Stony Brook Film Festival To Open July 20

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The Stony Brook Film Festival has become one of Long Island’s most important cultural events, bringing international cinema, independent films, short films, filmmakers, and movie lovers together at Stony Brook University’s Staller Center. The 2017 festival offered ten days of screenings, premieres, and conversations that gave Long Islanders a chance to experience the kind of film programming usually associated with major cities.

Stony Brook Film Festival, Staller Center. Photo: Brian Kachejian

The yearly Stony Brook Film Festival will open on Thursday, July 20, 2017, and run to Saturday, July 29, 2017. The Stony Brook Film Festival takes place at Stony Brook University’s Staller Center on the grounds of Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York. The Stony Brook Film Festival will celebrate its twenty-second year. The film festival is an extraordinary cultural experience that drew over 15,000 people in 2016 for its 10-day performance schedule. Each day of the festival features two feature films and accompanying half-hour short films. More films are shown on the weekends. Fans attending the festival can purchase tickets for individual films or a festival pass.

Ticket prices for individual films are twelve dollars. Senior-citizen prices are $10, while Stony Brook students with a valid ID pay only $5. All individual performance tickets include one feature film and one short film. The film festival pass, which allows patrons to view all the festival’s films, costs only $85, a pretty good deal considering there will be 20 feature films and 20 short films shown throughout the festival. Film pass holders also receive a free tote bag and a lanyard, a neck strap that holds the commemorative film pass. Discounts at local restaurants are also given to pass holders. Most importantly, pass holders are allowed into the theater first, allowing them to cherry-pick their seats. All of this for only eighty-five dollars, which is about half the price of one Billy Joel ticket at MSG.

For those who wish to experience more than just the films themselves, patrons can purchase a Gold Pass. The Gold Pass allows attendees to sit in the VIP sections of the theaters with the filmmakers and guests. It also provides access to the opening- and closing-night receptions. The Gold Pass costs $225.

Opening and Closing Night Films

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This year’s festival opens and closes with two comedies. The film Welcome to Germany, which was directed and written by Simon Verhoeven, opens the festival on Thursday night. It is the film’s U.S. premiere, which is what film festivals are all about. The film touches on issues of racism, xenophobia, and politics in a comedic sense. Seemingly, a perfect way to open a film festival in the summer of 2017. The closing night film, Text to You, is another German comedy about a grieving woman who keeps sending text messages to her deceased lover without realizing somebody else has been assigned her lover’s old cell phone number.

Elliot Murphy Documentary

The Stony Brook Film Festival will also be presenting a documentary about Long Island’s own Elliot Murphy. The former Long Islander, who hailed from Garden City, currently resides in France. Elliot Murphy had released a string of albums on Columbia Records in the eighties and has made multiple appearances on stage with Bruce Springsteen. However, the former Long Islander has found his largest fan base in France. For those familiar with Stony Brook University’s Sunday Acoustic Concert Series hosted by Charlie Backfish and WUSB, fans may remember that it was less than ten years ago, in 2009, that Elliot Murphy performed at the Stony Brook Union University Cafe as part of the Sunday Street Acoustic Concert Series. It is a series that has now continued at the Long Island Museum, just down the road from Stony Brook University.

The Stony Brook University Film Festival represents an astounding commitment to the arts by a university that is often taken for granted by Long Islanders, who do not recognize the outstanding institution right in their own backyards. At such a low price, film lovers can view an extraordinary number of great films. It is an experience often celebrated only in major cities. Having the opportunity to experience a city-like film festival on Long Island should not be missed.