Mastic Beach Mini Indie Film Festival

When Titanic set sail on April 10, 1912, she was coined the 'Ship of Dreams.' A blockbuster film in the ship's namesake made its debut on December 19th, 1997. Fast forward to Saturday, October 14th, 2023 at 8 p.m., and The Grit of Unchartered Territory - 'Ship of Dreams: The Titanic Movie', will be featured during the 5th Annual Mastic Beach Mini Indie Film Festival.

Festival activities will launch on October 13th with a community-oriented itinerary on tap. While the full agenda is a work in progress, the day promises something for everyone. James Evans is Producer/ Director of Mastic Beach Mini Indie Film Festival, (MBMIFF), along with his partner and cofounder Amy Gaipa. During an interview last week, Evans offered a sneak preview into this year's film festival. Day 1, October 13th of the festival will be free of charge to those who attend.

For entry into the event on October 14th, however, Festival-goers will be asked to pay $30 for an all-access pass to the full itinerary of events. The story behind the creation of MBMIFF is an interesting one. Evans, a product of the TriHamlet community and a 2011 alumnus of William Floyd High School explains, "It all started in 2019 with a one day fundraiser for a film we were producing. That," Evans recounts, "turned into a three-day event, and from there, we started to grow and become our own entity." Evans is proud to announce that over time, MBMIFF has rebranded and is now a 501(C)3 not-forprofit. It's mission statement aims to expand the presence of films as an art form amongst under-represented populations, creating space for entertainment, empathy, and the exchanging of ideas. To that end, Evans and Gaipa search for films from around the world to bring to light during their festivals.

As MBMIFF brings the arts to the community, Evans said in an interview last week, "Our goal is to provide a stage to unique voices, so that they may share their stories in ways that foster a peaceful and compassionate society. This annual celebration demonstrates the power of identification and how it shapes the stories we love to experience on screen and beyond." Evans offered a heads up on what Festival-goers can expect. "People want to know what happens behind the scenes; it's very, very eye-opening for people to learn what happens from the production stage right through to the programming, " Evans said. "This festival is more audience-centered where we have an engaging audience who interact in discussions with filmmakers so they can see what goes on behind the scenes." Evans said making a film is a "very, very time-consuming process, and a labor of love that has to be seen."

The October 14th itinerary begins at the Arts Council Space, 373-375 Neighborhood Road in Mastic Beach at 11 a.m. with “The Grit of Being a Kid," followed by a poet roundtable at noon with "Poet Michelle Nelson who will lead with a reading of her work, as together, we we explore the themes of our new mission statement," Evans said. An array of other highlights will follow before "Ship of Dreams: The Titanic Movie" starts at 8 p.m., and will feature some supporting actors from the film who will share their behind-the-scenes perspectives during the making of the movie.

A podcast will follow the Titanic feature, and the festival will wrap with a party at Linsa Torr's Place at 10:30 p.m. Day 3, October 15th, will be dedicated to patronizing local merchants. As Evans explains, "In the spirit of the Mastic Beach Mini Indie Film Festival documentary, Neighborhood Road and Around the Corner, we're asking the community to support local businesses and to give back to our wonderful entrepreneurs. . . and tell them Mastic Beach Mini Indie Film Festival sent you."

For a full access pass to the main events on October 14th, visit the website at MBMIFF. com and follow the links to tickets. All-access passes are extremely limited and are being offered on a first-come, firstserved basis. "It's going to be an intimate, salon-style setting with small tables, so space is going to be limited," Evans said.