17th Annual Coney Island Film Festival to Hit the Shores This September

The 17th annual installment of the Coney Island Film Festival (named one of the "25 Coolest Film Festivals" by MovieMaker Magazine) hits the shores of Coney Island from Friday, September 8th through Sunday, September 10th.

This year's festival features 107 films from around the world; a stunning array of high and low-brow fare, as diverse as the neighborhood it represents. Subjects range from the profound to the profane, showcasing the independent spirit and irreverent nature of THE ONE and only Coney Island.

The festival kicks off on Friday Night, September 8th at 7:30pm in the Coney Island Museum with the Brooklyn Premiere of the Feature "What Children Do", directed by Dean Peterson. A comedy about two estranged sisters who are thrust back into each other's lives by the impending death of their grandmother and forced to try to repair their feral relationship.

Following the screening, it's our Opening Night Party, 9:30 p.m. at the Freak Bar and Sideshows by the Seashore. It's an evening of live performance from Sideshow Performers and stars of The New York Burlesque scene! Hosted by Adam RealMan. Beer, wine and food will be served.

The Coney Island Film festival offers a huge variety of Shorts, Features, Documentaries, Animation, Experimental, Made in Coney Island, Horror Films, and Music Videos spread throughout 17 program blocks, making CIFF, a festival with something for everyone.

Short highlights include Laura Moss's "Fry Day". An adolescent girl comes of age against the backdrop of Ted Bundy's execution in 1989. CIFF presents The New York City Premiere of Alex Kuciw's "God's Country". Living on acres of isolated farmland, a young housewife is pushed to the brink with no way out.

Documentary Feature highlights include: The World Premiere of Corey Boutilier's, "P.T. Barnum The Lost Legend". P.T. Barnum's birthplace of Bethel, CT commissioned a lifesize statue for his 200th birthday even though many people in town had forgotten that he was even from there. Watch as sculptor David Gesualdi brings P.T. Barnum back to main street. And along THE JOURNEY of creating a lost wax bronze statue, learn about the life and times of this lost legend. CIFF presents The New York City Premiere of Zack Taylor's "Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape", Where would musicians and music lovers be without the cassette? This feature-length DIY doc tells the story of a once-ubiquitous format through one-on-one interviews with the inventor of the cassette, Lou Ottens.

The wildly popular Horror Shorts Program returns again this year, Saturday, September 9th at 8pm. Nine films from the bizarre to the macabre, are bound to scare and spook the audience!

And, in keeping with annual tradition, the festival will screen the 1979 Coney Island cult classic "The Warriors", at 10:30pm on Saturday, September 9th, at Sideshows By The Seashore.

Wrapping up the festival's last screening block on Sunday, September 10th at 6pm, is "Coney Island Films", featuring films centered and themed around Coney Island.

An awards ceremony takes place Sunday, September 10th, 8pm at the Eldorado Auto Skooter, 1216 Surf Ave., where filmmakers and full festival pass holders get to ride the bumper cars, right after the awards are handed out!

IF YOU GO:

Coney Island Film Festival
September 8-10, 2017

Films screen at Coney Island USA's Sideshows by the Seashore (Ground Floor) and the Coney Island Museum (2nd Floor), both located inside the landmarked Coney Island USA building at 1208 Surf Ave., between Stillwell Ave. and West 12st in Coney Island, Brooklyn. 718-372-5159.

By Subway: D, F, N or Q lines to the Coney Island/Stillwell Avenue stop.

Tickets:
Full Festival Pass (excludes "The Warriors"): $50
Opening Night Screening: $8
Opening Night Party: $25
Saturday Screening Pass: (all Saturday Screenings excluding "The Warriors"): $15
Saturday Night Screening of The Warriors: $10
Sunday Screening Pass: (all Sunday Screenings) $12
Any Individual Program Screening: $8

Schedule and advance tickets are available at www.coneyislandfilmfestival.com. Remaining tickets and passes are available day of, at the box office.

Coney Island USA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit arts organization based in the amusement park area of the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn New York at 1208 Surf Ave. In existence since 1980, Coney Island USA has developed and produces a number of different programs including some of New York City's best loved summer programming, such as the Mermaid Parade and the Coney Island Circus Sideshow. Coney Island USA also operates the Coney Island Museum and produces Ask the Experts, Burlesque at the Beach, The Coney Island Film Festival, The Coney Island Film Society, Funhouse Philosophers, the Coney Island Tattoo and Hot Rod Festival, Congress of Curious Peoples and the Coney Island Sideshow School.

Poster Art Credit - Lisa Marie Pompilio

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