With love for and from the Lighthouse International Film Festival
Greetings from a movie marathon at the Jersey Shore.
Dear Writers,
June is full of celebrations: Happy Pride, Juneteenth and Father’s Day, if you observe. Unfortunately, celebrations don’t make the world any less insane, so last week, I escaped to the movies. One of my favorite activities is watching films on the big screen. When my kids were little, we went as often as we could. Over time, the movie theaters near our small New Jersey town closed down, but eventually we moved to NYC where there are movie theaters galore, and now, I am back to seeing movies with my adult kids, and my husband, whenever I can. So you’d think I would have been paying attention to the Lighthouse International Film Festival (LIFF) on the Jersey Shore, which has been running for 17 years. We’ve been going to the Jersey Shore every summer since 1998, yet I ignored this festival. I had been to Sundance twice with a Jersey friend who moved to Utah; how good could this local film festival be? Then, two things happened: A friend’s son’s documentary, American Dendrite, was accepted into the LIFF festival, and my sister-in-law’s friend Kahane Cooperman’s documentary, Creede, USA, was also accepted. So off we went.
What a fabulous lineup of films at a fraction of the price of Sundance! I saw 9 movies in 4.5 days. Here they are, in alphabetical order. Hopefully, they will be picked up by distributors and available in theaters and/or through streaming devices. The movie descriptions in italics are from the LIFF’s website.
A Marble in the Jar: Extraordinary documentary about the triumphs and tribulations of pro surfer Tatiana Weston-Webb, a stunning, funny blonde who surfs waves with such grace and skill, her surfboard looks Velcro-ed to her feet. The film was directed by her coach, Greg Browning, who died of ALS two weeks ago. Words don’t do this film justice; you have to see it. Trailer here.
"A Marble in the Jar" is a powerful documentary that follows pro surfer Tatiana Weston-Webb’s journey through triumph, heartbreak, and growth. Opening LIFF’s Surf Films Program, it introduces the symbolic practice of placing “a marble in the jar”—acknowledging life’s small positives as a way of deliberately finding the good. Directed by Tatiana’s coach and close friend Greg Browning, the film explores her rise in professional surfing, a devastating loss at a World Title, and her fight back to the top. Alongside her story is Greg’s personal battle with ALS. As his condition worsens, Tatiana learns what truly makes life meaningful. This visually stunning film reflects on resilience, perspective, and the beauty of small victories.”
Jasmine Dorothy Haefner
American Dendrite: Lyrical, moving documentary about how water connects, soothes, inspires, and mends us, directed by Adam Marshall Present.
“A road trip documentary by New Jersey filmmaker Adam Marshall Present, American Dendrite explores climate, culture, and consciousness across the U.S. Shot on vintage Super 8mm film, the journey follows the Mississippi River from Chicago to the Louisiana Bayou, capturing intimate stories from people along the way. Each participant responds to reflections shared by someone upstream, creating a flowing chain of conversation. The result is a living time capsule—personal yet collective, quiet yet profound—revealing how water, geography, and memory bind diverse communities in a pivotal moment of American history.”
Amir Bogen
Creede, USA. Outstanding documentary directed by Kahane Cooperman, former co-executive producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, about Creede, Colorado, a small town (population, roughly 300), five hours from Denver, filled with conservative old mining families, and also home to the progressive Creede Repertory Theater Company, and the people who go there to work and act. Mandy Patankin has a home in Creede and worked for the theater during college; he appears in the film and is funny and open about how hard it is to find matzoh there. Kahane filmed school board meetings that grappled with how to teach gender, sexuality and inclusion, and debated whether or not to have an armed person at the school. This is a beautifully filmed, thoughtful, and surprisingly candid story about how one community works to get along with itself, and delivers an extremely positive and hopeful message about how people who have extreme and opposite views can get along when they try.
“Today’s America is more divided than ever. Polarizing ideologies tear the nation apart—left and right, Republicans and Democrats, identity and politics. In her beautiful documentary, which premiered at SXSW, Oscar-nominated filmmaker and LIFF alum Kahane Corn Cooperman closely examines a unique case study: Creede, a small town in Colorado where opposing beliefs clash—but are also bridged—through debate and mutual understanding. Set against the backdrop of stunning mountains, the camera follows an isolated conservative community exposed to progressive values through the town’s local theater group and its supporters. But instead of conflict, what unfolds is something rare: a respectful dialogue. This filmmaker offers a powerful reminder of a forgotten path—one where people with opposing views engage, listen, and connect without patronizing, shaming, discrediting, or canceling those who disagree.”
Amir Bogen
Fantasy Life: Funny, wonderful feature about a beautiful, privileged out-of-work actress and mother (Amanda Peet) who struggles with depression, and develops a friendship with her equally depressed manny, hired by the wife of her psychiatrist father-in-law (Judd Hirsh) while her adorable musician husband (Allesandro Nivola) is on tour. Written, directed and starring Matthew Shear as the manny and Holland Taylor as Peet’s psychiatrist. Peet is a marvel here—she clearly does not get Botox or fillers and is gorgeous, radiant, and hysterical. There are so many stars and so many funny lines in this movie, you won’t know where to look or when to stop laughing.
“Hitting rock bottom doesn’t mean the end; it just means it’s time to look up—or at least start dreaming of a way back. That’s the scenario writer/director Matt Shear explores in this charming, intimate, and funny dramedy, which he also stars in alongside a stellar cast: Amanda Peet, Alessandro Nivola, Judd Hirsch, Andrea Martin, Bob Balaban, and Zosia Mamet. The story follows a shy, neurotic Jewish man who loses his job and spirals into a state of existential limbo. Reluctantly accepting work as a nanny, he’s swept into a hectic household and forms a connection with the lonely mother, discovering they share a history of mental illness. Brimming with delicate humor and emotional nuance, the film examines fantasy as a means of escaping a monotonous reality—and the quiet courage it takes to finally pursue our dreams.”
