Long Beach Film Festival Raises $10,000 For Charity

The seventh Long Beach International Film Festival was held from Aug. 1 to 4, screening an international slate of more than 50 films, including feature-length narratives and documentaries, as well as short and animated movies. The festival was held on the beachfront at the Allegria Hotel in Long Beach, as well as at the newly renovated Regal Lynbrook 13 & RPXin Lynbrook, the Long Beach Public Library and the Madison Theater at Molloy College.

The festival began on Aug. 1 with an opening ceremony at the Regal Lynbrook 13 & RPX in Lynbrook with remarks by Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, Comptroller Jack Schnirman, New York State Senator Todd Kaminsky, Village of Lynbrook Mayor Alan Beach, renowned filmmakers and more. The festival's Diamond Dig at Taste on the Beach which raised $8,000 for Cohen Children’s Medical Center and $2,000 for the Long Beach Soup Kitchen.

On Friday, Aug. 3, the festival featured Concerts on the Beach, a wide variety of local musical acts right on the beach at the Allegria Hotel, which was followed by LBIFF’s culinary event, Taste on the Beach, a collaboration of more than 40 of Long Island’s premier restaurants, distilleries, wineries and more. Preceeding that, on Thursday, Aug. 2, for the second year in a row, LBIFF partnered with Devour! for a unique dinner experience pairing food and short films called Chefs and Shorts, where guests enjoyed a five-course, locally-sourced dinner and wine pairing, each inspired by one of the short films shown at the event.

“Four days of films, live musical performances and the ever-growing Taste on the Beach were a smashing success as we saw record attendance," said festival found Craig Weintraub. "It has truly been humbling to watch our community adopt the festival the way they have. They are the reason we do it -- and we’re inspired to create an even better festival next year.” said LBIFF Founder Craig Weintraub.

The jurors for competition films brought a range of experience to the festival when deciding which films were best. Award winners include:

• Best Picture: ROCKAWAY
• Best Director: John J. Budion, ROCKAWAY
• Special Mention: Monsoon
• Best Documentary: The Push
• Honorable Mention: Secret Ingredients
• Best Short Animation: The Velvet Underground Played at My High School
• Best Short Comedy: The Love
• Best Short Documentary: Once Around is Never Enough
• Best Short Drama: Don't Be a Hero
• Short Special Mention: Hunter Gatherer
• Best Foreign Short: Bohemia
• Short Honorable Mention: Peaced Together

With the growth of the festival comes the expansion of offerings at Taste on the Beach. The following restaurants and drinks were recognized as best in their category for 2018:

• BEST Cocktail: Paloma with Espolon Tequila
• BEST Brew: Flying Belgian Brewery - Illegally Blonde Beer
• BEST Sweet Food: Red Salt Room by David Burke at the Garden City Hotel - Butterscotch Panna Cotta, Curry Cocoa Gelee/Bananas Foster/Grains of Paradise
• BEST Savory Food: Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas - Pork Ribs - Balsamic Barbecue Sauce
• BEST Red: 2015 Roth Estate, Alexander Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon
• BEST White/Rose: 2017 Chignin, Domaine Gonnet, Savoie, France
• BEST Sparkling: Sassaia Gavi Sparkling
• BEST Presentation: Red Salt by David Burke at the Garden City Hotel

Photo courtesy Long Beach International Film Festival