Free Film Festivals Around Long Island

Here's the run-down on movies around Long Island at your local public library for this summer, the summer of 2010. There are offerings for children's movies, feature films, as well as a few great lectures about Hollywood and the movie industry that are playing at a public library near you this summer.

You will see that your choice of Long Island libraries is playing such movies as It's Complicated, Lovely Bones, The Young Victoria, and Invictus, for free, and sometimes, light refreshments are included in the price. It's a sandwich sort of a picnic, so enjoy it, and spend your dollar on a few used books, resumes, or a media packet instead.

The Sachem Public Library will be offering such films as The Informant, The Box, The Blindside, Amelia, Whip It, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, and 2010 during their Thursday matinees at 1:30 pm and evening shows at 7: pm.

The Farmingdale Public Library will be showing movies in a festival style throughout the summer, as well as a free Jazz Lounge hosted by Paul Gatto every Thursday in July and August from 9 am - 2 pm. Monday matinees at 2 pm, Tuesday matinees at 1 pm, and 7 pm shows on random Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays will be screened for the general public. Plus, a free multimedia presentation on A History of Movie Stunts will be offered on July 7th at 7 pm.

The Hauppauge Public Library offers a free Tuesday movie every Tuesday at 2pm throughout June and July. Call 631-979-1600 for movie title information. On Monday, June 14th, a free Internet 303 class (advanced Internet) will be offered at 10 am, with a few seats available as of this writing.

The Baldwin Public Library will be screening Precious, on Friday, June 11th at 1 pm, and An Education, on June 25th at 1pm and 6:45 pm this summer. The Blind Side will also be shown this summer at the library.

The Bellmore Public Library will be screening The Night Sky out in the parking lot of the library on Wednesday, August 4th at 7pm, as hosted by Kevin Manning, astrophysical consultant.

The Bethpage Public Library will be screening Ghost on Wednesday, June 9th at 2 pm; The Blind Side on Friday, June 11th, at 2 pm; One Last Dance on Wednesday, June 16th, at 2pm; Up in the Air, at 7:30 pm on Friday, June, 18th, and To Wong Foo, thanks for Everything, on Wednesday, June 23rd, at 2 pm. A tribute to John Keats, classical poet, Bright Star, will be shown on Friday, June 25th at 2 pm.

The East Meadow Public Library will be airing several interesting movies this summer, offerings include The Bachelor Father, a classic from 1931, starring Marion Davies, on Thursday, June 17th at 1pm.

Under Our Skin, will be screened at the Smithtown Public Library on June 16th, at 6 pm.Under Our Skin will also be playing at the Riverhead Public Library on July 26th at 6 pm and the Huntington Public Library on July 30th at 6 pm.this summer. This movie, Under Our Skin is a public service movie that is an important film to watch this summer, it is about Lyme Disease, as well as the tiny parasites called ticks, lone star ticks, deer ticks, or black-legged ticks, that cause this as well as other related diseases. Under Our Skin is a movie about a disease that we have helped to create with housing tracts and landscaping that helps make areas more habitable for ticks.

We don't know all of the movies playing at all of the public libraries in the New York suburb of Long Island, nor do the librarians themselves. The schedule of the public library may still be flexible for cinematic screenings and events in August, or maybe even July, as of this writing.

Of course, if money is not a concern for you, there are cinematic offerings from places such as the Long Island Child's Museum in Garden City, which is hosting a Kidsfilmfest on June 12 at 1 and 3 pm, which is $3 with museum admission, or $6 per person just to see the movie. Guild Hall in East Hampton and the New Community Cinema in Huntington Village are two more places that offer art films and independent cinema, which costs less than going to an off-Broadway show. Hopefully, you can save up by seeing a few free films this summer, and go to something worthwhile, that will be of interest to you. The Cinema Arts Center, or New Community Cinema, is offering the Huntington Summer Arts Festival between June 26th and August 15th. Guild Hall will be presenting Summer Docs Screening #1, hosted by Alec Baldwin, on July 5th, at 8 pm, for $20; as well as a presentation on the Future of Media at the Hamptons Institute weekend, on Saturday, July 17th at 2:30 pm for $20.