Now in its 27th year, the Stony Brook Film Festival returns to Staller Center for the Arts, live and in-person this year, from July 21-30, 2022 showcasing 38 films from over 28 countries.
Opening the Festival will be the North American Premiere of Peaceful, starring Catherine Deneuve, Benoît Magimel, and Gabriel A Sara. A life-affirming drama about acceptance and resilience, Peaceful follows Benjamin, an acting teacher with a terminal illness as he navigates his final months and days. The beating heart of the film comes from Gabriel Sara a cancer specialist from Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan in real-life – who portrays Benjamin’s very humane specialist Dr. Eddé. Catherine Deneuve’s powerful performance as Benjamin’s mother is unforgettable.
The theme of family continues with the mesmerizing Korean independent film, Seokkarae. Written and directed by Mike Beech, and starring his wife, Jiwon Lee, the character-driven film depicts a quiet twenty-something attempting to keep the family business going despite tough odds. Jungle is another such collaboration, written by real life partners Claudia Verena Hruschka and Kieran Wheeler, with Wheeler directing and Hruschka giving a gut-wrenching performance in this hard-hitting short from Australia. From Australia to Stony Brook, The Switcheroo is co-directed by Stony Brook brothers Ryan and Anthony Famulari. Made for next to nothing during COVID, this hilarious comedy has the brothers serving as the entire crew, with Anthony cast in the very funny role of a man and his clone. Two more co-directors are sisters Austin and Westin Ray with their UK-based quiet thriller Before Seven. The Ray’s, Festival alums from 2014, served as directors, writer (Westin) and composer and cinematographer (Austin). Another SBFF festival alum is John Gray, who won the audience choice award for his 2020 film Extra Innings, and is back this year with the intriguing family drama The Little Drummer Boy.
Women will take center stage at this year’s SBFF, both in front of and behind the camera. SBFF’s opening and closing night features and shorts were all helmed by female directors. In all, 17 of the Festival’s 38 films were directed by women. Two films, Kitchen Tales and Before Seven, were made with nearly all-female crews. The Jackie Stiles Story and Nasima are two completely different documentaries about female athletes from the middle of nowhere – a small Kansas town and a small seaside village in Bangladesh – who both beat the odds and made a huge impact in their respective sports of basketball and surfing. There are heroines from all walks of life, whether in the New Zealand drama The Justice of Bunny King, the Israeli epic Image of Victory, the Albanian thriller Vera Dream of the Sea, or the American indie Peace in the Valley, all of which feature knock-out performances by their lead actresses.
Reflecting on current issues, two films in the Festival, Olga and Berenshtein, both take place in and around Ukraine, and both are from times when the Ukrainian people faced down an oppressive regime – whether it be from the Nazis or their own government.
Mila, a must-see short film on SBFF’s closing night, is a debut effort by writer/director Cinzia Angelini and made by 350 animators from 35 countries, who volunteered their services to help Angelini get her story made after all major studios turned it down. Inspired by events of the 1943 Trento bombing in Italy, this heart-warming story depicts a young girl who has lost everything but still clings to hope. The closing night feature, Lost Transport, is a powerful and deeply moving film set during the final days of World War II, uniquely told from a female perspective. When German soldiers abandon a deportation train, leaving the fate of its occupants in the hands of advancing Russian troops, three women from vastly different backgrounds, set aside their differences, working together to survive.
LIVE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
OPENING NIGHT
Thursday, July 21, 2022
8:00 pm
Feature: Peaceful,122 min, France (North American Premiere)
Short: Lentini, 11 min, United States
Friday, July 22, 2022
7:00 pm
Feature: Olga, 95 min, Switzerland, France, Ukraine
Short: Kitchen Tales. 22 min, United Kingdom
9:30 pm
Feature: Glob Lessons, 101 min, United States
Short: Before Seven, 15 min, United States
Saturday, July 23
4:30 pm
Documentary Feature: The Jackie Stiles Story, 94 min, United States
7:00 pm
Feature: Contra, 108 min, Germany
Short: The Little Drummer Boy, 10 min, United States
9:30 pm
Feature: Peace in the Valley, 88 min, United States
Short: Elevate, 15 min, United States
Sunday, July 24, 2022
4:30 pm
Documentary Feature: Nasima, 85 min, United States
7:00 pm
Feature: Berenshtein, 110 min, Israel and Ukraine
Short: The Switcheroo, 10 min, United States
9:30pm
Feature: This is a Film About My Mother, 60 min, United States
Short: North Star, 30 min, United States
Monday, July 25
7:00 pm
Feature: Hit the Road, 93 min, Iran
Short: Summer of Bees, 23 min, Finland
9:30 pm
Feature: Seokkarae, 23 min, Korea
Short: Saving Elodie, 11 min, United Kingdom
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
7:00 pm
Feature: Hard Shell, Soft Shell, 99 min, France
Short: Almost Winter, 14 min, United States
9:30 pm
Feature: The Justice of Bunny King, 101 min, New Zealand
Short: The Dress, 10 min, United States
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
7:00 pm
Feature: Image of Victory, 128 min, Israel
Short: Milk, 9 min, United Kingdom
9:30 pm
Feature: The Test, 85 min, France
Short: Free Fall, 19 min, France
Thursday, July 28, 2022
7:00 pm
Feature: Haute Couture, 100 min, France
Short: Jungle, 15 min, Australia
9:30 pm
Feature: Sons of the Sea, 82 min, South Africa
Short: Ousmane, 25 min, Canada
Friday, July 29, 2022
7:00 pm
Feature: Vera Dreams of the Seas, 82 min, Kosovo, Albania, and Republic of Macedonia
Short: All that Glitters, 23 min, United Kingdom
9:30 pm
Feature: Black Box, 129 min, France and Belgium
Short: Aysha, 13 min, Germany
Closing Night
Saturday, July 30, 2022
8:00 pm
Feature: Lost Transport, 101 min, Netherlands, Luxembourg, German
Short: Mila, 20 min, United States
CLOSING NIGHT AWARDS
10:30 pm