Long Island International Film Expo: What's playing this year
Simon Elias and Nathalie Rangel in "Colibirí" written and directed by East Meadow's David Salazar and Francisco Salazar. Credit: La Cuarta Production
Homegrown filmmaking will be on display at this year’s Long Island International Film Expo, the 27th edition of a festival that showcases local cinema alongside movies from further afield and overseas.
The Expo, known to regulars as LIIFE, runs July 9 through 14 at its long-standing home, the Bellmore Movies at 222 Pettit Ave.
Among the features with roots on Long Island is the opening-night selection, “Colibiri,” a drama about a young Colombian couple by East Meadow’s writing-directing siblings David and Francisco Salazar. A supernatural thriller from writer-director Maria Capp, “The Lady of the Lake: The Legend of Lake Ronkonkoma,” follows a high school graduate whose summer home is haunted by family problems and strange occurrences. Candice T. Cain, a filmmaker from New Hyde Park, contributes “Royal Runaways,” a romcom about a prince who dodges his duties by hiding out as a handyman in a winery.
“Scared for Your LIIFE,” the horror-themed festival-within-a-festival, returns with a combination of short films and one hourlong feature, “Screamwalkers,” a 1990s homage shot on analog video. The fourth annual “Midnight Madness” program offers a collection of bizarre shorts — one lasting just 60 seconds — and a special-edition pin as your reward for attending. In the closing-day feature, “Scrap,” writer-director Vivian Kerr and Broadway’s Anthony Rapp (“Rent”) play estranged siblings trying to reconnect.
Also scheduled throughout the festival are filmmakers’ panels, a screenplay reading and a trivia contest.
Expo programs typically run in two-hour blocks comprising a feature and one or more shorts. Tickets for individual blocks are $17; passes are $65-$100. To purchase tickets and to see the full schedule, go to longislandfilm.com.
