29th annual Stony Brook Film Festival begins July 18

The annual Stony Brook Film Festival will return to the Staller Center for the Arts for its 29th year, offering 36 feature and short films from 19 countries.

Presented by Island Federal, the festival runs from Thursday, July 18 through Saturday, July 27.

Opening night will feature the U.S. premiere of the French film “The Blond Boy from the Casbah,” written and directed by Alexandre Arcady.

This year’s festival features nine films from Stony Brook Film Festival (SBFF) alumni, including the U.S. premiere of “One Million Minutes,” a film from Germany marking writer/producer Christopher Doll’s directorial debut starring his wife, actress Karoline Herfurth.

“We first got a look at Karoline’s acting abilities as she starred in the lead role in our 2009 premiere of Berlin 36 at just 25 years old and illuminated our large screen,” festival director Alan Inkles said of Herfurth, who returns to SBFF for the fourth time with “One Million Minutes.” “This year, we are extremely excited to have the first screening in North America of Doll’s feature directorial debut, ‘One Million Minutes,’ starring Karoline in a dramatic role also produced by Doll.” The film is slated to close this year’s festival.

Additional sponsors for the Stony Brook Film Festival include Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, Suffolk County, Altice Media, and WLIW21.

The full schedule will be announced on June 12. Early Bird passes are available at discounted rates from May 22 to June 10. Detailed information is available at stonybrookfilmfestival.com/pass.

Staller Center for the Arts is located on the campus of Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook.