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2009 Press Release
Long Beach Island to Play Host to Historic Film Festival
The Lighthouse International Film Festival Will Bring World Cinema to One of New Jersey's Most Popular Summer Destinations, June 4th to 7th
Long Beach Island, NJ
May 18, 2009
From Thursday, June 4th to Sunday, June 7th, Long Beach Island (LBI) will play host to a film festival unlike any other in New Jersey's history. Inspired by the historic Barnegat Lighthouse, which has beckoned travelers to LBI since 1859, the Lighthouse International Film Festival will draw film fans with astonishing new feature films from around the world, half of them documentaries. Additionally, the festival will include exciting guest appearances from stars such as Gidget and former New York Giant Howard Cross.
Presented by a team of industry insiders, including a former editor of the film magazine Premiere, a prominent entertainment attorney and a senior director of acquisitions at the Sundance Channel, the Festival will provide an exciting venue to introduce new films and talent, in addition to marking LBI as an important destination for film fanatics. 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. The Festival has received over 130 submissions from countries as diverse as Italy, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
The festival's spotlight films will include:
• Big Fan, directed by Robert Siegel - Big Fan is the award winning writer of one of 2008's most acclaimed films, The Wrestler, which starred Mickey Rourke. This engaging film, which stars Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille, Steven Spielberg's United States of Tara), takes a look at the life of a diehard football fan, and what happens when one of his gridiron heroes turns on him. Central to the film is the legendary rivalry between this area's two most storied franchises: the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles. Big Fan is slated to be the festival's opening night film on Friday, June 5th!
• Pulling John, directed by Vassiliki Khonsari and Sevan Matossian - the Saturday night showcase film is the universal story of a champion, who after 25 years of domination is now burdened with the inevitable transformation of aging. This fun, lively film tells the story of John Brzenk, a legendary arm-wrestling champion who works as an airline mechanic by day, who must decide whether to leave the sport he was raised on, or wait to be defeated by two up and coming titans.
• Made in China, directed by Judi Krant - Co-written and directed by Judi Krant (in her directorial debut), Made in China is a comedy about one such inventor, Johnson (Jackson Kuehn), a self-styled novelty inventor from a small town in East Texas, who is determined to bring his big idea - "a humorous domestic hygiene product" - to the world. The film was screened at the prestigious SXSW Film Festival this year, where it won Best Narrative Feature Film Award 2009.
Additional films are to be announced. For a full screening schedule, please visit the online program guide.
Long Beach Island - A Historic Setting of Sun, Sand - and Surf!
Aside from films, LBI will be showing off something else: itself. New visitors to LBI will discover the restaurants, hotels and businesses that residents and vacationers already know and love. One of the Island's more notable attributes is that it is among America's premier surfing destinations. To acknowledge and honor the Island's proud history, the Festival will be showing a special series of surfing films. Further information on the Festival's surfing films is available at: http://www.lighthousefilmfestival.org/guide/
Festival for Kids
In partnership with KIDS FIRST!, the Festival 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 young people. Artistic development and media literacy are important factors in a child's development, and the Festival hopes to increase both with a program that will make filmmakers available for school visits; increase awareness of media literacy and filmmaking through area libraries.
Beyond New York: New Jersey and the Film Industry
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. We are certain that it will be a wonderful addition to summer in Southern Ocean County. Further details and exciting guests for the festival are to be announced.
About the Lighthouse International 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, 20 shorts, documentaries and family films, as well as panel discussions with leading film industry professionals. Taking place on Long Beach Island, NJ -- one of the East coast's most popular surfing destinations -- the festival celebrates four days of new, exciting and challenging films in honor of Long Beach Island's historic Barnegat Lighthouse.
Follow the Festival on Twitter and Facebook. For more information, please visit http://lighthousefilmfestival.org or contact information@lighthousefilmfestival.org.
Please direct all press inquiries to Farrah Hamid.
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