The Furman Film Series Will Feature 6 Films Along With Conversations With Special Guest
(Long Island, NY) The Gold Coast International Film Festival is excited to announce the first four of their upcoming films for the Summer 2015 Furman Film Series being held at the Bow Tie Squire Cinemas, 115 Middle Neck Rd, Great Neck, NY 11021. The Series–which is dedicated to previewing the best new independent films and studio releases, along with Q&A’s from filmmakers and a wide array of industry professionals–will kick off on Wednesday, June 3rd with a screening of A Brilliant Young Mind and continue Thursday, June 18th with Price For Freedom;Wednesday, July 29th with Best Of Enemies, and conclude Wednesday, August 12th with Learning To Drive and two more films TBA Wednesday July 1st & July 15th.
Gold Coast International Film Festival is set to Kick Off their Summer 2015 Film Series. Photo Credit: Rick Eberle Publicity.
SUMMER FURMAN FILM SERIES
- Dates: Wednesday, June 3; Thursday, June 18; Wednesday, July 1;Wednesday, July 15; Wednesday, July 29; Wednesday, August 12
- Subscription $75 (regular) / $65 (seniors)
- Individual tickets $15 ($10 students) in advance / $20 at the door
A BRILLIANT YOUNG MIND
Wednesday, June 3, 7:30pm
Starring Asa Butterfield (Hugo, Ender’s Game, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas), Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine, Happy Go Lucky), Rafe Spall (Life of Pi)
Directed by Morgan Matthews. UK, 2014, 111 min.
Teenage math prodigy Nathan (Asa Butterfield) struggles when it comes to building relationships with other people, not least with his mother, Julie (Sally Hawkins). In a world difficult to comprehend, he finds comfort in numbers. And when Nathan is taken under the wing of an unconventional and anarchic teacher, Mr. Humphreys (Rafe Spall), the pair forge an unusual friendship. Eventually, Nathan’s talents win him a place on the UK National team at the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) and the team travel to a training camp in Taiwan. In unfamiliar surroundings, Nathan is confronted by a series of unexpected challenges — not least the unfamiliar feelings he begins to experience for his Chinese counterpart, the beautiful Zhang Mei (Jo Yang), feelings that develop when the young mathematicians return to England for the IMO, held at Trinity College, Cambridge. From suburban England to bustling Taipei and back again, this original and heart-warming film tracks the funny and complex relationships that Nathan builds, as he is confronted by the irrational nature of love.
“Deeply affecting and offers a spot-on portrait of autism and the bewitching world of math” – Hollywood Reporter
“A satisfying, compelling drama.” – Variety
“Impossibly charming” – the Playlist
Official Selection 2014 Toronto Int’l Film Festival, Rome Film Festival
Nominated for 4 British Independent Film Awards
Winner – Best Feature – Palm Beach International Film Festival
PRICE FOR FREEDOM
Thursday, June 18, 7:30pm
Q&A with special guests: Author and subject of film Dr. Marc Benhuri and writer/producer Kenneth Del Vecchio
Starring Navid Negahban (Homeland, American Sniper) and Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas, Nixon, The Firm)
Directed by Dylan Bank. USA, 2015.
Based on the amazing true story and book by Dr. Marc Benhuri, Price for Freedom tells the epic story of one heroic man’s creation of an underground railroad to aid in the escape of Iranians from 1979 Iran following the Islamic Revolution.
The story centers on Dr. Victor Daniels (Navid Negahban), an Iranian Jew who lived in peace and prosperity in Iran, first as dentist to the Shah (Paul Sorvino) and then the owner who launched the largest automotive factories in Iran in the late 1970s. But just a few years into his success story, he watched the Ayatollah Khomeini’s rise to power, the exile of the Shah, and the murdering rampage the Ayatollah initiated throughout the country. Daniels’s factories were destroyed and over a hundred of his workers injured or killed. Daniels began to wage a private war against the radical Islamic leadership to save his family and friends from incarceration and certain death at the hands of the extremist regime. Along the way, he provided President Reagan key information to secure the release of American hostage. He served as the newly-elected President’s interpreter in negotiations with the Iranian ambassador in Switzerland.
Price for Freedom is one ordinary man’s extraordinary true story of courage, justice, and liberty in a fight against fundamentalist tyranny and oppression, a story that still resonates today.
This event is underwritten by the Claire Friedlander Family Foundation
BEST OF ENEMIES
Wednesday, July 29, 7:30pm
Directed by Morgan Neville & Robert Gordon. USA, 2015, 87 min.
In the summer of 1968 television news changed forever. Dead last in the ratings, ABC hired two towering public intellectuals to debate each other during the Democratic and Republican national conventions. William F. Buckley Jr. was a leading light of the new conservative movement. A Democrat and cousin to Jackie Onassis, Gore Vidal was a leftist novelist and polemicist. Armed with deep-seated distrust and enmity, Vidal and Buckley believed each other’s political ideologies were dangerous for America. Like rounds in a heavyweight battle, they pummeled out policy and personal insult—their explosive exchanges devolving into vitriolic name-calling. Live and unscripted, they kept viewers riveted. Ratings for ABC News skyrocketed. And a new era in public discourse was born.
Best of Enemies is a very entertaining, thought-provoking documentary that takes some of us back to the tumultuous sixties while providing historical insight for those of us who weren’t around back then. Directed with consummate skill by filmmakers Robert Gordon and Academy Award-winning Sundance Film Festival alum Morgan Neville (Twenty Feet From Stardom), Best of Enemiesunleashes a highbrow blood sport that marked the dawn of pundit television as we know it today.
“WICKEDLY ENTERTAINING. The directors avoid picking sides and instead enjoy the show.” – Kyle Smith, New York Post
“The best doc at Sundance. It rivetingly retraces how one heated rivalry sparked an entire culture of punditry.” – David Ehrlich, Time Out New York
Official Selection – 2015 Sundance Film Festival
Official Selection – 2015 South By Southwest
LEARNING TO DRIVE
Wednesday, August 12, 7:30pm
Directed by Isabel Coixet. USA, 2014, 105 min.
Inspired by a true story, LEARNING TO DRIVE stars Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson and Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley in a feel-good comedy about an improbable friendship.
Wendy Shields is a book editor from New York facing a marriage crisis. Darwan Singh Tur is a driving instructor from India with an abiding respect for tradition. When Wendy sets out to reclaim her independence, she hits a unique roadblock – she never learned to drive. She hires Darwan, a driving instructor and part-time cabdriver, to teach her. They form an unlikely bond that inspires each to embrace the humor, freedom, and strength that come with starting anew.
Runner-Up, People’s Choice Awards – 2014 Toronto International Film Festival
Official Selection – 2014 Hamptons International Film Festival
Official Selection – 2015 Palm Springs International Film Festival
For More Information, VISIT: http://www.goldcoastfilmfestival.org/furman.
