Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

Saturday, January 14, 2012
Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts and Sciences
Loveladies, NJ

7:00 pm
Fee $5.00 LFS members free

The Lighthouse International Film Society is pleased to announce actors Maxwell Beer and Ryan Simpkins will be at Saturday’s screening! Q & A with director Tamar Halpern.

Synopsis
When twelve-year-old Jeremy receives a locked wooden box in the mail from his deceased father, he teams up with his best friend, the sassy and fearless Lizzy, to find the missing keys. Their quest takes them on a wild adventure around Manhattan where they meet a nutty pawn broker named Oswald Oswald III (Joe Pantoliano), a fortune teller from another era (Betsy Brandt), and a knife-wielding socialite (Marion Seldes), all while being driven around by a secretive limo driver (Michael Urie). As Jeremy gets deeper and deeper into the memories of losing his father, shown in stop motion animation, his mother (Mira Sorvino) works hard to keep his spirits up and his eye on the prize: to find the meaning of life!

Tamar Halpern
Writer and director Tamar Halpern’s feature Shelf Life was called a “whip smart film that taps into a fresh source for American comedy” by Variety. Her recent film Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life is based on the young adult novel by Wendy Mass and stars Mira Sorvino and Joe Pantoliano. Writing and directing awards include Paramount Screenwriting Fellowship, Jack Oakie Comedy Screenplay Award, IFP/NY Screenplay Finalist, FIND Directors Lab Fellow, Slamdance Screenplay Finalist, Cynosure Screenplay Finalist, Nicholl Screenplay Semi Finalist, Best Director Stonybrook Film Festival, Jury Award Best Film Dances With Films, Dreamago Plume et Pellicule Switzerland Writer in Residence, Blacklist Best Unproduced Screenplays and 2010 Best of the Net for short fiction. Her short film Death, Taxes and Apple Juice was awarded a Special Jury Mention at the 2011 Lighthouse International Film Festival.

Ryan Simpkins
Ryan Simpkins is no newcomer when it comes to making movies. At four years old, Ryan’s first performance was a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, Fallen Angel (with Gary Sinise). She has continued to build her resume ever since, working with many A-list directors and actors over the years. At seven years old, Ryan debuted on Broadway, in Festen (Julianna Margulies), and also began production on the film Pride and Glory. Ryan was the first child actress to win NYC Film Festival’s Best Actress Award for her role in Surveillance. In her next role, Ryan shined with the stars in Revolutionary Road, directed by Academy Award winner, Sam Mendes. Ryan played the child of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. Ryan was later cast as Jennifer in A Single Man. Ryan has guest-starred on Law and Order, CSI, and has been seen on several national commercials and print cover ads. In “Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life” she is Jeremy’s best friend and confidant. It has been successful journey for this remarkable 13 year old.

Maxwell Beer
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life is Maxwell Beer’s first feature film production, and he couldn’t be happier with his debut character, Jeremy Fink. Although new to film, Max has trained as a theater performer for the past several years. In 2010, Maxwell toured nationally as Arty in Michael Bloom’s production of Lost in Yonkers, with performances at the Maltz Jupiter Theater, The Cleveland Playhouse, and a final run at Paper Mill Playhouse.

The Immaculate Misconception

Saturday, December 3
Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts and Sciences
Loveladies, NJ

8:00 pm
Fee $5.00 LFS members free

Q and A with PJ Leonard, Writer, Filmmaker and Producer

A miracle in Jersey City? Is it possible? Meet Mary (Courtney Draper), a high school senior who has an interest in becoming a nun. She lives with her middle-class family, including her unorthodox grandmother (Katherine McGrath). Her father, Michael (Ed Moran), works a blue-collar job and gambles with three wise guys. After a hard day’s work, Michael usually has to pay some of his earnings to the wise guys. Also in Mary’s life is her boyfriend, Joey (Joseph Perrino). Joey is trying to become a certified carpenter. Even though his girlfriend Mary is holier than thou, Joey sells drugs for the wise guys in order to buy her a vacation to a convent in France.

