North Massapequa Director Thrilled with Win

North Massapequa director Rick Bieber says it was "a thrill" to win  the Best Picture award for a 35 mm film.

Bieber's film, "The 5th Quarter," received the coveted honor at Sunday's award ceremony. He was unable to attend because he was working on another film project.

Andy Mendelson, the film's music composer accepted the award on Bieber's behalf.

But in an interview with the Patch, Bieber, whose film "Crazy" was honored by the LIIFE in 2008, said being a two time winner means a lot.

 "Having participated in the LIIFE for two of the last three years, and having grown up in North Massapequa, I really do feel very much part of this festival," he said.

"It was a thrill to have 'Crazy' acknowledged a couple of years ago, and just as big a thrill to have 'The 5th Quarter' presented a Best Feature award this year. This is especially true since the quality and diversity of the films seem to be getting stronger each year."
 
Bieber said it was great to have his film screen at the Expo before a hometown audience.

"For a filmmaker, it's always a terrific opportunity to be able to screen a film and then interact with a festival audience in a rather intimate way," he said.

"But to appear before a hometown audience which may include some family and friends is a really special experience. I appreciate the amount of talent and effort it takes to launch a successful regional film festival and applaud Debbie and her staff for developing LIIFE into an important cultural tradition here on Long Island. I hope to be back again."
 
 "The 5th Quarter" was nominated in four categories including Best Feature, Best Director of a Feature, and Best Story. It lost out to the Horror Film "Bereavement," which won both best feature and best feature director. "Last Day of Summer"  snagged the Best Story win.