February 2017 (Bellmore, NY) -- Nassau County Film Commissioner Debra Markowitz recently announced that Filmmaker submissions for the 2017 Long Island International Film Expo are now open until March 1st! Filmmakers are encouraged to submit online via Withoutabox.com or FilmFreeway.com, which provide cost-saving, paperless submission to film festivals around the world. LIIFE is the premiere filmmaker community on Long Island sponsored by the Long Island Film/TV Foundation (LIFTF) and the County of Nassau, and shows over 100 short and feature-length films of every genre from the world over! With this year’s Expo set to be held from July 13th – 20th, 2017 at the historic Bellmore Movies (222 Pettit Avenue, Bellmore, NY 11710), submissions will be considered for awards and prizes in the following categories: Best Short, Best Feature, Best Long Island Film, Best Foreign Film, Best Script, Best Webisode, Best Student Film, Best Documentary, Best Animation, and many more.
With a heavy celebrity presence, visits to last year’s festival included a wide range of noted actors, actresses, and performers from Actor/Activist Ed Asner (Mary Tyler Moore, UP!) who won the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award, to Oscar nominated actress Cathy Moriarty (Raging Bull), Actor Kevin Brown (30 Rock), American Idol's Robbie Rosen, Ilene Kristen (One Life to Live), Phyllis Somerville (Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Guiding Light), Robert Clohessy (Blue Bloods), Sal Rendino (The Get Down and Couple of Guys), and Larry Romano (King of Queens). Other notable past LIIFE attendees have also include Steve Buscemi (Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Reservoir Dogs), Ed Burns (Saving Private Ryan, She’s The One), Steve Guttenberg (Police Academy) , and Ralph Macchio (The Karate Kid).
Focusing on the incredible talent of some of the best independent filmmakers, the expo offers networking opportunities, a 350 seat historic theater, press and media opportunities, a convenient filmmakers lounge and several discussion panels with topics ranging from distribution to scriptwriting, legal music, and a filmmaker panel/breakfast.
Named “One of the Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” by MovieMaker Magazine, LIIFE is one of Long Island’s most prestigious film festivals, screening over 100 independent films during its weeklong run. The Long Island Film/TV Foundation, a not-for-profit, is also the foremost group providing support to the film/TV and commercial industries on Long Island, and will be honoring several noted professionals in the film/entertainment/media industries this year.
Last year, LIIFE scheduled over 130 short and feature-length quality independent films from around the world, including many from right here on Long Island. Successes included Best Long Island Film winner “Immunity”, written by Bellmore’s Shari Goldstein Umansky which stars Rena Sofer and was filmed at Gold Coast Studios; Asher Grodman’s “The Train” which won Best Short Film and features Eli Wallach in his last film; “STUFF” by Sayville writer/director Suzanne Guacci- who won Best Director and shot all over Nassau and Suffolk with stars Phyllis Somerville, Yvonne Jung, Traci Dinwiddie, Karen Sillas and Kevin Brown, and many more. STUFF has received a distribution deal and can be seen in multiple venues worldwide!
More About Nassau County Film Commissioner Debra Markowitz:
Debra Markowitz serves as the Director of the Nassau County Film Office. In this capacity, Ms. Markowitz presides over the Nassau County Film Commission, now known as the Nassau County Film Advisory Board and chairs as its Executive Director.
Serving three administrations during her 29-year tenure, Ms. Markowitz has steadily increased production of movies, television programs and commercials that are shot in Nassau County, logging over 1000 production days and over $400M in positive economic impact. Under her auspices, Nassau County currently ranks #2 in New York State for the amount of documented production days, second only to New York City.
Ms. Markowitz also serves as Vice President of the Long Island Film/TV Foundation, Long Island's most established and largest not-for-profit agency dedicated to the support and promotion of independent filmmaking. Under her directorship, the Foundation spawned the Long Island International Film Expo (LIIFE). Heading into its 20th year. LIIFE enjoys enormous popularity, attracting short and feature-length independent films from around the world, spotlighting films made on Long Island and concluding with a star-studded award celebration. An enthusiastic filmmaker herself, Ms. Markowitz, an award winning filmmaker, has acted as Casting Director, consultant, writer, director and producer on movie, television and commercial projects.
On her involvement with the expo, Ms. Markowitz recently stated, “Though no longer a judge, I’m always very excited to see what our selection committee chooses for the year. And as always, meeting the filmmakers, providing opportunities for them to network, screening their films in this historic theatre, providing information for them to advance their careers and celebrating them throughout the week is what LIIFE is all about. Bringing these independent films to our sophisticated movie-going audience is the other piece of the puzzle.”
With submissions NOW OPEN THROUGH MARCH 1ST for this year's Long Island International Film Expo, filmmakers are encouraged to enter what the Audience Awards has called “One of the Top 10 Hottest Summer Film Festivals in the United States” and join in the fun July 13th – 20th!
To Submit to the Long Island International Film Expo, VISIT:
OR
For More Information on LIIFE, Visit: http://longislandfilmexpo.com/
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