Winners of the 2022 Annual Stony Brook Film Festival
presented by Island Federal
2022 FESTIVAL WINNERS
Berenshtein
2022 Jury Award Best Feature
Israel and Ukraine - 110 min
Directed by Roman Shumunov. Written by Simon Shechter and Tasha Karluyka.
With Yaroslav Kucherenko, Anton Karlinsky, Lilya Ostapovich, Pavel Aldoshin, Viktoriya Levchenko, Dmitriy Saranskov and Ygor Surkov.
The amazing, true story of Leonid Berenshtein, the last surviving member of the World War II partisan battalion that located Hitler’s secret weapon - the V2 missile development facility - all while hiding his real name and Jewish identity from his fellow soldiers. This epic masterpiece seamlessly intersperses Berenshtein’s story with footage of the real Berenshtein remembering his experiences during the last days of his life. Despite the horrors he endured and the nightmares he witnessed, what shines through is how the humanity of one man impacted all those around him. A film you will not soon forget.
In German, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian, with subtitles. Watch the Trailer Here.
Produced by Ronen Balzam and Emanuel Shechter. Edited by Roman Shumunov. Director of Photography: Evgeny Usanov, Ronen Kruk and Kirill San. From Go2Films.
Contra
2022 Audience Award Best Feature
Contra
Germany - 108 min
Directed by Sönke Wortmann. Written by Doron Wisotzky.
With Nilam Farooq (Sweethearts), Christoph Maria Herbst, Hassan Akkouch.
An unpopular Professor gets himself into serious trouble for making racist remarks to freshman Naima Hamid when she arrives late for his lecture. After a video of their exchange goes viral, he is given one final chance to save his teaching career by the university president: prepare Naima to represent the University in a national debate competition. Both the Professor and Naima are less than happy about the situation, but time will tell if they can set aside their differences and work as a team. Rising star Nilam Farooq gives a breakout performance in this hilarious, heartfelt film.
In German and Arabic, with subtitles. Watch the Trailer here.
Produced by Christoph Müller and Tom Spiess. Edited by Martin Wolf. Director of Photography: Holly Fink. From Picture Tree.
Glob Lessons
2022 Spirit of Independent Filmmaking Award
United States - 101 min
Directed by Nicole Rodenburg. Written by Nicole Rodenburg and Colin Froeber.
With Nicole Rodenburg and Colin Froeber.
While performing low-budget children’s theatre out of a minivan across the frozen Upper Midwest, two aimless thirtysomething strangers - a repressed gay man and an enigmatic woman with a wild streak - struggle to overcome their fears of inadequacy and intimacy in order to survive the lonely tundra called life. This riotous, too-funny-to-not-be-true story, written and performed with perfect timing by Rodenburg and Froeber, will leave you laughing for days and then some.
Produced by Nicole Rodenburg and Colin Froeber. Edited by Nicole Rodenburg. Director of Photography: Dean Peterson.
All That Glitters
2022 Jury Award Best Short
TIE
United Kingdom - 23 min
A film by Dan Bronzite
A desperate teenager snatches a rich woman's handbag only to discover that her life is not as rosy as it seems. Featuring Sophia Myles.
Summer of Bees
2022 Jury Award Best Short
TIE
Finland - 23 min
In Finnish, with subtitles
A film by Ida-Maria Olva
A young woman decides to quit school and instead use the money her parents saved for her to start beekeeping… with some reluctant help from her mother.
Ousmane
2022 Audience Award Best Short
Canada - 25 min
In French, with subtitles
A film by Jorge Camarotti
Ousmane, a newly arrived immigrant living in Montreal, faces a challenging situation when he meets an elderly disoriented lady at the end of his workday.
Peaceful
2022 Opening Night Feature
U.S. Premiere - France - 122 min
Directed by Emmanuelle Bercot. Written by Emmanuelle Bercot and Marcia Romano.
With Catherine Deneuve (Indochine), Benoît Magimel, Gabriel A. Sara and Cécile de France (Fanny’s Journey).
