Gold Coast International Film Festival to Screen Award-Winning Israeli and Jewish Films

GREAT NECK, NY — October 13, 2017 — The 2017 Gold Coast International Film Festival is once again screening several highly acclaimed and award-winning Israeli and Jewish-themed films throughout the ten days of the festival including Supergirl and Ben-Gurion: Epilogue, and the Long Island premieres of Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story; Hummus! The Movie; 1945 and the Israeli comedy, Mr. Predictable.

On Sunday, November 5th at 3:00 p.m. at the Great Neck Squire Theater, the festival is screening Supergirl, the 2016 documentary about Naomi “Supergirl” Kutin, a seemingly ordinary Orthodox Jewish pre-teen girl with an extraordinary talent — holding a world record in squat-powerlifting. A coming-of-age story, Supergirl chronicles Naomi’s struggles with cyber-bullying, adolescence, and her religious obligations. The film’s director, Jessie Auritt will join Naomi and her family for a Q&A following the movie. The Great Neck Squire Theater is at 115 Middle Neck Rd, Great Neck, NY 11021. Tickets for Supergirl can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/gciffsupergirl.

On Wednesday, November 8th at 7:30 p.m., also at the Great Neck Squire Theater, is a screening of Ben-Gurion: Epilogue, followed by an exclusive Q&A with David Ben-Gurion’s grandson, Alon Ben-Gurion. Compiled from six hours of never-before-seen footage, the discovered conversations with Israel’s founding father present a rare and fortuitous piece of cinematic archeology. This film is a work of undeniable historical significance with prophetic implications for Israel’s future. The screening is presented in partnership with American Friends of Soroka Medical Center. Tickets for Ben-Gurion: Epilogue can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/gciffgurion.

On Thursday, November 9th at 7:30 p.m., the Gold Coast International Film Festival is hosting the Long Island premiere of Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story followed by a Q&A with an esteemed panel including the film’s director, Alexandra Dean; Dr. Christine Metz, PhD, past president of Advancing Women in Science and Medicine and professor at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell; and Fleming Meeks, former executive editor at Barron’s, who served as an advisor on the film.

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story is a fascinating true story about screen legend, Hedy Lamarr, the Austrian Jewish émigré who many critics, and fans alike, regard as the most beautiful woman ever to appear in films. Lamarr was by night the inventor of a “secret communication system” that helped the Allied forces defeat the Nazis in World War II, but sadly, her arresting good looks stood in the way of her gaining the proper recognition she deserved — until now. Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story is a film that will undoubtedly appeal to lovers of history, Hollywood, and science. This screening is sponsored by Edelman Financial Services, LLC and is part of the festival’s SCIENCE ON SCREEN® SERIES. Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story is screening at the Great Neck Squire Theater, 115 Middle Neck Rd, Great Neck, NY 11021, and tickets can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/gciffbombshell.

The Sunday, November 12th 4:00 p.m. presentation of Hummus! The Movie will delight fans of film and food. The Long Island premiere of this eclectic, touching film about the delicious super-food that some claim has the power to unite Muslims, Christians, and Jews around the world will be followed by “The Great Gold Coast Hummus Taste-Off,” a fun celebration and tasting of arguably the world’s most famous Mediterranean food. The event will also include wine and bites from local favorites Grill Time, Lederman Caterers, LOLA, Mediterranean Seafood and Grill, and The Inn at Great Neck. Tickets for Hummus! The Movie and the “The Great Gold Coast Hummus Taste-Off” can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/gciffhummus. The film will be shown at the Great Neck Squire Theater, 115 Middle Neck Road, Great Neck, NY 11021. “The Great Gold Coast Hummus Taste-Off” will take place next to the theatre at the Gold Coast Arts Center immediately following the movie.

