By Suzanne "Suzee" Ordas CurryA filmmaker at the Long Island International Film Festival at the wrap party said to me, "this was the best ever location for a film festival!"
Indeed, if you are familiar with the Jersey Shore, and specifically Long Beach Island, you know what a backdrop the sea makes. In addition to the sea, the island offers not just sandy shores, but bay areas, great amusements and tons of restaurants, all located off the main boulevard. It's this boulevard that made easy access for all the events of the film festival, which boasted over 150 films of all kinds (features, doc, shorts), special events, masterclasses, filmmaker lounges, networking, talkbacks and many parties.
There was so much to see that I didn't get to see everything. I saw attended many events at the historic Surflight Theater with special guests including Jason Alexander, Tony Shalhoub, Brooke Adams and Campbell Scott. A highlight was seeing the showcase from Jason Alexander's Acting Master Class (Article here). Between my husband and I we saw 4 features, a shorts block and attended three of the parties.
Filmmaker Julie Korogoden had the short Some Things Change as a selection. It's about a woman on the brink of upending her marriage in a contentious therapy session faces the true source of her anguish. One pivotal reminder opens her eyes, and maybe even her heart.
As a first-timer to the LIFF, she said, "I experienced this festival as a filmmaker with my debut film selected for the first shorts block. It was at the Surf City Firehouse venue and overlapped with a highly in-demand event — Jason Alexander’s actors showcase at the Surflight Theater — so I thought we’d have low attendance. Much to my happy surprise it was a packed house for our 11am block "
"My entire cast drove down from Ridgewood, NJ where we all live (and we had filmed just 5 months prior, with record snowfall). My composer and PA also made the trip. It was incredibly moving to have them there with me and my family. Filmmaking fosters community, and that was the most enjoyable aspect of the festival. No matter where we were, with our festival lanyards, people were open to connecting and becoming familiar. And familiar comes from the Latin root familia, which means family. That’s what LIFF catalyzed — a creative family."
Amir Bogen, Artistic Director of the LIFF - who could be seen everywhere - said, "As the Artistic Director of the festival, my goal is to find that delicate balance between the glitz of celebrity-driven events and the actual films we work so hard to secure throughout the year for our LBI audience. This year, we were lucky to have Jason Alexander, Tony Shalhoub, Brooke Adams, and Campbell Scott. While their presence generates natural press, interest, and a bump in attendance, the real challenge is channeling that energy into getting festivalgoers to see the rest of our incredible lineup."
He continued, "There was so much to take in, but the personal highlights for me were the packed opening night screening of Chili Finger and our closing night film, Phoenix Jones: The Rise and Fall of a Real Superhero, which I was incredibly proud of. I was also thrilled by the late addition of Leviticus, courtesy of Neon; it drew a vibrant, younger crowd to the Surflight on Friday night, which is an enthusiastic demographic we really want to engage more.
"Another major highlight was screening Norbert Pfaffenbichler’s 2551 Trilogy as part of our Darkhouse program. The Austrian artist's genius experimental work was a revelation to me last year, and I was thrilled to share it. Unfortunately, our biggest crisis came when he was denied a visa waiver for unclear reasons and was unable to enter the US. Despite that huge disappointment, Hollywood veteran Allan Holzman stepped up to run their scheduled low-budget genre-film masterclass solo, to great success."
"We saw the same success with Ron Leshem, the original creator of Euphoria. He may not have household celebrity status, but his brilliant insights as a screenwriter and showrunner were a true highlight of the festival for me. As for next year, the plan is to stick to the same formula and embrace its challenges: confirming big talents while continuing to champion the smaller, independent films worthy of our audience's time and intellect. We will begin working on it very soon."
The film festival has been named as one of the top 25 coolest film festival in the country by Movie Maker magazine and there's a good reason for it. For more info visit: https://www.lighthouseff.com/
PHOTOS
