28th Anniversary Edition of The Long Island International Film Expo (LIIFE)
Attendees Experienced Local and Foreign Film Screenings, Celebrity Appearances, Informative Panels, Networking and Q & A’s with Top Filmmakers From Around the World and right here on Long Island!
Bellmore, NY – The Long Island International Film Expo (LIIFE) held screenings and events for their 28th Anniversary presentation of the festival, which happened from July 9th – July 13th at the historic Bellmore Movies, 222 Pettit Ave in Bellmore.
LIIFE, Long Island’s summer playground for filmmakers, was proud to feature films from all over the world including Israel, Egypt, Canada, Spain, Germany, Italy, India, London, and domestic films from all over the USA with a large selection of films from Long Island.
LIIFE 2025 – Winners and Nominees
Screenplay Winner
“Journey to Babylon”
By Shiva Kumar
Screenplay Finalists/Runners-Up
“Quintana”
William LiPera
“House in Haunted Woods”
Drew Henriksen
The Nominees
Alan Fortunoff Film Humanitarian Award-
Winner – Operation Babylift
Mark Stein Comedy Award –
Winner: I Hate My Love Life
Static Cling
Big Foot Club
Stall Buddies
Turtle in Times Square
The Crime Family
Sunday Dinna
Best Horror –
The Super
A Rough Start
Winner: A Clown Story
The Itch
Into The Reds Tale
Crawl Space
Consequences
Best Sci-fi-
The Battle of LA
The Rewind
Love & Hatred in Megawave City
My Wife
Marriage Unplugged
Time Capsule
Winner: More Dead than Living
Best Feature –
Astral Plane Drifter
Winner: That Creep from the Bar Last Night
Christmas at Interlaken
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
Best Long Island Feature –
That Creep from the Bar Last Night
Winner: How I Spent My Summer Vacation
Christmas at the Interlaken
The Big Foot Club
My Grandma’s American Dream
Best Long Island Short-
A Distance
Warning Strong Language
Winner: One in Four
Paid For By….
The Last Class
Best Music Video –
Cowboy Down
Country Couture
Winner: Singing Under the Influence
Everyday Hero
Best Documentary – Feature-
Giants Rising
Winner: Goddess of Slide
Test Subject V
Blazing a Trail
Best Documentary – Short –
Vienna: Suddenly an Angel
Voices of Tomorrow
When Everything Was Blue
Operation Baby Lift
Whits End
Seafarer
Winner: The Last Houseboat
The Greatest Guy You Never Met
Best Story –
Pumpkin Pie
Shoulder Season
Winner: Sally, Get the Potatoes
What Do You See
Emilia & The Garden
Saverio
Best Cinematography –
Emilia & The Garden
Cascades
The Super
To The End
Winner: The Battle of L.A.
Island Life
Best Editing-
Sally, Get the Potatoes
Emilia & The Garden
Winner: Saverio
The Final Walk
My Wife
One in Four
Best Art Direction-
Sally, Get the Potatoes
Emilia & The Garden
Caridis Graveyard
And Now I Lay Me Down
Crawl Space
Winner: Love & Hatred in Megawave City
Best Animation –
Ku: A Love Story
Everyday Hero
Hallow Village
Winner: Into The Reds Tale
Best International Short-
Marriage Unplugged – UK/Switzerland
Berta – Spain
Winner: Golden Shopping Arcade – Italy
Alma – Costa Rica
Best Actor (in short and feature)
Lukas Hassel for “Up Close”
Winner: Best Actor-Feature: Michael Coppola for “The Creep from the Bar Last Night”
Ryan Anthony Holcomb for “What Do You See”
David Reilly for “Never Enough Time”
Winner: Best Actor-Short: Michael Bonini for “Dark Aces”
Marco Sincini for “Golden Shopping Arcade” – Italy
Best Actress-
Jane Kaczmarek for “And Now I Lay Me Down”
Kynlee Heiman for “Sally, Get the Potatoes”
Sarah Rich for “Emilia & The Garden”
Best Actress: Angela Pietropinto for “Angela”
Kylie Cast for “Never Enough Time”
Nerea Barros for “Berta”
Jamila Hache for “Alma”
Quincy Cho for “Saverio”
Best Director-
Gui Agustini for “To The End”
Karin Kelly for “L’Inverno (the Winter)
Winner: Alex Gavin for “Dark Aces”
Ellen Ancui for “Saverio”
Matt Campanella for “One in Four”
Danicah Waldo for “Sally, Get the Potatoes”
Aaron Garcia for “My Wife”
Johnny Hedger for “What Do You See”
Best Short-
Winner: Sally, Get the Potatoes
One in Four
What Do You See
Dark Aces
A Clown Story
The Actress
Saverio
