20th Stony Brook Film Festival Welcomes ‘Best of Enemies,’ ‘Wildlike’ and More
Zack Sharf
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The Stony Brook Film Festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year with a promising slate of new independent features, documentaries and shorts. The festival is presented by Island Federal Credit Union and will run July 16-25. Screenings are held in the Staller Center’s Main Stage Theatre at Stony Brook University.
Algerian drama “The Man from Oran” will make its U.S. premiere as the opening night screening. Set largely after Algeria gained independence from France, the film follows two friends over several decades as secrets and betrayals tear them apart. Writer, director and star Lyes Salem will be in attendance. Léa Pool’s French-Canadian musical film, “The Passion of Augustine,” will close the festival.
Other notable screenings include “Jack & Ryan,” a romance starring Katharine Heigel and Ben Barnes, “This Isn’t Funny,” an anxiety disorder rom-com from director Paul Ashton, and recent Brooklyn Film Festival winner “Wildlike.” “Best of Enemies,” a documentary about the television debates between William F. Buckley Jr. and Gore Vidal in 1968, will also have its New York premiere during the ten-day festival.
“Over ten days, festival audiences will be transported to Germany, the Netherlands, Israel, Mexico, Greece, Egypt, France, Canada, Iran, Belgium, England, Morocco and Algeria,” said Alan Inkles, founder and director of the Stony Brook Film Festival. “And we have more American films than ever this year. Dramas, comedies and documentaries will be shown on our huge screen and many of the directors, cast and crew will attend for Q&A’s following the films.”
Visit the Stony Brook Film Festival website for more scheduling and ticketing information.
