For Immediate Release

Contact: Julie Rulon Greene

Stony Brook Film Festival

(631) 632-7233

julie@stonybrookfilmfestival.com

- 15^th Annual Stony Brook Film Festival Winners Announced-

Five Star Day Wins Jury Award

Ayla and Berlin 36 Share Audience Choice Prize

The Storm Recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking

July 31, 2010, Stony Brook, NY –A festive Awards Reception was held on the Staller Center Main Stage at Stony Brook University with John Anderson, film critic, as master of ceremonies, to close the 15^th Annual Stony Brook Film Festival. Mr. Anderson announced the Audience and Jury awards for best features and shorts as well as an Excellence in Filmmaking prize.

Five Star Day – Best Feature, Jury Award. Written and directed by Danny Buday.

Ayla and Berlin 36 - Best Feature, Audience Choice Prize (tie).

Ayla – Directed by Su Turhan.

Berlin 36 – Directed by Kaspar Heidelbach.

Worth – Best Short Film, Audience Choice Award. A film by Kathi Carey.

Unrest – Best Short Film, Jury Award. A film by Christina Rubinstein.

The Storm - Recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking. Directed by Ben Sombogaart. (Opening Night film out of competition.)

Among the filmmakers attending the awards reception were Danny Buday for Five Star Day, Su Turhan for Ayla, Kathi Carey for the short film Worth, and Marie Pineda, producer for the short film Unrest.

Sylvia Hoeks, the Dutch actress who played Julia in The Storm, and Alain De Levita, the film’s producer, had attended the Stony Brook Film Festival for the U.S. Premiere of The Storm on Opening Night, July 22.

The Stony Brook Film Festival completed its ten-day run of new independent film from the U.S. and around the world late Saturday night. Alan Inkles, founder and director of the Festival, heard from both filmmakers and audience alike who praised the programming of this year’s Stony Brook Film Festival. “Our audience was extremely positive about our films, including Opening Night, where two new dramatic features from the Netherlands were introduced, The Storm and Bride Flight,” said Mr. Inkles. “The international mix of films has become a Stony Brook specialty as more and more sales companies have found Stony Brook to be a great outlet for their films.”

Best Feature Jury Award

Five Star Day

Written and directed by Danny Buday. Produced by Danny Buday, Joel Mendoza and Mike Robertson. With Cam Gigandet, Jena Malone, Brooklyn Sudano and Max Hartman.

Jake Gibson (Cam Gigandet, Twilight) sees that his horoscope forecasts a perfect five star day the morning of his birthday. Determined that astrology has no legitimacy, Jake embarks on a journey to test the theory of astrology by finding the three people born the same time and place as himself—Sarah Reynolds (Jena Malone), Yvette Montgomery (Brooklyn Sudano), and Wesley Henderson (Max Hartman). An exciting new work with crisp direction and exceptional performances. From Virtu Entertainment and Lucid Entertainment.

Best Feature Audience Choice

Ayla and Berlin 36 (tie)

Stony Brook Film Festival had a tie for Best Feature, Audience Choice. “These wonderful German films rose to the top, with hundredths of a point separating them in the balloting,” noted Alan Inkles. “Berlin 36 takes us back to Hitler’s Germany, while Ayla is a look at the life of Turkish families living in Germany right now. Both are about admirable, young, determined women.”

Ayla – A U.S. Premiere from Germany, directed by Su Turhan. Written by Su Turhan and Beatrice Dossi. With Pegah Ferydoni, Mehdi Moinzadeh, Timur Isik and Saskia Vester. Produced by Andreas Bareiss, Sven Burgemeister and Gloria Burkert.

Ayla is young, beautiful and self-confident. She’s also independent and intends to stay that way. But as a Turkish woman in Germany, she has always found herself at the razor-sharp intersection of liberal Western ways and conservative Muslim conventions. A powerful look at family, traditions and temptations. From Beta Cinema.

Berlin 36 - Directed by Kaspar Heidelbach. Written by Lothar Kurzawa and Eric Friedler. With Karoline Herfurth, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Alex Prahl, Robert Gallinowski, Thomas Thieme, Johann Von Bülow and August Zimer. Produced by Gerhard Schmidt.

It’s 1936 and the United States threatens to boycott the Berlin Olympics if there are no Jews on the German team. Still aiming to mislead the world about their true agenda, the Nazis are forced to admit some Jewish athletes, among them, the leading high jumper of the time, Gretel Bergmann. This exciting and riveting drama is based on Gretel’s true story. From Beta Cinema.

Best Short Audience Choice

Worth

A film by Kathi Carey. Produced by David Manship and Kathi Carey.

When a non-descript violin shows up at an upscale auction it seems wildly out of place. But who decides what something or someone is really worth?

Best Short Jury Award

Unrest

A film by Christina Rubinstein. Produced by Marie Pineda.

In 1986 Manila, the Philippine Revolution is raging, and the citizens are forced to choose sides.

Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking (Out of Competition)

The Storm

“Stony Brook Film Festival was honored to have this film,” said Alan Inkles. “The powerful response that included an extended standing ovation was impossible to ignore. We felt the extraordinary work merited a special award.”

A U.S. Premiere filmed in the Netherlands and Belgium. Directed by Ben Sombogaart. Written by Marjolein Beumer and Rik Launspach. Produced by Alain De Levita and Johan Nijenhuis. With Sylvia Hoeks, Barry Atsma, Dirk Roofthooft, Monic Hendrickx, Katja Herbers and Lottie Hellingman. From Nijenhuis & De Levita Film. The film will be released in Russia, Japan, France, Taiwan, and broadcast on SBS in Australia, among others.

This gripping drama is remarkable for its realism, superb direction, extraordinary performances and outstanding special effects. Based on a real event, The Netherlands’ own Hurricane Katrina, the North Sea Flood of 1953 (Dutch: Watersnoodramp, ‘the flood disaster’).

Closing Night Film

The Stony Brook Film Festival ended with the East Coast premiere of Mao’s Last Dancer directed by Bruce Beresford, which came to Stony Brook from Samuel Goldwyn Films. A bonus feature film from The Weinstein Company, The Concert, directed by Radu Mihaileanu, was screened earlier in the evening.

About The Stony Brook Film Festival

The Stony Brook Film Festival, presented by Staller Center for the Arts, is known for its large audiences and high selectivity, and as a filmmakers’ favorite on the fest circuit. The Stony Brook Film Festival’s entry deadline is May 1 each year with no entry fee for filmmakers. Staller Center for the Arts, Stony Brook University’s cultural showplace, has been the home of the Stony Brook Film Festival every summer since its beginnings.

www.stonybrookfilmfestival.com

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Stony Brook Film Festival Closing Night Awards photos

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Caption for group: Filmmakers at the 2010 Closing Night Awards Reception, 15th Annual Stony Brook Film Festival: Su Turhan, director of Ayla, Best Feature Audience Choice Award; Danny Buday, director of Five Star Day, Best Feature Jury Award; Alan Inkles, Stony Brook Film Festival founder and director; Kathi Carey, director of Worth, Best Short Audience Choice; Marie Pineda, producer of Unrest, Best Short Jury Award.

Feature Film Winners at the 2010 Stony Brook Film Festival Closing Night Awards Reception: Su Turhan, director of Ayla, Best Feature Audience Choice Award; Danny Buday, director of Five Star Day, Best Feature Jury Award.

(Berlin 36, directed by Kaspar Heidelbach, tied for Best Feature Audience Choice Award.)