Best Pilot –
Dinner & a Playlist
Caridis Graveyard – London
Winner: I Am Karma
Ms. Pink
Student Films:
Student Film Best Director-
Winner: Abigail Maselli for “Pianissimo”
Mac Pettit for “Ashes & Grace”
Proof Schubert Reed for “The Baby Project”
Erika Lynn Jolie for “The Actress”
Elijah Rappaport for “Acromegaly”
Student Film Editing-
Winner: Ashes and Grace
Pianissimo
Parents Conference
The Actress
Starman Supernova
Student Film Best Story –
Pianissimo
Ashes and Grace
Winner: The Actress
Parents Conference – Israel
The Baby Project
Acromegaly
Student Film Cinematography
Blue Light
Winner: Jupiter
Pianissimo
The Actress
Student Film Best Actor –
Winner: Ashes and Grace – Erik Kavanagh
Acromegaly – Greg Treco
V’s Secret – Maher Gamal – Egypt
Student Film Best Actress
The Baby Project – Romy Obbard
Ashes and Grace – Rebecca Berinbaum
Winner: The Actress- Erika Lynn Jolie
Out of the Slaughter House – Kris Prihodova
Acromegaly – Tess Lancaster
Audience Choice for Best Student Film
Winner: Becca Comes to Visit
Jury Award for Best Student Film
Winner: Notes on a Page
There was a press conference at the Bellmore Movies with Nassau County Comptroller Elaine Phillips, Emmy award winning actress (and former Rockette) Jennifer Jiles, Long Island Comedian, Travis Grant (NY Comedy Club, The Comic Strip, Atlantic City Comedy Club), Miss Long Island, Kristen Rosario, Ms. Long Island Teen, Adriana Lane and Pan Am Flight Attendants in Uniform.
Their opening night film blocks feature short films, “And Now I Lay Me Down” featuring Jane Kaczmarek from Malcolm in the Middle. Also, in the opening block was “Operation Babylift” about President Ford’s son, Steven Ford, adoptees (now adults), and Pan Am personnel that were involved with the frantic April 1975 evacuation of Vietnamese war orphans in the final days of South Vietnam just before the fall of Saigon. Other films on Opening night included “Inner War Zone” from Massapequa and a Long Beach feature, “The Creep from the Bar Last Night.” Later in the festival they had a documentary, “Giants Rising,” about the secrets and saga of iconic redwoods from former East Meadow filmmaker, Lisa Landers. Another documentary, “The Goddess of Slide” was about Ellen McIlwaine who fought for her right to play slide guitar in a male dominated world and “The Last Houseboat” was about the very last houseboat allowed to dock in the waters off of Rhode Island. They also have Music Videos, many family dramas as well as family comedies and animated films. Audience choice voting with each film block. They had two horror blocks as well.
Reign Energy drinks sponsored the festival providing soft drinks for festival week. Additional sponsors included Gold Coast Studios, the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, The Bellmore Movies & The Showplace and CD Productions.
Panels included: Directors Audition panel where actors have 10 minutes or less to impress a panel of six working directors, a live table read of our winning screenplay , an Assistant Director Panel for low-budget indie filmmakers – How to Organize and run your set, a Filmmakers Breakfast panel sponsored by the Bellmore Moves & Showplace, The “Write Stuff” Screenwriting Panel , and a Better Festing Panel – where people could meet festival directors from the Queens World Film Festival, SOHO International Film Festival, Love Wins Film Festival and the Asbury Shorts Film Concert and find out what they are looking for when they program their film festivals.
Festivals of the past have included such luminaries as the late Danny Aiello and Ed Asner, Blue Bloods’ Robert Clohessy and Abigail Hawk, Ralph Macchio, John Amos, Daniel Baldwin, Ally Sheedy, Catherine Curtin, Chad Coleman, Steve Buscemi, Ed Burns, Ilene Kristen, and so many more.
For more information on LIIFE please visit: www.LongIslandFilm.com
Submissions for Scared for Your LIIFE, LIIFE’s sister horror film festival will be open soon at https://filmfreeway.com/ScaredforyourLiife
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