Stony Brook Film Festival lineup: Upbeat and uplifting 

After nearly 30 years, the Stony Brook Film Festival has established a tradition: Pick the best movies, and don’t try to find a “theme.”

This year, however, is a little different.

The festival’s 29th edition feels decidedly upbeat. Take the opening-night film: Last year’s followed a couple whose lives are shattered by a tragic accident. This year's is a heartwarming tale of an Algerian boy who immigrates to France with filmmaking dreams. Or take the closing-night title: Two years ago it was a World War II drama about a train full of concentration-camp prisoners. This year it’s an inspirational story about a husband and wife who seek out exotic locales with their disabled daughter. And if you’re expecting any movies about the Holocaust — a festival staple — this year’s edition doesn’t include a single one.

Given the state of the world, says festival founder Alan Inkles, “believe me, we could all use a few laughs.”

The many lighter-hearted choices were more subconscious than intentional, Inkles notes, but you can spot them throughout the festival, which runs Thursday through July 27 at the Staller Center for the Arts. The sole feature from Israel, for instance, is a comedy about a refugee who is mistaken for a famous soccer pro. In fact, the festival is about half comedies — a big jump from the roughly 25% of past lineups. Inkles is even willing to tease his audiences: He has scheduled a “surprise” feature whose identity won’t be revealed until it screens Sunday.

As always, the festival prides itself on showcasing foreign films and American indies that might never make it to a local theater. That’s especially true now, when even a big-budget blockbuster like “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” can’t draw audiences to an air-conditioned multiplex. Aside from the aforementioned surprise film, Inkles says, there are no festival titles with firm plans for U.S. theatrical distribution. In other words: Miss these films now and you might never see them again.

Below are highlights of the festival. Each feature will be preceded by a short and all foreign-language films are subtitled in English. Times listed are after noon.

THE BLOND BOY FROM THE CASBAH (Thursday at 7 p.m.) Working from his autobiographical book, writer-director Alexandre Arcady tells a fictionalized story of a filmmaker who returns to the Algerian town he left as a boy. The opening-night film stars Léo Campion and Marie Gillain.

HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON (Friday at 9:30 p.m.) After 68 years, it's finally time for teenage vampire Sasha (Sara Montpetit) to overcome her aversion to killing people. How fortunate that she meets Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard), a mopey kid who might prove a willing victim. Variety called this comedy “a good-natured, dark-tinged, teen rom-com.”

SPECIAL SNEAK PREVIEW (Sunday at 7 p.m.) You won’t know what this movie is until you show up, but here are some hints: It is produced by a Long Islander, has a connection to Stony Brook and includes some well-known faces.

MONTH TO MONTH (Sunday at 9:30 p.m.) The girl who got away is coming back to Los Angeles, and her slacker ex-boyfriend, Zach (Mike Koslov), has promised to pick her up at the airport. But when his car is stolen, Zach vows to scour the city to find it. Written and directed by festival favorite Koslov (“Friends from Home”) with Derrick Owens.

MASTERGAME (July 25 at 7 p.m.) Barnabás Tóth’s Cold War thriller, set in Hungary in 1956, weaves together a young couple on the lam, a cache of priceless Catholic Church relics and a train full of mysterious passengers. With Károly Hajduk and Pál Mácsai.

ONE MILLION MINUTES (July 27 at 7 p.m.) When Vera and Wolf Küper learn that their young daughter has a motor disorder, they embark on a search for a new life that includes less stress, more meaning. Christopher Doll directs and his wife, Karoline Herfurth, stars in this closing-night feature, an inspirational drama based on a true story.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com@raferguzman