A Happy Beginning for Island Film Festival
'Greetings From the Shore,' a 'sweet
story' with 26 awards, to open 4-day event on June 5
Staten Island Advance - Wednesday, May 21, 2008
In the opening scene of "Greetings From the Shore," pert, blonde,
teenaged Jenny Chambers drives alone in her car, drumming her
fingers to the radio, passing miles of lush summer foliage lining
the route to the Jersey Shore.
The mood is one of absolute anticipation.
The mood yesterday at the College of Staten Island was also one of
anticipation, as sponsors of the SINY Film Festival announced the
selection would be featured June 5 as the opening-night pick for the
four-day celluloid extravaganza billed as "New York City's Other
Film Festival."
"This was a perfect link for Staten Island," said Jeannine Marotta,
festival director. "The festival is in June. Here is a Shore movie,
and there are famous faces in it, and it is a sweet story which
appeals to a lot of people."
Starring the up-and-coming Kim Shaw alongside barrel-chested
Hollywood veteran Paul Sorvino and the hunky soap-opera star David
Fumero, the film tells of a girl visiting the Shore for the last
time before college -- a story bound to resonate with Islanders,
many of whom travel every year to the same New Jersey town for
vacation.
But the themes of a teenager on the cusp of adulthood, grappling
with the loss of her father, caught up in a sun-swept summer romance
and forced to make some big life decisions also transcend geography.
"We wanted to make the kind of film we liked growing up," said
director Greg Chwerchak, ticking off such 1980s mainstays as "Dirty
Dancing" and "Mystic Pizza."
"Nowadays those films are considered guilty pleasures. When we were
growing up, that was just cool. Who didn't watch 'The Breakfast
Club' with their friends?"
Audiences and judges on the festival circuit across the country have
responded enthusiastically to the film's endearing, feel-good vibe,
lavishing 26 awards on "Greetings From the Shore."
The film even won a coveted distribution deal and in August will
open on 25 screens, mostly in New Jersey but also in New York and
Philadelphia.
Sally Bartels saw the pick during the selection process in her role
as a representative of National Grid, one of the Staten Island Film
Festival's sponsors.
"It was fantastic. It truly was a love story," she said, giggling as
she mentioned her longtime crush on actor Sorvino, who made a name
for himself in "GoodFellas." "It has all the emotions. I had a major
cry."
The festival features 55 long- and short-form submissions from
across the country, and runs from June 5 to 8 at the College of
Staten Island, Willowbrook.
Films also will be shown at venues in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
As part of the festival, there will be four days of free family
movies in the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George.
In addition, June 2-8, Islanders can enjoy discounted meals as part
of the SINY Restaurant Week. During that period, more than 75 Island
restaurants will showcase their offerings with $20.08 three-course
meals.
"Greetings From the Shore" will play at the College of Staten Island
June 5 at 7:30 p.m., June 6 at 4 p.m. and June 7 at 6 p.m. It will
also show at the NYU Cantor Film Center June 7 at 8 p.m.
Tickets are currently on sale and are available at
www.sifilmfestival.org.
By Deborah Young
Reprinted here with permission
from the
