Who doesn’t love a good film festival, especially when those seem to be ever so present not only in Manhattan but in the tri-state area? Well, there is a big one coming up for the masses to enjoy, and for all you Manhattanite film buffs out there, it is a simple 30 minute drive or a quick trip on the Long Island Railroad to get there. This one is The Long Island International Film Festival, which is taking place on July 13th-16th, at Bellmore Movies in Bellmore, Long Island.
LIIFE is the premiere filmmaker community on Long Island sponsored by the Long Island Film/TV Foundation (LIFTF) and the County of Nassau, which shows 127 short and feature-length films of every genre. The expo offers networking opportunities, a 350 seat historic theater, press and media opportunities, a convenient filmmakers lounge and several discussion panels with topics ranging from distribution to scriptwriting, legal music, and a filmmaker panel/breakfast. This year’s festival is star studded, featuring legends in the business, and is one to not want to miss!
Some of this year’s films include “Immunity”, written by Bellmore’s Shari Goldstein Umansky which stars Rena Sofer and was filmed at Gold Coast Studios. Long Island premieres include “The Train”, written and directed by Asher Grodman and featuring Eli Wallach in his last film; “Rye Manhattan” from Director Michael Goldberg; “Mother” from Director Joseph Halsey, and “By Blood” from Director Debra Markowitz which features Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling and filmed in Nassau County. “STUFF” by Sayville writer/director Suzanne Guacci which shot all over Nassau and Suffolk and stars Phyllis Somerville, Yvonne Jung, Traci Dinwiddie, Karen Sillas and Kevin Brown; “Stand Up Guy” Directed by Bellmore’s Lee Kolinsky; “Good Business”, written and directed by Frank Dale Arroyo which filmed in Nassau County and stars Timothy D. Stickney and Jordan Lage; “Mommy’s Box” directed by Johnny Greenlaw which filmed in Nassau County; “Sugar!” Directed by Shari Berman and starring Robert Clohessy (LIIFE Creative Achievement Honoree), and “My Friend Ed”, a documentary about LIIFE Lifetime Achievement honoree Ed Asner (Q&A WITH ED ASNER TO FOLLOW!) which features Elliot Gould, John Heard, Ed Begley Jr, Mike Farrell, and Valerie Harper.
New York premieres include “Stuck in Mute” from Director Shane Meuwissen; “Detours” by Director Robert McCaskill which stars Richard Kind, Paul Sorvino, Michael Cerveris and Phyllis Somerville, and “Sottoterra – Under the Ground” from Director Federico Olivetti filmed in Tuscany, Italy. The festival’s world premieres include “The Grand Heist” from Director Peter Frizalone of Massapequa which shot in Bethpage at Gold Coast Studios; “The Guest” from Director Alexander Volkovskiy filmed in Russia, and MANY MORE!
For more information on LIIFE, including the full schedule, tickets and more, check out their official site.