrite visits from filmmakers and industry leaders and to sustain Montclair Film’s educational and community programs. Evie framed the fund as a way to preserve a space where storytelling fosters connection at a time when such communal environments can be scarce.
She described how personal principles helped guide her work: a small note once taped to her husband’s desk listing five guiding words — loyalty, respect, trust, honesty and love — served as a reminder of the values she and her colleagues tried to bring to the organization.
Personal tributes and comic relief
Stephen Colbert took the stage to praise his wife’s decades of nonprofit work, pointing to her aversion to the limelight while recognizing the cultural infrastructure she helped build. “I’m so proud that she received this recognition,” he said, noting the deep family ties to community and service.
The program also included prerecorded messages from friends in entertainment, some sentimental and some joking. Steve Carell mistakenly began a birthday tune before correcting himself; Conan O’Brien quipped about traveling for the occasion; John Oliver offered self-deprecating banter about his film résumé; Jon Stewart riffed on his local roots; and Jimmy Fallon made a pointed joke about Montclair’s new television landscape.
Montclair Film’s ceremony underlined a transition for both the organization and the Colbert family: Evie stepping back from daily governance, Stephen moving on from nightly television, and both committing resources to keep the festival and its year-round work visible and sustainable.
For Montclair Film, the challenge now is to convert tonight’s recognition and the new fund into continued engagement — drawing filmmakers, educators and audiences to a small New Jersey town that now plays a larger role in the region’s cultural life.
