Buffalo, NY, September 16, 2022: The 16th annual Buffalo Int’l Film Festival (BIFF) is excited to announce its 2022 festival lineup, which includes World, US, Regional, and City premieres; and anticipated WNY-made titles Bunker, Bashira, Rules of Lacrosse, and WNY Stories Shorts; as well as festival favorites Memoria, Peter Case: A Million Miles Away, Slash/Back, The Unknown Country, and much more! The festival will present five days of film, art, music, performances, panels (and more!) from October 6–10th in Buffalo, NY; while also presenting a selection of films and related content online from October 6–20th.
“We’re so thrilled and honored to present these phenomenal films to the WNY community, and to welcome new and old friends to our beautiful city for this year’s Buffalo Int’l Film Festival! Our team has been working hard for the last year to curate several highly anticipated titles, many of which will be accompanied by live filmmaker and cast Q+As. There is so much incredible content – something for every age and taste. Everybody is invited to Buffalo’s city-wide celebration of cinema – we can’t wait!” – Anna Scime, Executive Director
Tickets and passes are available at buffalofilm.org. Tickets are $12 for all in person screenings, and $10 for all online screenings. All screenings and events are open to the general public on a first come first serve basis. BIFF also participates in Arts Services Inc’s Arts Access Program, which allows program participants to reserve free tickets to all festival events. New for 2022, BIFF’s popular all-access Bison Pass is now available with three tiers: $40 (online only), $50 (theatrical), $60 (theatrical and online). Some shorts blocks, like Racial Justice in View, as well as BIFF’s Offscreen series of music, art, and performance; industry and academic panels; and other special events are free for the general public to attend as well.
Director Nickson Fong, and Stars Liam Aiken, Mitzi Akaha, Kiki Sukezane, Emma Caymares, and Brandon Gill in attendance.
An electronic musician (Liam Aiken) and a troubled fan with a haunting voice (Mitzi Akaha) are plunged into a hallucinogenic nightmare when they must confront an ancient entity capable of bending space and time, and wreaking havoc and death; in order to save their own souls and the lives of those they love.
Based on a Japanese legend and shot on location throughout Buffalo and surrounding lands (including The Statler, Rock City State Forest, and more!), this musical-horror-fantasy film is one wild ride!
NORTH PARK THEATRE – OCTOBER 7, 2022 – FRIDAY, 7:00 PM
Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Dir), 136 minutes, USA, Buffalo Premiere
A lyrical drama exploring myth, memory and colonialism. Jessica (Tilda Swinton), a Scottish expat living in Bogotá, Colombia sets off to find the source of a mysterious sonic boom that only she can hear. With the help of a sound engineer (Elkin Diaz), Jessica explores a psychological and metaphysical world where more than just the past is excavated. A NEON release.
NORTH PARK THEATRE – OCTOBER 9, 2022 – SUNDAY, 1:30 PM
Adrian Langley (Dir), 108 minutes, USA, World Premiere
Director Adrian Langley, Writer Michael Huntsman, and Producers Patrick Rizzotti and James Huntsman in attendance.
Trapped in a bunker during World War I, a group of soldiers are faced with an ungodly presence that slowly turns them against each other. Made in Western New York at Buffalo FilmWorks. A Blue Fox Entertainment release.
NORTH PARK THEATRE – OCTOBER 8, 2022 – SATURDAY, 9:00 PM
Joanne Storkan (Dir), 124 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere
Director Joanne Storkan in attendance.
The A to Z of men’s lacrosse – from its rich, Indigenous history to the growing of the game internationally from its North American roots, to its future status of an official men’s and women’s Olympics sport, beginning in 2028. Featuring interviews with some of the greatest names in the sport and its biggest supporters, including Oren Lyons, Gary Sundown, Louis Delisle, Garylord Powless, Dean French, Teiotièntaron ‘River’ McComber, Wayne Gretzky, Seymour Knox IV, Johnny Mouradian, the Buffalo Bandits, and many more!
NORTH PARK THEATRE – OCTOBER 8, 2022 – SATURDAY, 12:30 PM
Lesya Kalynska + Ruslan Batytskyi (Dir), 83 minutes, Ukraine/USA, Western New York Premiere
Director Lesya Kalynska and Producer TJ Collins in attendance.
Following two young Ukrainian idealists from the peaceful protest in Kyiv in 2013, to the full-scale Russian invasion of the Ukraine in 2022, Pavlo and Svitlana met and fell in love at the Maidan Revolution and were filmed over 8 years, with several expeditions to the frontlines of the war.
In Ukrainian and English, with English subtitles.
NORTH PARK THEATRE – OCTOBER 10, 2022 – MONDAY, 7:00 PM
_____
*More spotlight films and exciting guests TBA soon! (!!!)
