Inaugural Made in Huntington Film & TV Festival Launches to Support Emerging Filmmakers (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Matt Minton mminton@variety.com With a Steven Spielberg film currently filming in the area, the Made in Huntington Film & TV Festival is officially launching with the goal of supporting emerging filmmakers.

Starting Thursday and running through April 6, the festival is hosting 14 public screenings, with a total of 35 titles chosen from 100 submissions.

For festival executive producer and Huntington’s director of film and television Joe Schramm, the festival is a unique opportunity to highlight production opportunities in Long Island. “Huntington is a unique place because a lot of television and film executives, producers, directors and screenwriters live here,” Schramm tells Variety. “I’m a little surprised — there are a lot of people who, like myself, work for the same companies over the years and, now that they’re semi-retiring, they’re becoming filmmakers at age 55 or 60 for the first time.” Schramm cites Huntington’s proximity to Steinway Studios and Silvercup Studios in New York City.

Recent titles that have filmed in the town include “Sirens,” “The Americans,” “American Horror Story” and “Jigsaw.” Part of the town is also located in a major New York production zone. “We created this film festival because the town of Huntington made a firm commitment to invite Hollywood in,” Schramm says.