Our MISSION is to discover, promote and give venue to independent filmmakers, not just from the greater New York area, but globally.

For 34 years, the Long Island Film Festival has presented high quality film programs and has made a major contribution to the Long Island New York community by promoting films that are entertaining, educational, thought provoking and enhance the general public's understanding of cinema culture and the humanities.

The Long Island Film Festival is the Longest Running International Film Festival on Long island.  The Long Island Film Festival's past attendees read like a "who's who" of the film and television industry and include Vincent Pastore, Vincent Gardenia, Uta Hagen, Tom Noonan, Kimberly Peirce, KathleenTurner, Keith Hamilton Cobb, Bill Plympton, Edward Albee, Edie Falco, Frank Coraci, Gavin O'Connor, Hal Hartley, Karen Young, Lee Grant, Anne Meara, Eddie Daniels, Kevin Jordan,Tamara Jenkins, Stephen Bogart, Steve Buscemi, Stan Schofield, Ralph Macchio, Scott Saunders, Peter Boyle, Matthew Harrison, Michael Questa, Madeline Kahn, Kevin Corrigan, Kimberly Flynn, Paul Rodriguez, Gary Burghoff, Jason Miller, Adrienne Shelly, Robert Burke, David Harris, Joe D’Onfrio, Martin Donovan, and Karen Sillas.

During those 34 years, we have witnessed filmmaking transform itself from a strictly film medium to a highly technological global digital art form with sophisticated software operating on specially configured computers. As a result, there are more filmmakers attempting to break into the film industry. It is those new filmmakers that the Long Island Film Festival seeks to discover.

Our World Lens series focuses on foreign Indie filmmakers that are producing films that are pieces of their culture and set in economic, social, environmental, and political spheres. It is the commitment of the Long Island Film Festival to bring these films and make them available to a world-wide audience to enlighten and enhance the audience’s understanding of the world we live in.

Beginning this year, we are holding a global online film festival to keep up with technology. We feel that holding the festival at a physical location deprives the filmmakers that live far away from participating and supporting their film. The films selected for the online festival will be viewed on www.longislandfilmfestivalonline.org from July 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016. Viewers of your film we be allowed to vote on your films.  An awards party will be held in New York.  The location will be announced in June 2016.  Filmmakers will also be permitted to accept their awards via Skype before a live audience.