2016 Gold Coast Int’l Film Festival Brings Hollywood’s Best to North Hempstead With Special Events, Nov 9-15

The Island Now

The 2016 Gold Coast International Film Festival announces an exciting slate of films for this year’s Festival taking place November 9 – 15, 2016 in venues throughout the north shore of Long Island, and once again – everyone’s invited to join us in an exciting week of films, parties, filmmaker Q&As, and glamour.
The Festival kicks off with a special sneak peek screening of Burn Your Maps, starring Jacob Tremblay (Room) and Academy Award nominee Vera Farmiga to be held on November 10, 2016 at Soundview Cinema in Port Washington. 
On November 12, also at Soundview Cinemas, GCIFF will host the Long Island premiere of Bang! The Bert Berns Story, a documentary narrated by Steven Van Zandt about the life and career of Bert Berns, the renowned 1960s songwriter/producer whose hits include “Twist and Shout”, “Piece of My Heart”, “Hang on Sloopy” and many more. A Q&A with Directors Brett Berns (Bert Berns’ son) and Bob Sarles will follow the screening and Brett Berns will accept an Artist of Distinction Award from the Gold Coast Arts Center on behalf of his late father. 
Other standout films include the Long Island premiere of French movie-sta rIsabelle Huppert’s new film Things to Come, direct from the Toronto International Film Festival, Harry Benson: Shoot First, followed by a  Q&A with the legendary photographer himself and On the Map, the incredible story of how the 1977 Maccabee Tel-Aviv basketball team toppled the four-time defending Soviet team and put Israeli basketball firmly on the map. Director Dani Menkin and basketball star Tal Brody will be in attendance for a Q&A.
The sixth anniversary of the not-for-profit Festival will feature over 60 films and dozens of filmmakers at screenings and events in venues throughout the Town of North Hempstead region, including Soundview Cinemas in Port Washington, the Bow Tie Cinemas in Great Neck/Port Washington/ Manhasset/ Roslyn, the Gold Coast Arts Center in Great Neck and the campus of LIU Post. Films this year showcase Hollywood’s best actors including Gabriel Byrne, Nathan Lane, Frank Langella, Melissa Leo, James Franco, Christina Applegate, Billy Crudup, Catherine Deneuve, Vera Farmiga, Jacob Trembly, Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neil, Isabelle Huppert, Alex Karpovsky, Rachel Brosnahan and many more industry stars. Award-winning feature films from the world’s most prestigious festivals (Cannes, Toronto, Sundance, Tribeca, Hamptons) will be screened, plus over 25 incredible short films, with Q&As with visiting shorts filmmakers.
Filmmakers and special guests scheduled to attend include: renowned photographer Harry Benson, Matthew Miele (Harry Benson: ShootFirst), Lawrence Smith (Mad Riot Entertainment), Dani Menkin (On the Map), Scott Rosenbaum (Sidemen: Long Road to Glory), Scott Sharrard, touring guitarist and musical director for The Gregg Allman Band, basketball superstar Tal Brody, Kate Keckler Dandel (Gold Balls), Brett Berns and Bob Sarles (Bang! The Bert Berns Story),Charlene Fiske (The Founders), Ferne Pearlstein (The Last Laugh),Amir Kishon, son of renowned Israeli satirist Ephraim Kishon, and legendary Hollywood agent, Budd Burton Moss.
New York filmmakers will be highlighted at this year’s Festival in New York Spotlight program, a free event on the campus of LIU Post on Thursday November 10 at 11:30am that features short films by local filmmakers or about local subject matter. Lawrence Smith (Mad Riot Entertainment) and David Paterson (The Great Gilly Hopkins, Bridge to Terabithia) will lead a panel of many of the filmmakers screening their films during the program. Local filmmakers in attendance include Dale Arroyo, Gordon Grinberg, Neil Holland, Ramfis Myrthil, David Schneiderman and Max Stossel.
Gold Coast International Film Festival
Over the past six years, the festival has brought the latest Hollywood hits and Indie favorites to standing room only audiences throughout the fabled Gold Coast of Long Island. Add A-list celebrities and unforgettable events to the mix and it’s easy to see why GCIFF has become the “go to” Festival for film buffs and the public (it is also the last major film festival on the East Coast before Awards season). The Festival is produced by the not-for-profit Gold Coast Arts Center.
Previous honorees and special guests of the festival and the Gold Coast Arts Center include film industry VIPs Francis Ford Coppola,Hugh Grant, Baz Luhrmann, Brian Dennehy, Paul Sorvino, Ed Burns, Bruce Dern, Isabella Rossellini, Lou Diamond Phillips, Morgan Spurlock, Eli Wallach, Gabriel Byrne, Bill Plympton, Phil Donahue, Phylicia Rashaad, Joan Allen, Jay McInerney and Michael Cuesta, as well as composer Morton Gould, artists James Rosenquist, Oleg Cassini, Edwina Sandys and Bob Gruen, comedian Susie Essman, Broadway starsKelli O’Hara, Melissa Errico and Savion Glover, and 4-time Oscar winner for production and costume design Catherine Martin.
Sponsors and partners of this year’s GCIFF include founding partners the Town of North Hempstead and Douglas Elliman Real Estate, longstanding major partners LIU Post and Nassau County IDA as well as Neiman Marcus Roosevelt Field, Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, AARP Long Island,  A.L. Sarroff Fund, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, The Katz Institute for Women’s Health at Northwell Health, LVR Rental, Samar Hospitality, The Andrew Hotel, Stella Artois, The Amsterdam at Harborside, Metropolitan Commercial Bank, Biener Audi, Jet Blue, WLIW21, Altice, New York Women in Film & Television, Anton Publications, Blank Slate Media, CareConnect, Edelman Financial Services LLC, LOLA of Great Neck and many others.
For tickets or more information on the Festival visit www.goldcoastfilmfestival.org or call 516-829-2570.

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