Press Releases

October 7, 2002
Southampton College Welcomes Hamptons International Film Festival

Hosts 11 Films in Avram Theater including Harvey Keitel and Mark Green Premiers

Contact:
Darren Johnson
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 283 4081

For the first time, The Hamptons International Film Festival is coming to Southampton College of Long Island University. Bolstering the college's burgeoning film and television programs, 11 feature films and several student shorts will be screened October 17-20, including premiers starring Harvey Keitel and last year's New York mayoral candidate Mark Green.

A question-and-answer session will follow each movie with key players, including actors, directors and producers. All films will be shown in the Avram Theater with tickets $10 per person. Also, the college will host expert, panel discussions on Documentary at 3 p.m. and Conflict and Resolution at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 18, in Duke Lecture Hall. Tickets for the discussions are $15. Call the Film Festival at 631-324-4600 for reservations and further information.

"Hosting a part of this internationally recognized film festival is an important step in the expansion of Southampton College's film program," said Dean James Larocca, KeySpan Distinguished Professor of Public Policy. "We are extremely happy to have been selected as a venue; and the screenings and discussions will play an invaluable role in our film and TV programs."

Larocca and Film Professor John Reilly were instrumental in bringing the Hamptons International Film Festival to College. Also, an important part of the equation was the expansion of the College's Arts and Media offerings. The College's Theater and Film major is one of the fastest growing on campus. Plays in the renovated Avram Theater are regularly sold out. Actor Alec Baldwin teaches a summer theater workshop on campus while Oscar-nominated director Anthony Harvey ("The Lion in Winter") will teach a film-acting course this spring. A John Guare play reading this summer filled up the Avram Theater and starred Alan Alda, Kathleen Turner and Roy Scheider. The College's TV studio now has a direct link to local television stations LTV and WVVH, and new, professional-level digital video editing equipment and projectors allow for the college to move "further into the circle of professional filmmakers," Reilly said. "Adding the Film Festival to the mix is a great news for us."

Among the full-length feature films shown at Southampton College will be the premier of "Taking Sides" at 8 p.m. on Thursday, October 17. In it, Harvey Keitel plays and an American major who is assigned to prosecute a German orchestra conductor (Stellan Starsgard) as a war criminal. Another premier will be the documentary "Off The Record" at 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 20. The film details New York mayoral candidate Mark Green's failed run in 2001 and was shot by son Josh Green.

Schedule

Interested in volunteering to assist at Southampton and see a film? Call: 631-287-8175
Purchase Tickets: 631.324.4600 ($10 films, $15 panels)

 

AFT=Avram Family Theater -- Films
DLH=Duke Lecture Hall -- Panels

Thursday, Oct. 17
8 p.m. AFT Taking Sides (UK/France/Germany/Austria, 2001, 110 minutes) An American major (Harvey Keitel) is assigned to prosecute a German orchestra conductor (Stellan Starsgard) as a war criminal.

Friday, Oct. 18
1 p.m. AFT Student Films

3 p.m. DLH Documentary Panel

4 p.m. AFT Secret Lives (USA, 2002, 72 minutes) Chronicles the stories of exceptional individuals who, at great peril to themselves and to their families, rescued Jewish children from certain death during the Holocaust.

6 p.m. DLH Confrontation and Resolution Panel 6:30 pm AFT Face (USA, 2002, 89 minutes) Three generations of Chinese women attempt to reconcile their conflicts and their culture in urban America.

9 p.m. AFT Silent Grace (Ireland/U.K., 2001, 85 minutes) A drama based on events in Armagh women's jail in Northern Ireland during the hunger strikes of 1980.

Saturday, Oct. 19
1 p.m. AFT Cinemania (USA/Germany, 2002, 80 minutes) Documentary. Reveals the private worlds of fanatic filmgoers whose uncontrollable passion has deeply affected their personal lives.

3:30 p.m. AFT Alma Mater (USA, 2001, 85 minutes) Set against the backdrop of Harvard University, ALMA MATER grapples with personal and sociopolitical issues just prior to John F. Kennedy's death in 1963.

6 p.m. AFT New Suit (USA, 2002, 94 minutes) Breaking into Hollywood hasn't worked for writer Kevin Taylor. But after he lies about a brilliant new script, all of Hollywood falls for it and comes running to him.

8:30 p.m. AFT Washington Heights (USA, 2002, 81 minutes, English/Spanish with English subtitles) Carlos wants to escape his Dominican neighborhood and make it big in the comic book scene of New York, but it seems everything is getting in the way of his dreams.

Sunday, October 20
1 p.m. AFT Off the Record - Documentary of Mark Green's New York mayoral race last year by son Josh Green.

3:30 p.m. AFT Charlotte Sometimes (USA, 2002, 88 minutes) Follows a reclusive auto mechanic through his days of secret longing for Lori, the sexy girl next door.

6 p.m. AFT Shalom Y'all (USA, 2002, 60 minutes) Documentary. Follows director Brian Bain on a personal journey through the southern United States as he explores the intersection of southern and Jewish identities.