Lynbrook Film Featured at L.I. Biennial

Granting a rare opportunity to Long Island's independent filmmakers, Huntington's Cinema Arts Centre (CAC) presented the inaugural Long Island Biennial Wednesday night in conjunction with the Heckscher Museum's 90th anniversary celebration.

The screening of the eight films, which included one about the origin of the Village of Lynbrook's name, drew filmmakers and film supporters from all over Long Island.

"Community and supporting local programs and local filmmakers is really something we believe in and we feel it's really essential,"  CAC Co-Director Dylan Skolnick said in his opening remarks. He went on to thank the members of the CAC and offered "a really big thank you to the filmmakers most of all for making this event possible."

Though the event wasn't without its challenges, Skolnick said it was a big success for the Cinema Arts Centre, and that it was nice dealing with members of the Heckscher Museum. One of the rewards for him personally was getting to meet and support the local filmmakers, and he said he looks forward to seeing what they do next.

Carolyn Nardiello, of Seaford, is not a trained filmmaker, but creates movies with the FilmShop, which is a filmmakers group based in Brooklyn. The idea for her short film, Lynbrook, which is about the origin of the village's name, came from working with that group. Having a support system like that, she said, allowed her to learn some of the necessary skills, such as shooting and editing, on her own.

"I'm not a techie person at all," she said. "Just making a film is difficult for anyone. If I can do this, anyone can do this, and anybody can start telling good stories."

Rosalind Brenner, of East Hampton, was one of the attendees of the festival and is a supporter of independent film. She said that giving the filmmakers the opportunity to show their movies on a big screen with a real audience is beneficial not only to the artists, but to the supporters and spectators.

"There are people who are brilliant, who do great work, who don't have the opportunity to show it," she said. "What could be better than this? They should have it every year."

The importance of getting exposure as an independent filmmaker was a sentiment echoed by several of the participants.

Walter E. Harris III, who goes by the moniker "Mankh," is a poet from Selden, and one of the creators of One Man's Mythology, a film of him reading his original poetry.

"Personally, and for poets, to have something up on screen is rare," he said. "So there's an exposure factor." He added that he found the other films about Long Island very informative and interesting. "And, secondly…the feeling of this [festival] is a place where I can have self-esteem about living on Long Island. I think it really adds to a sense of community and respect."

Working as the cinematographer on One Man's Mythology was Michael Mart, of Port Jefferson, who runs poetryvlog.com, a poetry website that allows poets to read their work on video. Mart lauded the Cinema Arts Centre for its generosity.

"It's truly wonderful to have a venue like this take an evening out to show films like this," he said. "It gives [the event] real legitimacy."

And for some filmmakers, exposure is only part of the big payoff. Franklin P. Laviola, director of Happy Face, a horror film, has been going to the Cinema Arts Centre since he was a kid.

"You dream that one day you might show your own film here," he said. "An event like this allows you to experience that. I'd love to see this again, and I'd love to participate in it."

The following films were shown at the inaugural Long Island Biennial:

• One Man's Mythology, pts. 1 and 2 (Walter E. Harris III)
• The Art School (Philip Falino)
• Happy Face (Franklin P. Laviola)
• My Haul Video (Lisa Delmonico)
• Frank Ohman's The Nutcracker (Bob Read)
• Lynbrook (Carolyn Nardiello)
• Paris is Burning (Michael Cardacino)
• Time Peace (Carlo Gennareli)

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