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Press Release
Lighthouse International Film Festival Announced
Long Beach Island, New Jersey
4 – 7 June, 2009
We are delighted to announce the launch of the Lighthouse International Film Festival, a major new event taking place the first weekend of June on New Jersey's beautiful Long Beach Island or LBI, as it's more commonly known. The Festival will offer three days of films that will entertain and delight movie fans.
Inspired by the historic Barnegat Lighthouse which has beckoned travelers to LBI since 1859, the first Lighthouse International Film Festival will draw film fans to the area by bringing attendees astonishing new feature films from around the world, half of them documentaries. Already, the Festival has received submissions from countries as diverse as Italy, Serbia, Great Britain, France, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. Says Festival director Charlie Prince, "we're ecstatic about the number and quality of the films we've received so far. For a new festival, we never could have anticipated there would be so much each interest this early. I think it's a tribute to the reputation of LBI."
Between Thursday June 4 and Sunday June 7, the island will be turned into a filmgoer's paradise, with feature films being showcased at venues throughout the Island. The Lighthouse International Film Festival will also be presenting a diverse selection of fascinating short films. An elite jury of critics and industry professionals will give an award to the best films screened in competition.
LBI has long been one of the premier surfing destinations on the East Coast, and to acknowledge and celebrate decades of people hanging ten off our shores, the Festival will be showing a special series of surfing films. The movies will be presented in a novel and idyllic setting, and those details will be announced soon.
The Lighthouse International Film Festival is very excited to announce that it will also be holding special screenings and events by and for young people. The Festival wants to foster and encourage emerging talent, and a program is being developed to showcase the talents of kids, including their filmmaking abilities. Artistic development and media literacy are important factors in a child's development, and through the School Outreach Program, the Festival hopes to increase both. The Program will benefit students from kindergarten to twelfth grade with a program that will make filmmakers available for school visits; increase awareness of media literacy and filmmaking through local libraries, and, of course, showing films at the Festival made by young people.
Prince, an entertainment lawyer and co-founder of the popular website cinemastrikesback.com, thinks filmgoers will find the Festival rewarding. "Not only will there be great films from around the world," says Prince, "but before and after the screenings, you can walk along LBI's mile after mile of beaches. This Festival will truly be something special."
New Jersey has a special relationship with filmmaking: the movie camera was invented here. Over a century later, through the Lighthouse International Film Festival, visitors to LBI will be exposed to some of the most interesting work being shot today. And through the Festival's outreach program to students, the next generation of area residents will have the opportunity to develop their creativity in new ways.
Other exciting plans will be announced shortly. In the meanwhile, submissions are still being accepted. Those interested in submitting a feature or short can find submission information can go to www.lighthousefilmfestival.org.
About Long Beach Island: LBI is an eighteen mile island in Southern New Jersey, located off Garden State Parkway Exit 63 (Route 72). It is known for its unspoiled beaches, quiet way of life, the world famous Chowderfest, and attracting those with a dedication to the arts. It is home to the renowned Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, the Surflight Theatre and its annual Arts and Leisure Weekend. Owing to its natural beauty as well as its proximity to New York, Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley and Baltimore, it is a popular holiday destination and weekend retreat. The Barnegat Lighthouse, located at the north end of LBI, is the second tallest lighthouse in the Untied States.
About the Lighthouse Film Festival
The Lighthouse International Film Festival was founded by a collection of filmmakers, film critics and film industry professionals who share a passion for film and wanted to create an event aimed first and foremost at film enthusiasts. The 2009 festival will present feature films, shorts, documentaries and family films, as well as panel discussions with leading film industry professionals. For more information, please contact information@lighthousefilmfestival.org or visit www.lighthousefilmfestival.org.
Please direct all press inquiries to Farrah Hamid.
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