_________
SCREENINGS IN BUFFALO OCT 6-10:
*Chronological – please check individual film pages for date/time/venue, and filmmakers in attendance.
*More films and exciting free programming (Offscreen art, music and performance events, panels, roundtables, workshops, parties + more TBA soon! (!!!)
______
About Buffalo Int’l Film Festival:
Buffalo International Film Festival (est. 2006) champions regional, national, and international films that push the limits of independent cinema – presenting quality films from around the world to WNY residents and visitors. BIFF is committed to amplifying diverse voices and exhibiting cutting-edge programming in narrative, documentary and experimental film. A proud supporter of local filmmaking and the arts; BIFF also offers workshops, seminars, industry panel discussions, fiscal sponsorship and professional development opportunities, as well as an Offscreen series of art, music and performance.
One of the first chances to see and touch the new Arri Alexa 35 Cinema Camera in Western New York will happen this Tuesday 9/13 at the North Park Theatre, 1425 Hertel Avenue in North Buffalo.
Guenter Noesner of Arri Inc.
Guenter Noesner of Arri, Inc. will appear in person at the North Park Theatre at 12:00 pm to present an exclusive screening of “Alexa 35 Encounters” on the big screen. This special presentation will really demonstrate what this new technological wonder is all about.
On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 9:30 PM, The North Park Theater, on Hertel Avenue in North Buffalo. in conjunction with the Department of Media Study, University at Buffalo will sponsor a benefit screening of award-winning director Robert Lieberman’s cult classic, Fire in the Sky. It is based on Travis Walton’s book The Walton Experience,[4] which describes an extraterrestrial abduction. The film stars D. B. Sweeney as Walton, and Robert Patrick as his best friend and future brother-in-law, Mike Rogers. James Garner, Craig Sheffer, Scott MacDonald, Henry Thomas and Peter Berg also star.
Lieberman, a Buffalo native and alumnus of Riverside High School and The University at Buffalo, where he received the first degree in film ever to be given by that lauded local school.
Lieberman, “This brings me full circle. It is the theater where I saw my very first movie when I was six-years-old and where the dream of my fifty year career as a successful Hollwood director was birthed and nurtured.” It will benefit the Buffalo non-profit organization Squeaky Wheel Film and Media Arts Center, an organization that aids filmmakers in getting their first short films made.
The director will be in attendance to do Q&A directly following the screening. In addition, the director will be guest lecturing and screening additional film material at his alma mater on Monday, September 12th.
ABOUT ROB LIEBERMAN
Robert Lieberman, born and raised in North Buffalo, attended PS #81, Riverside High School and was the first to graduate with a B.A. specializing in film studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Over the past fifty years he has been a prominent, award winning director in film, television and commercials. A highlight from his expansive career in television was directing the pilot and Executive Producing the CBS series Gabriel’s Fire, which starred James Earl Jones and garnered three Emmy Awards. In addition to Gabriel’s Fire, he directed the pilot and Executive Produced The Dead Zone (which ran for seven seasons on USA), and Strong Medicine (which ran for six seasons on Lifetime). He was also brought on as a Co-Executive Producer on Ascension for Syfy. In all, he has directed nineteen pilots, sixteen of which were ordered to series.
In recent years Mr. Lieberman’s television directing assignments have included multiple episodes of The Expanse, Eyewitness, Art of More, Rogue, Criminal Minds, Dexter, The X-Files, Brothers & Sisters and eight episodes of Haven. In long form television he directed Tom Clancy’s Netforce with Kris Kristofferson and Scott Bakula (ABC), which he also wrote, the miniseries Titanic, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and George C. Scott for CBS, Earthsea with Isabella Rossallini and Danny Glover and for TNT he directed the original movie Second String with Jon Voight.
Mr. Lieberman also co-created and Executive Produced the daytime talk show Marilu with his then wife Marilu Henner and the Fox reality show The Casino, which he co-developed with Mark Burnett.
In the feature world, Mr. Lieberman directed the cult thriller Fire in the Sky for Paramount. Other feature films include Breakaway, Canada’s highest grossing film, in 2011; D3:The Mighty Ducks, Jon Voight in Table For Five, and All I Want For Christmas with Thora Birch, Leslie Nielson and Lauren Bacall.
A graduate of the University at Buffalo with a B.A. in Film, he did his graduate work at Loyola Marymount. Mr. Lieberman has directed over a thousand commercials for “A” list clients garnering him 29 Clios, the first Director’s Guild of America’s award for Best Commercial Director (he was nominated three more times and winning it a second time), Commercial of The Year from the industry magazine Ad Age and the Gold and Silver Lions for commercials from the Cannes Film Festival.
Most recently Mr. Lieberman has been nominated for The Directors Guild of Canada’s esteemed award for Outstanding Achievement in the Direction of a Dramatic Series for his work on The Expanse.