Things in Mary’s life are status quo, until a visit to the gynecologist. After going to what seemed to be a routine office visit, the doctor calls Mary a few days later and tells the virgin that she is pregnant. Instead of freaking out, Mary believes a miracle has happened. Her family is taken off guard by Mary’s excitement and, soon, news breaks all around the city that a religious phenomenon has happened. All parties involved now must cope with the apparent miracle that has been bestowed upon Mary. The film is loaded with subtle metaphors, well written, and thoughtful.

Polish Bar

Sunday, November 13
Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts and Sciences
Loveladies, NJ

7:00 pm
Fee $5.00 LFS members free

Q and A with director Ben Berkowitz

“Polish Bar is very much the story of someone who, caught in a tight spot has no choice but to “do what he’s gotta do.” It’s an impressive drama that, as a meticulously-cast independent film, has a gritty style all its own.” — HUFFINGTON POST

> More information and movie trailer

Romantics Anonymous

Saturday, October 29
Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts and Sciences
Loveladies, NJ

7:00 pm
Fee $5.00 LFS members free

French Film Romantics Anonymous Woos Us With Chocolates and Laughter
-Huffington Post Review

> More information and movie trailer

Shut Up, Little Man!

Friday, August 19
Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts and Sciences
Loveladies, NJ

8:00 pm
Fee $5.00 LFS members free

The Lighthouse Film Society is excited to kick off this year’s monthly films with a special screening of Shut Up, Little Man! Opens in theaters August 25, 2011.

In 1987, Midwesterners Eddie and Mitch, recent college graduates, scored their dream apartment in a pink, ramshackle building in San Francisco’s Height Asbury district. Only after signing the lease does the landlord mention the neighbors, “two gentleman” who were sometimes loud. This turns out to be a vast understatement. The neighbors are the ultimate odd couple. They hate each other with raging abandon and, through the paper‐thin walls, terrorize Eddie and Mitch with their alcohol‐fuelled rants. Hanging out their apartment window, an angry Eddie and Mitch begin to tape record evidence of the insane, but hilarious, arguments next door. In recording Pete and Ray’s unique dialogue, the boys accidentally create one of the world’s first “viral” pop culture sensations, spawning comic strips, puppets, and other phenomena based on their crazy neighbors. The film, directed and written by Mathew Bates, is a laugh out loud, bizarre comedy.

Down Terrace

Saturday, April 16
Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts and Sciences
Loveladies, NJ

8:00 pm
Talk by director Ben Wheatley following the film
Presented by the Lighthouse Film Society
Fee $5.00 LFS members free

“A Dark, Surprisingly Twisty Crime Fable.”
– New York Magazine

“PROFANELY FUNNY …. A BRITISH VERSION OF ‘THE SOPRANOS’”
–The New York Post

Father and son Bill and Karl (real life father and son Bob and Robin Hill) have just been released from jail free and clear, but all is not well at Down Terrace. Patriarchs of a small crime family, their business is plagued with infighting. Karl has had more than he can take of his old man’s philosophizing and preaching, and Bill thinks Karl’s dedication to the family is seriously compromised when he takes up with an estranged girlfriend who claims to be carrying his baby. To make matters worse, there’s an unidentified informant in their midst that could send them all to prison for a very long time, and none of their associates can be trusted.

Visit the official website

Between the Folds

MARCH 26, 2011
Long Beach Island Foundation

120 Long Beach Boulevard
Loveladies, NJ 08008
(609) 494-1241

6:30 – Award winning artist Sophia Yuan – Origami presentation
7:00 – Film Between the Folds
- Q and A with director Vanessa Gould
- Light refreshments will be served.
Admission: $5
Free for members of the Lighthouse International Film Festival

“Between the Folds is a gorgeous cinematic experience. I was so captivated by the documentary that halfway through I felt intense admiration for humanity, the same tingling I feel when listening to music so exquisite it’s almost painful.”
— Karen A. Frankel, talkingscience

