4th Annual Coney Island Film Festival

"The beach, the boardwalk, great stars, great movies. The Coney Island Film Festival has everything that Cannes has, plus Nathan's hot dogs." - Barry Strugatz, independent filmmaker. Now in its fourth year, the Coney Island Film Festival continues to dedicate itself to establishing a screening venue for up and coming filmmakers. From October 1 -3 the Festival will feature 111 films selected to reflect Coney Island's independent spirit and irreverent nature. In addition to a full slate of shorts programs, the Festival will also be screening feature films for the first time.

(PRWEB) September 20, 2004 -- "The beach, the boardwalk, great stars, great movies. The Coney Island Film Festival has everything that Cannes has, plus Nathan's hot dogs." - Barry Strugatz, independent filmmaker

Now in its fourth year, the Coney Island Film Festival continues to dedicate itself to establishing a screening venue for up and coming filmmakers. From October 1 -3 the Festival will feature 111 films selected to reflect Coney Island's independent spirit and irreverent nature. In addition to a full slate of shorts programs, the Festival will also be screening feature films for the first time.

In keeping with the spirit of Coney Island, the Festival organizers eschew high-art snootiness in favor of a more egalitarian approach to film (the consumption of beer and hot dogs is encouraged). The Festival promises to serve up a wide array of low- and high-brow fare. "We consistently get a great crop of films to select from," said Festival Director Rob Leddy. "My goal is to create an event that bonds filmmakers and their audience in a friendly atmosphere that I haven't found at many festivals I've attended. Coney Island is the perfect setting-it brings people together."

Three of the filmmakers screening at this year's festival were featured as Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Indie Film. Rosario Garcia-Montero's charming, yet unsettling, vignette Are You Feeling Lonely? examines a Pakistani morgue attendant's unhealthy infatuation with his customers' next of kin. To make Exit 8A Margaret Harris spent four years shooting footage for the dark story of a skinhead who loses control after learning that his immigrant girlfriend is pregnant. Gina Levy, who gained prominence with a documentary that followed a drug-addicted mother and son, will screen her first fictional narrative Ask Again Later, modeled on the Joyce Carol Oates short story Revenge of the Foot.

The Festival will begin with an Opening Night Gala on Oct. 1 at 7:00 p.m. at Sideshows By The Seashore with two film screenings, followed by a party at The Coney Island Museum featuring sideshow and burlesque performers. For more information on the Festival please visit our website at www.coneyislandfilmfestival.com

The Festival was founded as a fund-raising event for the non-profit arts organization Coney Island USA which produces it along with indiefilmpage.com. The mission of Coney Island USA is to operate a multi-arts center offering affordable museum and theater programming to an audience of all New Yorkers. Through an imaginative approach combining the performing and visual arts rooted in the traditions of P.T. Barnum, vaudeville and Coney Island itself the non-profit seeks to revitalize the community from which it takes its name.

WHAT: Coney Island Film Festival. Tickets for each screening are $6. Tickets for the Oct. 1 opening night benefit gala for Coney Island USA are $20. A $50 Festival Pass includes the benefit gala and all screenings except an Oct. 2 screening at 10 p.m. A $20 Saturday Pass includes all Oct. 2 screenings except the 10 p.m. screening. A $15 Sunday pass includes all screenings on Oct. 3. Members of the media seeking credentials should email rahul@coneyislandfilmfestival.com

Print resolution images can be downloaded from www.coneyislandfilmfestival.com/press.htm

WHEN: October 1 - 3. See www.coneyislandfilmfestival.com for a complete schedule of films and screening times.

WHERE: There are three screening venues: Sideshows by the Seashore, 3006 W. 12th Street; Coney Island Museum, 1208 Surf Ave.; Puzzles, 3008 W. 12th Street.
          
Take the D, F, or Q lines to the Coney Island/Stillwell Avenue stop. All screening venues are within easy walking distance of the subway.

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For further information contact:
Rob Leddy, Festival Director, (212) 696-6689
Dick Zigun, Coney Island USA, (718) 372-5159
Rahul Chadha, Media Coordinator, rahul@coneyislandfilmfestival.com