For all you movie buffs out there, you know, the ones who really make educated choices for all the award shows out there and not just the fairweather ones who go with the crowd, another big movie festival is hitting the tri-state area this coming July for you to devour even more fantastic cinematic experiences. Yes, The Long Island International Film Expo will return July 13th-21st at The Bellmore Movie Theater, only about twenty minutes outside of Manhattan.
The expo has been a huge hit and staple on Long Island for a over a decade now, hosting 50 to 155 short and feature length films from movies across the globe who are looking to get their contribution to the film world out there. In recent years, the expo has attracted the likes of Hollywood mainstays from Sean Young, Billy Baldwin, Ed Burns, Edie Falco and John Amos just to name a few, many who have been involved in projects that have been featured at the expo itself.
The event starts with an opening night party that is attended by filmmakers, dignitaries, sponsors, press, and more to get the whole celebration started. During the eight days, several films will be shown in hopes that they will win one of the coveted awards given at the end of the festival. These awards include: Best Director, Best Story, Best Feature Film, Best Short Film, Best Long Island Film, Best Student Film, Best Animation, Best Foreign Film and other special categories. Technical categories include: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, and Best Lighting.
The Long Island Film Expo partners with The Long Island Film/TV Foundation for this event. The goal, per the website, is to provide support and assistance to the individuals, businesses and organizations that contribute to the economic and cultural vitality of Long Island through film, television and video.
Think you have what it takes to get into this festival, and potentially win? Submissions are now being taken. Take a look at the promo vid from last year’s. For more information, check out their official site.