Amir Bogen
Move Ya Body: The Birth of House. Fun, instructive and sometimes, troubling documentary about the birth of house music in Chicago, directed by Elegance Bratton, and produced by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton and Chester Algernal Gordon, among others.
“On July 12, 1979, Disco was declared dead—violently and defiantly—by a mob of haters who stormed Comiskey Park in Chicago during a baseball game, destroying thousands of vinyl records in a chaotic protest against the genre and its culture. But from the ashes of Disco and its flamboyant icons, a new sound emerged—one that redefined blackness, queerness, free love, and pure joy. That’s how Chicago House was born. In this vibrant retro music documentary, filmmaker Elegance Bratton follows House pioneer Vince Lawrence as he revisits the genre’s rise, from the depths of underground clubs to the top of the charts. You may start watching this film comfortably in your seat, but don’t be surprised if you end up dancing on your feet.”
Amir Bogen
O Horizon. Lovely film about a young woman’s desire and ability (through sci-fi, AI magic) to reconnect and communicate with her dead Dad. The musician Aimee Mann and supermodel Paulina Porizkova are surprisingly good as muse and mother, David Strathairn is lovely as the father. Clip here.
Who hasn’t wished for just one more conversation with someone they’ve lost? Just one more chance to say the thing you didn’t get to say? Writer-director Madeleine Rotzler (“O.G.”) taps into that deep, personal ache — and does it with heart, humor, and a lab monkey named Dorey, who fully deserves its own fan club. The main character, though, is human; a brilliant young neuroscientist, who’s still reeling from the death of her father. A new technology allows her to reconnect with her dad, in digital form, and what follows is a moving, surprising, and occasionally funny chain of events that forces her to re-evaluate her career, love life and even her grief. An intimate, soulful sci-fi dramedy with a brilliant cast led by Maria Bakalova (“The Apprentice”), David Strathairn, Adam Pally, Meggie Grace, and Paulina Porizkova - Shirit Gal-Kedar
Resentment: Jen Ponton hits the cover off the ball in this feature about marriage maintenance, bar-keeping, movie-making, and adultery. Written and directed by Noah Milllman, also starring Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (Barksdale from “The Wire”) and Patch Darragh.
“In an artist’s life, every workday ends with a reckoning—with purpose, hope, failure, frustration—add alcohol, and it curdles into resentment. This full palette of emotion—false hopes, grudges, victimhood—is poured out on and around a bar table in Noah Millman’s brilliant, sarcastic, and brutally honest film, echoing the spirit of Mike Nichols’ classic "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf". A witty chamber dramedy, it follows a filmmaker (Patch Darragh, "Succession") confronting his artistic failures and painful compromises. As the night stretches on, a drunken blame game spirals out of control, entangling friends, lovers, and the artist himself in a sharp exchange of truths no one wants to hear. What begins as a casual conversation devolves into a war of words, fueled by ego, regret, and bottomless drinks.”
Amir Bogen
The Shepherd’s Keeper & Home/Land: Two Israeli documentaries. The Shepherd’s Keeper, directed by Hadara Oren, is about settlers trying to push Bedouin shepherds off land in the West Bank, the Israeli activists trying to protect them, and the young Israeli soldiers trying to keep everyone moving. Everyone but the pregnant sheep seem to be performing for the camera in this unsettling film. Home/Land, directed by Adam Chitayat, is a short, somber documentary about the stresses of life in Israel today.
“In the Israeli Wild West—the West Bank—nomadic Arab communities struggle to survive under the weight of occupation. In this lawless and contested land, Palestinian shepherds are being displaced by Jewish settlers claiming pastures for their own herds. Amid the clash of stones, soil, people, and sheep, a group of defiant Israeli activists stands in solidarity with their Palestinian friends resisting injustice. In her raw and unflinching documentary, Hadara Oren offers an intimate look at a microcosm of the larger conflict, where Arab farmers, Jewish settlers, and young soldiers all find themselves entangled in a battle over identity, territory, and conscience—all seen through the eyes of those who refuse to look away.
In the turbulent months following October 7th, an American-Israeli filmmaker returns to Israel, driven by a need to make sense of a nation in crisis. As the region stands at a crossroads, he follows peace activists, survivors, returned hostages, and Israeli-Palestinians—capturing a deeply personal and political mosaic of a country at war with its own identity and leadership.”
Amir Bogen
Sunfish (& Other Stories On Green Lake): This film is divided into four segments and feels (in a great way) as if it had been lifted from a Susan Minot short story collection. Sadly, I had to leave after the first two segments, “Sunfish” and “Summer Camp”, both excellent.
“In her charming directorial debut, the young and talented Sierra Falconer weaves four simple yet meaningful tales that unfold around Green Lake in northern Michigan. Set against her childhood landscape, the filmmaker explores the personal journeys of her beloved characters and the human connections they share: A girl bonds with her grandparents through sailing and birding, A boy readies himself for a prestigious summer arts camp, A fisherman and a young mother share a boat—and an unexpected adventure, and two sisters savor precious moments together before college pulls them apart. Heartwarming, tender, and deeply relatable, this film invites viewers to immerse themselves in the local community, its culture, and its clear-water beauty.”
Amir Bogen
Thank you for sharing. I loved the festival.
I’m a programmer for LIFF’s Darkhouse films! I am so happy you enjoyed this festival and the films we showed. Congrats on your family and friend’s acceptances!