Documentaries

This year's centerpiece film is Peter LiPera's, Save Coney Island. Working with a small crew for over a year, director/cinematographer Peter LiPera paints an intimate portrait of Coney Island's first annual last season. SAVE CONEY ISLAND shows a group of boardwalk friends' journey over the course of a year as they try to preserve what they can within the ever-changing, ever-fading, atmosphere of Coney Island.

Three outstanding documentary features will have their New York premieres at CIFF this year; Airplay, a story of love and war--a struggle between a handful of pioneers versus powerful business and government interests for the soul of music radio, told by the deejays and the artists they made rock stars; Buskers, a one of a kind documentary that goes deep inside the world of street performing; Sideshow Still Alive, tells the story of the world's best sideshow performers of our time, and takes a look at a group of truly independent artists who push the limits of creativity and their bodies for the sake of entertainment.

Features

Feature film highlights include the New York Premiere of siblings Tony Torn and Angelica Torn with their feature debut Lucky Days, the story of Virginia and her quest for freedom during the last summer of Coney Island's historic amusement park. Starring Angelica Torn, Frederico Castelluccio, Luke Zarzecki, Will Patton, Anne Jackson, Tina Benko, Marilyn Sokol, Gary Wolf and Rip Torn. CIFF presents the World Premiere of critically acclaimed director Steve Balderson's Watch Out. Starring Matt Riddlehoover (the actor/director and MySpace sensation best known for his award-winning comedy TO A TEE) and co-starring Peter Stickles (Shortbus), B-movie superstar Jeff Dylan Graham, Amy Kelly and burlesque sensation Lady Monster. Based on the controversial novel by Joseph Suglia, WATCH OUT is the story of Jonathan Barrows, a man who falls in love with himself, literally. T he festival will screen the 1979 Coney Island classic The Warriors at 10:30pm on Saturday.

Shorts

The Coney Island Film festival offers a huge variety of shorts: Dramas, Comedies, Documentaries, Animation, Family Films, Experimental, Made in Coney Island, Horror Films, Music Videos and Silent Films are all represented, making CIFF a festival with something for everyone! Short highlights include Alex R. Johnson's Pickup & Return, a film about missed opportunities and delayed responses; Gabriel Judet-Weinshel's The Heart is a Hidden Camera, a visually stunning realist short in which a young boy discovers at an early age that his heart is a camera, capable of capturing the beauty and horror of the world around him. In Ray Foley's The Salvation Blues we take a look into the life of country rock pioneer, Mark Olson, founding member of the Jayhawks. Mark returns to New York City on a journey through the heart of loss and redemp tion.... Rebecca Pelletier's and Emily Morse's Swing Vote: what side are you on? A timely, innovative, daring and thought-provoking comedy which challenges the American political system, exposes moral hypocrisy and questions our sense of American values.

CIFF features new shorts from master animators Signe Baumane and academy award nominated Bill Plympton. A program of nine shorts which use Coney Island as a backdrop screens at 4pm on Sunday. The festival's closing night screening is a mixed bag of shorts concluding with Johnny Salvatore's Sodom By The Sea, shot entirely on Coney Island.

Events and Awards

The festival will begin with an Opening Night Gala on September 26th. Down The Hatch: The Life Teachings of John "Red" Stuart & Sideshow Still Alive screen at 7:30pm at The Coney Island Museum, followed by an opening night party, 9:30 p.m. at The Newly Constructed Freak Bar at Sideshows By Seashore. It's an evening of live sideshow performance and burlesque that will kick off the festival with a riotous bang. An awards ceremony takes place Sunday, September 28th after the final screening at the Eldorado Auto Skooters next door.

For the full schedule and a complete list of films at the festival, visit www.coneyislandfilmfestival.com.

Coney Island Film Festival

September 26, 27 and 28, 2008
Films screen at Sideshows by the Seashore (3006 W. 12th St.) and the Coney Island Museum (1208 Surf Ave.) in Coney Island, Brooklyn. Take the D, F, N or Q lines to the Coney Island/Stillwell Avenue stop. All screening venues are within easy walking distance of the subway.

Tickets: Advanced sale strongly recommended. There is no extra service charge for advanced sale!

Opening Night Gala screening & party: $25
Full Festival Pass (excludes "The Warriors"): $45
Saturday Pass (excludes "The Warriors"): $15
Sunday Pass: $10
Special Saturday Night Showing of The Warriors: $10
Any Individual Program Screening: $6

All day of tickets for both venues can be purchased (cash only) at Sideshows By The Seashore Box Office, 3006 West 12th street.

To see more about individual films and programs check www.coneyislandfilmfestival.com.