Sponsored by the Long Island Film-TV Foundation and the County of Nassau and the NCIDA, The Long Island International Film Expo – LIIFE, 26 years young! – is the longest running regional film festival on Long Island. Selected films will screen in the historic Bellmore Movies and Showplace 350+ seat theater. We also have festival-long networking in our Filmmakers Lounge, daily industry panels, opening and closing night parties, with press and media coverage of our events, screenings, and awards ceremony.
LIIFE accepts films of all genres; Drama, Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Documentary, Arthouse, Psychological, LGBTQIA+, Family, Animated.. you name it! But first and foremost, we love our local Long Island based filmmakers, and we want to showcase your work alongside films from around the world. So if you are a local filmmaker, be sure to submit to one of our Long Island categories. If you are a LIIFE Alum, we want to see more of your work, so please email us at LongIslandFilmExpo@gmail.com for the 2024 Alumni discount code (subject: “Alumni Discount'' and tell us what film you had in the fest, and what year it screened).
PLEASE SUBMIT TO ONLY ONE CATEGORY PER FILM - DUPLICATE ENTRIES WILL NOT BE REFUNDED!
While we do not require premieres, we will take a films premiere status into account when scheduling; Especially for Feature Films. Long Island Premieres preferred for Feature Films.
Films that are available to the public via streaming, theatrical, or home video before the festival will be disqualified from judging and pulled from programming, INCLUDING the “Episodic Pilot” category. NO EXCEPTIONS!
We understand not everyone can be everywhere, but LIIFE is about creating a community, fostering and furthering relationships in the film industry, and we ask (but not require!) that filmmakers attend the festival, participate in our in-person Q&A's, sit in on our panels, and enjoy our Filmmakers Lounge which is open daily throughout the festival, specifically for networking. Many of our filmmakers have made connections, found producers, cast, crew, and more by just being here. Contributing to the filmmaking community is the best way to guarantee the longevity of your career, so join us festival week!
Winning films with attending filmmakers will receive trophies at our closing night awards ceremony, as well as laurels for all selected filmmakers. Other prizes (goods and services) may be be added as we get closer to the screening dates.
Best Screenplay Winner will have their screenplay read by actors in a live table read (in-person or virtually, dependent upon on location availability, and time and capacity restrictions), and Winners Certificate & Laurel.
Three (3) screenplay finalists will receive a 4-month InkTip Pro Membership. As an InkTip Pro Member, thousands of filmmakers can find and read your scripts, and you'll be able to pitch directly to production companies every week. With over 3,000 options and 400 movies made, InkTip is the place for independent film.
GENRE FILMMAKERS!!
Over the past few years we have been curating Genre Blocks, and will continue to do so! We have our "Retro Futurism" block for Sci-Fi Films, "Scared For Your LIIFE" for Horror Films, "Midnight Madness" for quirky, fringe, and genre-bending cinema, "LIIFE Is Funny" for Comedic films, and in 2023 we added "Kicking Ass, Taking Names" for Action films! So send us your genre films!
Midnight Madness: At the end of the block, a one-of-a-kind handmade award will be presented to one of the filmmakers (who MUST be in attendance to win!), and all audience members will receive a custom 2024 pin!