He is currently writing two screenplays, one in the horror genre and the other a personal independent film. He is in the process of launching his new food blog, Rob’s Little Kitchen and plans to direct a short film he authored, Suerte (Lucky) in Mexico this year. It tells the poignant story of an eight-year-old Guatemalan boy who is separated from his mother and caged by US Immigration at the border.
Guns of Eden, an action movie written and directed by Buffalo-based filmmaker Gregory Lamberson, will have its World Premiere at Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival this Friday, August 19th at 7:00 pm, with an encore screening Sunday, August 21st at 4:30 pm. The Friday premiere is already sold out. Buffalo Dreams runs Friday, August 19th – Thursday, August 25th at Dipson Theatres Eastern Hills Cinema. Lamberson programs the festival with Chris Scioli.
Guns of Eden was conceived as an action epic in the “Rambo” mold, with a female lead. New York City actress Alexandra Faye Sadeghian and B-movie icon Lynn Lowry star, with local actors Bill Kennedy, Peter “Trazz” Johnson, Nicole Colon, and Dominic Luongo in key supporting roles.
Writer Director Greg Lamberson (Right) on set with actor Bill Brown (Left).
Lamberson wrote the screenplay in 1996, but put it in a drawer because the action was too ambitious to pull off on a low budget.
“The film has scores of characters, gunfire, fights, a car chase, and a helicopter,” Lamberson says. “But 90% of the story takes place outside, so suddenly, during the pandemic, the most challenging screenplay I was sitting on became the most practical to produce.”
Lamberson produced the movie with his wife Tamar, cinematographer Chris Cosgrave, and Keith Lukowski. Executive producers include Erin Elizabeth Heald, Kim Piazza, Armand Petri, Brooke Lewis Bellas, and Marc J. Makowski. Lamberson and his team raised $100,000 on the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo to make the film, which they shot last summer, primarily in downtown Buffalo, Chestnut Ridge Park, Clarence Nature Center, Akron Falls Park, and Little Rock City.
After Buffalo Dreams, Guns of Eden will screen at two out of state film festivals yet to be announced, and will be released commercially before the end of the year.
Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film will honor Jerry Stoeffhaas with its Local Service Award, in recognition of his significant contributions to the Western New York film industry. Past recipients include Buffalo Niagara Film Commissioner Tim Clark, Buffalo Niagara Film Office Director of Operations Rich Wall, City of Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, New York State Film Commissioner Pat Kaufman, and WBBZ TV station manager/Off Beat Cinema producer John Di Sciullo. Buffalo Dreams’ ninth season runs August 19th – 25th at Dipson Theaters’ Eastern Hills Cinema, and Stoeffaas will receive his award at the Dreamer Awards presentation on Sunday the 21st.
Stoeffhaas served as the Deputy Director of the New York State Governor’s Office for Motion Picture & Television Development for over 20 years before retiring last year, working with film and TV productions across the state and helping launch the state’s highly successful Film Production Tax Credits, and continues to serve as Senior Advisor. Prior to that he was the founder and Director of the Rochester/Finger Lakes Film and Video Office, the first dedicated film office in Upstate New York.
With his creative partner Jeff Ureles, Stoeffhaas co-wrote, produced and directed the feature film Cheap Shots, filmed in Batavia, which had a limited US theatrical run via Hemdale and played at festivals around the world, including Sundance, London, Tel Aviv, and Tokyo. After receiving his MFA in Film from Syracuse University he worked as an independent Location Manager covering Central and Western New York.
Stoeffhaas is a member of the Writers Guild of America, East since 1980 and has taught screenwriting, film production and criticism at various Upstate institutions including Syracuse University, Writers & Books and Rochester Institute of Technology.
Filmed entirely in Western New York in the Spring of 2019, Addison Henderson’s “G.O.D.” (Givers of Death) is in theatres now including the North Park Theatre, 1428 Hertel Avenue in North Buffalo. It is also available streaming on Apple TV.
“G.O.D.” (Givers of Death) is an apocalyptic sci-fi tale of redemption. It is the journey of a man, a detective, and an entire city’s quest for peace. The man seeks peace through atonement, the detective through revenge and the city through resolution. The film explores whether peace can be attained when one exists in constant chaos – be it in reality, or in the mind. Henderson stars in and directs “G.O.D.” along with a cast that features Louis Lombardi, J.J. Alfieri, Jonathan Sterritt, Jason Delane and others.
Opening Night Gala:
Memoria
Bunker
The Rules of Lacrosse
Slash/Back
A hands on demo will follow in the lobby of the North Park at 1pm with representatives of 
On Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 9:30 PM, The North Park Theater, on Hertel Avenue in North Buffalo. in conjunction with the Department of Media Study, University at Buffalo will sponsor a benefit screening of award-winning director Robert Lieberman’s cult classic, Fire in the Sky. It is based on 