Over the course of a year, Benjamin, an acting teacher with a terminal illness, attempts to make peace with his imminent death, while his fearful and controlling mother (played by a wonderful Catherine Deneuve) learns that she can no longer micro-manage the time he has left. The beating heart of this film comes from Gabriel Sara - a cancer specialist from Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan in real-life - who portrays Benjamin’s very humane specialist Dr. Eddé. As Dr. Eddé, Sara, who also served as a consultant on the film, becomes a sort of spiritual guide to the dying and their families, as well as to his own heroic medical team. You will not want to miss this poignant, life-affirming drama about acceptance and resilience, from acclaimed actress and director Emmanuelle Bercot (Polisse) and the producers of the Deneuve masterpiece La Belle Epoque.
In French, with subtitles. Watch the Trailer Here.
Produced by François Kraus and Denis Pineau-Valencienne. Edited by Julien Leloup. Director of Photography: Yves Cape. A Les Films du Kiosque Production from Distrib Films US.
LostTransport
2022 Closing Night Feature
East Coast Premiere
Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany - 101 minutes
Written and directed by Saskia Diesing.
With Hanna van Vliet, Eugénie Anselin, Anna Bachmannand Bram Suijker, and Konstantin Frolov.
In the spring of 1945, a train deporting 2,500 Jewish former prisoners from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is abandoned by fleeing German soldiers near a small German village, leaving the fate of its occupants to the advancing Russian troops. Amid the ensuing confusion and its very real dangers, three women from vastly different backgrounds - Russian sniper Vera, village girl Winnie and Jewish-Dutch survivor Simone – realize they must work together if they are to survive. Based on real events from the final days of World War II, this gripping drama reveals a part of history rarely heard or understood, as these very human characters set aside their differences to forge a very unlikely friendship. A powerful and deeply moving film that provides the perfect ending to our festival.
In Dutch, German, Russian and English, with subtitles. Watch the Trailer here.
Produced by Hans de Wolf, Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, Christine Kiauk, Bady Minck, Hanneke Niens and Herbert Schwering. Edited by Axel Skovdal Roelofs. Director of Photography: Aage Hollander. From Menemsha Films.
Lentini
2022 Opening Night Short
United States - 11 min
A film by Alessia Mandanici
A German-Italian girl travels to Sicily for the first time in years for her grandfather’s funeral, where she tries to reconnect with her Italian grandmother.
In German and Italian, with subtitles.
Watch the trailer here.
Mila
2022 Closing Night Short
United States - 20 min
A film by Cinzia Angelini
Veteran animation artist Cinzia Angelini brings us her directorial debut in this heart-warming story of a young girl who has lost everything but still clings to hope. Inspired by events of the Trento bombing in Italy, 1943.
Gabriel A. Sara - Peaceful
2022 Humanitarian Award
U.S. Premiere - France - 122 min
Directed by Emmanuelle Bercot. Written by Emmanuelle Bercot and Marcia Romano.
With Catherine Deneuve (Indochine), Benoît Magimel, Gabriel A. Sara and Cécile de France (Fanny’s Journey).
Over the course of a year, Benjamin, an acting teacher with a terminal illness, attempts to make peace with his imminent death, while his fearful and controlling mother (played by a wonderful Catherine Deneuve) learns that she can no longer micro-manage the time he has left. The beating heart of this film comes from Gabriel Sara - a cancer specialist from Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan in real-life - who portrays Benjamin’s very humane specialist Dr. Eddé. As Dr. Eddé, Sara, who also served as a consultant on the film, becomes a sort of spiritual guide to the dying and their families, as well as to his own heroic medical team. You will not want to miss this poignant, life-affirming drama about acceptance and resilience, from acclaimed actress and director Emmanuelle Bercot (Polisse) and the producers of the Deneuve masterpiece La Belle Epoque.
In French, with subtitles. Watch the Trailer Here.
Produced by François Kraus and Denis Pineau-Valencienne. Edited by Julien Leloup. Director of Photography: Yves Cape. A Les Films du Kiosque Production from Distrib Films US.