|
- 16th Annual Stony Brook Film Festival Announces Program -
U.S Premiere of Sonny Boy from the Netherlands to Open Festival
Closing Night features East Coast Premiere of Almanya from Germany
- Many new U.S. films in the mix -
June 1, 2011, Stony Brook, NY— The 16th Annual Stony Brook Film
Festival’s schedule was announced at stonybrookfilmfestival.com outlining all
films for July 21 to 30. The Festival opens on Thursday, July 21 with the U.S.
premiere of Sonny Boy from the Netherlands, directed by Maria Peters. On
Closing Night, Saturday, July 30, Stony Brook screens the East Coast premiere of
Almanya, a German film directed by Yasemin Samdereli. The festival
expects over 15,000 patrons over ten days with film passes for entry to all
films $75. Single tickets are $9 and $7 and go on sale subject to availability
July 11 at stonybrookfilmfestival.com or by calling (631) 632-ARTS [2787].
Sonny Boy is the romantic story of a mother of four children and a
Surinam man seventeen years her junior in pre-World War II Holland and is based
on actual events. Almanya, a comedy by director Yasemin Samdereli, was
co-written with her sister Nesrin. They draw on the stories of their grandfather
who immigrated to Germany from Turkey and brought his family to live there. An
outstanding ensemble of actors brings this warm-hearted story to life.
Thirty-four screenings include features, documentaries and shorts from around
the world, chosen from the largest field of entries ever received by Stony
Brook. Staller Center for the Arts, which produces the Festival, will host many
international directors and stars. At the U.S. Premiere of Sonny Boy, a
large contingent is expected to attend from Holland: the director, co-writer and
co-producer Maria Peters; the lead actress, Ricky Koole; producer Hans Pos; and
Remko Nods, the real-life son of Waldy Nods, the “Sonny Boy” of the story. In
addition, Annejet van der Zijl, the writer of the eponymous bestselling novel,
is expected at the screening. Yasemin and Nesrin Samdereli are expected to
attend the Closing Night screening of Almanya. U.S. invitees include
Isabella Rossellini (for the U.S. premiere of Late Bloomers), Liana
Liberato and David Schwimmer (Trust), Jill Hennessy (Roadie), and Eric
Stoltz (for the N. Y. premiere of Fort McCoy), among others.
Long Island Connections
Alan Inkles, founding director the Stony Brook Film Festival said, “In addition
to outstanding international premieres we are excited about the compelling U.S.
entries and films with Long Island connections. We have the World Premiere of
9/11: An American Requiem, which focuses on the health of first responders
and the Stony Brook Medical Center’s World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and
Treatment Program. We’ve decided to make the screening free on Sunday, July 24
at 3:00 pm. A version of the film will be shown on PBS on 9/11. We also have a
Sneak Preview of Kings Park: Stories from an American Mental Institution,
directed by Lucy Winer, who was committed as a suicidal teenager in the late
60s.”
Shorts with Long Island connections include The Absence, a film by Alex
DeMille, with scenes in Oheka Castle and farms in Southold. All That Remains,
a film by Cody Blue Snider, was filmed locally in the Three Village and Port
Jefferson area.
U.S. Premieres
U.S. Premieres includes two from the Netherlands: Sonny Boy and Don’t
Touch My Children. Karina Smulders, who stars as the mother in Don’t
Touch My Children will be familiar to those who saw last year’s Bride
Flight. With Love from the Age of Reason and My Wife’s Romance,
are both from France. Silence is Golden from Poland is a comedy about a
voice-over actress; and Late Bloomers starring Isabella Rossellini and
William Hurt explores a couple’s struggle in their thirty year marriage and is a
U.S. Premiere from France/Belgium/U.K. in English.
East Coast Premieres
East Coast Premieres include Losing Control (U.S.), Mama Gógó (Iceland),
Stay With Me (Canada) and Almanya (Germany).
New York Premieres
New York Premieres include features Fort McCoy (U.S), Young Goethe in
Love (Germany), The Tree (Australia/France) and These Amazing
Shadows (U.S.), which is a bonus film for Passholders. These Amazing
Shadows tickets may go on sale the day of the screening subject to
availability.
Additional Films, American and Otherwise
Women directors are prominent in the film festival line up. Among them are
Valerie Weiss (Losing Control), Kate Conner (Fort McCoy co-written
with Michael Worth) and Amy Unell (Starting at the Finish Line).
Losing Control, a romantic comedy about a Harvard graduate student and
female scientist who wants to apply scientific principles to find “the one,”
makes an East Coast premiere. Valerie Weiss is a scientist turned filmmaker. She
presented a short film at Stony Brook in 2006 (Transgressions) and is
returning with her first full-length feature.
Fort McCoy was an actual prisoner of war camp in Wisconsin during World
War II. Kate Connor tells the story of an American family who moves there to
work for the American Army. Starting at the Finish Line: The Coach Buehler
Story follows the life of the track coach from Duke University who
integrated track and field and was an advocate for female athletes. Amy Unell
looks at the man and his life, and the impact he had on sports history. A
poignant documentary that was filmed in Israel over four years, Love During
Wartime, by Gabriella Bier, follows the lives of a Jewish woman and her
Palestinian husband. Trust, directed by David Schwimmer, stars newcomer
Liana Liberato in the story of a fourteen year old who becomes enraptured with a
boy she meets online, and also stars Clive Owen and Catherine Keener as her
parents. Roadie stars Ron Eldard as the rock band roadie, Jill Hennessy
and Bobby Cannavale, Tony-Award nominee this Broadway season.
Studio Spotlight Premieres
Slated for late summer or early fall releases are a number of Studio Spotlight
Premieres. Isabella Rosselini and William Hurt star together in Late Bloomers.
A beautiful period piece, Young Goethe in Love tells the story behind the
passionate romantic who wrote a cult classic of the 18th century, The Sorrows of
Young Werther. Mozart’s Sister is a French film about Maria Anna
“Nannerl” Mozart who was a musical prodigy in her own right. The Piano in a
Factory, a film from China, looks at the life of a little girl in a fading
factory town in northeastern China.
Closing Night HBO Awards Reception
Filmmakers attend screenings to represent their films and winning filmmakers are
brought back for the Closing Night HBO Awards Reception. Film critic John
Anderson will host the awards ceremony as he has in past years. For more
information about tickets to receptions, Gold Passes for reserved seating and
past festivals, go to www.stonybrookfilmfestival.com.
All films are shown in the Staller Center Main Stage Theatre at Stony Brook
University.
Presenting sponsors of the Stony Brook Film Festival are HBO, Suffolk County,
Teachers Federal Credit Union, The Village Voice and WALK 97.5 Radio.
About Staller Center for the Arts
Staller Center for the Arts, Stony Brook University’s cultural showplace, is
located in the center of campus and has been the home of the Stony Brook Film
Festival every summer since its beginnings. Staller Center offers over 200
performances annually in dance, music, art, theatre, and film from around the
world each season.
###
|