Long Island Film Festival Kicks Off

BELLMORE, NY — Nassau County Executive Laura Curran was joined by Nassau IDA and filmmakers to kick off the 24th Annual Long Island International Film Expo (LIIFE) today at the historic Bellmore Movies. LIIFE is the premiere filmmaker festival on Long Island showing around 125 feature-length films in-theatre and virtually. The festival also features panels with award winning directors and filmmakers.

The film festival runs from Aug. 10 through 15, and is sponsored by Nassau County, Long Island Film-TV Foundation (LIFTF), the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency and Gold Coast Studios

This year, LIIFE is featuring 28 films made by Long Islanders, 20 world premieres, nine US premieres, 39 New York premieres, 37 Long Island premieres, and films from 10 countries. There are also 33 female directors, a record for the festival.

“Nassau County has become ‘Hollywood East’ and the Long Island International Film Expo is a perfect opportunity to show off our rich film culture. I encourage everyone to check out the wonderful screenings and panels at this premiere film festival which we are fortunate to host in our own backyard.” said Nassau County Executive Laura Curran.

LIIFE features local filmmakers as well as productions that were filmed in Nassau County. Nassau County has been the backdrop for scenes in big productions such as "Madame Secretary," "Orange is the New Black," "Homeland," "Billions" and many more. Nassau County is also home to two very busy production studios — Grumman Studios and Gold Coast Studios.

“The media and entertainment industry is tremendously important to Nassau County’s economy and we are seeking to grow this industry in the near future,” said Nassau County Industrial Development Agency Chairman Richard Kessel. “With its close proximity to NYC, its talent guilds and unions, and a third studio being built in Port Washington, Nassau County is ideally situated to become the hub of top-quality TV, film broadcasting, advertising and streaming content production creating more jobs and putting dollars back into Nassau’s economy.”

In addition to the in-theater experience, this year many of LIIFE’s films will also be shown virtually, and will feature films from around the globe.

For a full schedule of events, for tickets and more information, visit www.LongIslandFilm.com.