When you look at a piece of paper, what do you see? If your answer is a flat, two–dimensional square, then BETWEEN THE FOLDS will astound you. Blurring the mysterious lines between art, science, sculpture and math, the film is an exhilarating adventure into origami, or paperfolding, featuring works of art whose emotional expressiveness and engineering complexity defy logic. Just as Michelangelo might have seen a statue standing frozen inside a block of marble, the eccentric artists and scientists in BETWEEN THE FOLDS envision the three–dimensional possibilities of paper, and, as if by alchemy, change the mundane into the poetic and magical—all with no scissors, no tape and no glue. Ultimately, the medium of paperfolding itself—a blank, uncut square—emerges as a resounding metaphor for the creative potential of us all.

The award–winning documentary Between the Folds chronicles the stories of ten fine artists and intrepid theoretical scientists who have abandoned careers and scoffed at hard–earned graduate degrees—all to forge unconventional lives as modern–day paperfolders.

Meet director, writer and producer Vanessa Gould at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences

Paper Sculpture by Chris K. Palmer
Experimenting with Movement and Light

The Locksmith

Saturday, February 12, 2011
7 p.m.

Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences
120 Long Beach Blvd. l Loveladies, NJ 08008

Admission – $5
Free for members of the Lighthouse International Film Society

Q & A with director after film

Want to beat the winter blues? Looking for something fun to do? We’ve got a film for you!

This sweet, madcap , romantic comedy is the perfect compliment to “Chocolate Week” on Long Beach Island.

Mike (Richardson) is a locksmith. He’s also a prisoner on work release, but you wouldn’t know it. He’s just trying to focus on his house calls and reconcile with his ex-girlfriend—until Margo (Reeder) hijacks his day. A live-wire kook who’s certain her boyfriend is cheating on her, Margo bulldozes Mike into spying on the alleged cad. The result: an all-day adventure with a stolen vehicle, a visit to an unlikely drug dealer, and a low blood-sugar attack.

This film, written and directed by Todd and Brad Barnes premiered  at the Sundance Film Festival, where it even picked up the Best of Next Award.

The Locksmith stars Anslem Richardson, Ana Reeder, Stephen Rannazzisi, Cesar De Leon, Mary Beth Peil and Michelle Krusiec.

A special thanks to all our friends, members and supporters who post information about upcoming screenings on  Facebook, websites and spread the word to their friends and family. Your support is greatly appreciated.

I Am Comic

Saturday, January 15, 2011
7:00 pm

Long Beach Island Arts and Science Foundation
Loveladies, NJ

Free for members of the Lighthouse Film Society, or $5 at the door.

Comedian and filmmaker Jordan Brady offers an inside look at the art and business of stand-up comedy in this documentary. In I Am Comic, more than eighty professional comedians — ranging from struggling beginners to veterans with over a fifty years of experience — talk about the nuts and bolts of their work, discussing how they create their material, how an act comes together over time, the rigors of performing and their relationship with their audience.

I am Comic features interviews with Phyllis Diller, Lewis Black, Sarah Silverman, Jeff Foxworthy, Dave Attell, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carlos Mencia and many more. The film received its world premiere at the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival.

Question and Answer via Skype with the director Jordon Brady

For more information about the movie:

http://www.iamcomicmovie.com/
http://friarsclub.bside.com/2010/films/iamcomic0_jordanbrady_friarsclub2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVTr28NYTX4

Gasland

October 2, 2010
7:00 PM

Beach Haven Elementary School
700 N. Beach Avenue
Beach Haven, NJ

Free for members of the Lighthouse Film Society, or $10 at the door.

Join us for Q and A with director Josh Fox

“The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of “fracking” or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a “Saudia Arabia of natural gas” just beneath us. But is fracking safe? When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire. This is just one of the many absurd and astonishing revelations of a new country called GASLAND. Part verite travelogue, part expose, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown, part showdown.”