Also on Sunday, November 12th at 7:00 p.m. at the Great Neck Squire Theater is the Long Island premiere of 1945. This haunting, deeply moving film is set in a remote Hungarian village in August 1945, where two Orthodox Jews arrive at the local train station and rumors quickly spread as to their intentions. There is a fear that these strangers may be heirs of the village’s recently deported Jewish neighbors and have come to claim their family’s stolen property. 1945 is a subtle and nuanced study of the collective guilt and enduring anti-Semitism of postwar Hungary. Tickets for 1945 can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/gciff1945.

And on Monday, November 13th at 7:30 p.m. the festival will host the Long Island premiere of the 2016 comedy, Mr. Predictable at the Great Neck Squire Theatre. This film, in Hebrew with English subtitles, is about Adi, a “good boy” who has helped more than enough at home, at school, in the military, and in his marriage. Things radically change when he meets Natalia, who entices Adi into a life full of emotions, passion, and romance. Will he go on being the “good boy,” or will he, for the first time in his life, be brave enough to be who he truly wants to be? Tickets for Mr. Predictable can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/gciffpredictable.

Other standout films and events at this year’s festival include more than 40 premieres, including French movie-star Isabelle Huppert’s new film Souvenir; Burt Reynold’s latest film Dog Years; and the timely Bill Nye: Science Guy. The festival is also featuring Yellow Birds, starring Jennifer Aniston, Toni Colette, Alden Ehrenreich and Tye Sheridan; and the East Coast premiere of the Iranian film Gholam, starring Shahab Hosseini, star of the 2016 Oscar-winning film The Salesman, which premiered at last year’s festival. On Saturday, November 11, the festival will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Oscar-winning Hollywood musical Pal Joey, starring Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak. Sinatra’s granddaughter, Amanda Erlinger will join us for a Q&A following the screening.

A list of all films being screened at the Gold Coast International Film Festival can be found at: www.goldcoastfilmfestival.org.

Images for all films can be found at: http://bit.ly/2xW9Idu.

For tickets to all screenings and events visit www.goldcoastfilmfestival.org.

About the Gold Coast International Film Festival
Since 2011, the festival has brought the latest Hollywood hits and Indie favorites to standing room only audiences throughout the fabled Gold Coast of Long Island. Add A-list celebrities and unforgettable events to the mix and it’s easy to see why the Gold Coast International Film Festival has become the “go to” festival for film buffs and the public; (it is also the last major film festival on the East Coast before Awards season). The Gold Coast International Film Festival is produced by the not-for-profit Gold Coast Arts Center.

Previous honorees and special guests of the festival and the Gold Coast Arts Center include film industry VIPs Francis Ford Coppola, Hugh Grant, Baz Luhrmann, Brian Dennehy, Paul Sorvino, Ed Burns, Bruce Dern, Isabella Rossellini, Lou Diamond Phillips, Morgan Spurlock, Eli Wallach, Gabriel Byrne, Jacques Pepin, Bill Plympton, Phil Donahue, Phylicia Rashaad, Joan Allen, Jay McInerney and Michael Cuesta, as well as composer Morton Gould, artists James Rosenquist, Oleg Cassini, Edwina Sandys and Bob Gruen, comedian Susie Essman, Broadway stars Kelli O’Hara, Melissa Errico and Savion Glover, and 4-time Oscar winner for production and costume design Catherine Martin.

About the Gold Coast Arts Center
The Gold Coast Arts Center is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting the arts through education, exhibition, performance and outreach. Located on the North Shore of Long Island, it has brought the arts to tens of thousands of people throughout the region for over 20 years. Among the Center’s offerings are its School for the Arts, which holds year-round classes in visual and performing arts for students of all ages and abilities; a free public art gallery; a concert and lecture series; film screenings and discussions; the annual Gold Coast International Film Festival; and initiatives that focus on senior citizens and underserved communities. These initiatives include artist residencies, after-school programs, school assemblies, teacher-training workshops and parent-child workshops. The Gold Coast Arts Center is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Partners in Education program, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. More information can be found at www.goldcoastarts.org.