LONG ISLAND FILM/TV FOUNDATION
CONTACT: DEBRA MARKOWITZ
516 572-0012 Debfilm@aol.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2008
Long Island International Film Expo Announced 2008 Festival
The Long Island International Film Expo will be celebrating its 11th year from July 9 – 17, 2008 at the Bellmore Movies (222 Pettit Avenue, Bellmore, NY 11710). The closing night party and awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, July 17.
The Long Island International Film Expo (LIIFE) is one of Long Island’s largest regional film festivals. It will feature between 70 – 170 short and feature-length independent films from around the world.
There will panels and parties; and this year, even a mini-market. “We’re testing the waters,” said festival director, Debra Markowitz. “We’ve been expanding every year, and this is the year to try some new things.”
Also new to the festival this year is the presentation of the Closing Night Party and Awards Ceremony. As per Henry Stampfel, owner of the Bellmore Movies and a board member of the Long Island Film/TV Foundation, “We’ve decided to run the Awards Ceremony at the theatre itself. We will provide an opening act or two and then announce the winners that night. The winners’ clips will be shown on the big screen for the audience’s enjoyment.”
Past Long Island International Film Expos and parties have attracted celebrities such as Steve Guttenberg (Police Academy), Ralph Macchio (The Karate Kid), Steve Buscemi (The Sopranos), Cliff Robertson (PT109), Danny Aiello (Moonstruck), Billy Baldwin (Backdraft), Edie Falco (The Sopranos), Chuck Zito (Oz), Vinnie Vella (The Sopranos), Carol Alt (Fashion Model), Ilene Kristen (One Life to Live), Eileen Fulton (As the World Turns), Karen Allen (Animal House), Oleg Cassini (Fashion Designer), Abe Vigoda (Barney Miller), Jay O. Sanders (The Day After Tomorrow), Chris Lemmon (Knots Landing), Patti D’Arbanville (My So Called Life), Vincent Pastore (The Sopranos), Catherine Hickland (One Life to Live), Gianni Russo (The Godfather), Frank Gio (Analyze That), Eddie McGee (Big Brother), Brian O’Halloran (Clerks) Chris Burke (Life Goes On), Kelly Rutherford (Melrose Place), Steven Bauer (Scareface), John Shea (Superman), Robert Chohessey (Across the Universe), Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) and many others.
As always, the Q & A sessions after most of the movie blocks are one of the biggest drawers of the festival.
There are many ways to enjoy this year’s Long Island International Film Expo. Each film block costs $9.50, $7.00 for senior citizens and Filmmakers Connection members. A day pass is $20, and the Gold Pass is $60. The Gold Pass includes every film block in the festival and has other perks for the ticket holder as well.
Senior citizens and students with appropriate ID will be able to take a friend in for free for any of the film blocks that are held from Monday – Friday and begin before 5 pm for a 2-for-1 special.
Schedules for this year’s films will be available early June 2008. For more information, please call the Nassau County Film Office at 516 572-0012.
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