The Gold Coast International Film Festival, an annual cinematic celebration that champions dozens of independent foreign and documentary films, has been captivating audiences since its inception in 2011.
Hosted by the Gold Coast Arts Center, a nonprofit multi-arts hub with over 25 years of dedication to promoting and supporting the arts, this event shines a spotlight on films that might not find a place in mainstream media.
“Our mission has always been to promote and support the arts through education, exhibition, performance and outreach,” said Caroline Sorokoff, the Gold Coast International Film Festival Festival director and associate director at the Gold Coast Arts Center, “And one of the many, many things we do in addition to our school for the arts, our theater, our gallery, and many things that we do is we have a year-round film screening program, and an annual Gold coast International Film Festival, which those programs showcase independent foreign and documentary films that you can’t see elsewhere.”
Although the films that are festival is not in mainstream media, it can promote a love of movie-going that extends to any movie playing.
All films in the festival are curated by the center and span from dozens of countries and genres. They’ve shown short films, feature films, documentaries, narratives, comedies, dramas, thrillers, “pretty much a little bit of everything,” Sorokoff said.
Seeing an international film can make people from that country feel seen and help others to expand their worldview, she said, “We all become better people when we expose ourselves to things from all over the world, and cultures and backgrounds.”
The festival started last week and ends on Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. with a newly added free event called Community and Conversation, a special evening in support of Israel.
The event is in partnership with Temple Beth-El of Great Neck, where it will take place. It features Avraham Melamed, a 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre survivor from the Israeli attacks.
With him will be Ambassador Ido Aharoni, Israel’s longest-running counsul-general in the New York and tri-state areas and Jon Loew, producer of the Netflix series Spy Ops, of which some clips will be shown.
Advance registration is required and can be found at https://tinyurl.com/GCA1030 or by calling (516) 829-2570.
Melamed, an Israeli Olympian who was at the 1972 Munich Olympics where the terrorists killed Israeli athletes will speak on his personal experience of being there during a terrorist attack.
“We’re making this free to the public, because, you know, as an art center, we always take very seriously our obligation to not only entertain, but to educate,” said Sorokoff, “And this is an event that really kind of, is extremely timely, and will bring people together and show that art is a way of bringing people together. In times of need.”
The effect of art on a community cannot be understated.
“I think that the arts make any community richer,” said Sorokoff, “and I mean, richer in a spiritual and intellectual way and it makes life better. So, whether it’s by going to a movie or a concert, or you know, enjoying live music somewhere or taking a class in one of the arts.”
Many opportunities to explore the arts are available at the center, which includes cartooning, fashion design, ceramics, fencing, robotics, musical theater, and “almost anything you can imagine,” she said.
Sorokoff said the arts are a way to bring people together, whether in an audience, taking a class, or participating in a lecture, “those are things that just bring people together in a positive way. And we’ve always been about that for over 25 years, but it’s something that’s even more important now.”
Through the film festival, the arts center and Manhasset Cinemas have seen a mutually beneficial way to get people to get outside and involved with arts and cinema since COVID-19 made it difficult for both intuitions to get attendance.
Hopefully, Sorokoff said, it’ll reignite love in people to get out and enjoy movies and see other films coming out.
“We’re grateful that we still at least have one movie theater left in our region. We want to we want it to stay and we want more of them to open,” she said.
The Town of North Hempstead is a founding sponsor of the event, and other sponsors include the Nassau County Industrial Agency and the New York State Council on the Arts.
“The Town of North Hempstead has always been a proud partner of the Gold Coast Arts Center as they engage and enrich the lives of our residents through the arts,” said North Hempstead Council Member Veronica Lurvey. “We are thrilled to continue to sponsor the Gold Coast International Film Festival this year, so residents from near and far can take part in the impressive and diverse array of films and features that the festival has to offer.”
Lurvey thanked the efforts of Gold Coast Arts Center Executive Director Regina Gil, Sorokoff, “and the entire team at the Gold Coast Arts Center who have worked incredibly hard to make this year’s film festival another wonderful success.”