The 31st Stony Brook Film Festival returns to the Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University from July 16–25, 2026, with 36 films from 23 countries, filmmaker Q&As, and special events.
Stony Brook Film Festival
The Stony Brook Film Festival showcases the best in independent film premieres over ten stimulating days. All films screen in Staller Center’s main stage theatre at Stony Brook.
Stony Brook Film Festival started in 1996 and takes place in Stony Brook, New York
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‘Once Upon My Mother’ and ‘Hello Betty’ Headline 31st Stony Brook Film Festival Lineup
Once Upon My Mother by Ken Scott
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Mistura, ‘Mad Bills to Pay’ and Nawi Win Top Prizes at 30th Stony Brook Film Festival
Photos by Impressions by Amber Stony Brook Film Festival, which saw its largest audience since the pandemic, concluded its 30th edition with the Peruvian drama Mistura by Ricardo de Montreuil winning the Jury Award for Best Feature. It follows a privileged French-Peruvian woman, who watches as her life quickly unravels after her husband’s betrayal ostracizes her from elite society.
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30th Stony Brook Film Festival Unveils Lineup – Opening with ‘The Ties That Bind Us’
The Ties That Bind Us directed by Carine Tardieu (courtesy Stony Brook Film Festival) The Stony Brook Film Festival revealed the full lineup for its 30th anniversary edition taking place from July 17–26 at Staller Center for the Arts. The 2025 Festival will showcase 36 films from 19 countries, including world premieres, U.S. debuts, and exclusive screenings.
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‘Mediha’ Wins Grand Prize Award at 29th Stony Brook Film Festival
(Flickr | Staller Center for the Arts) Mediha bested 36 films from 19 countries to take home the Grand Prize Award at 29th Stony Brook Film Festival. Directed by Hasan Oswald, this documentary chronicles the journey of a young Yazidi girl returning from ISIS captivity. Using her camera to process her trauma, she documents her experience while rescuers continue to search for her missing family members. The film vividly illustrates the extraordinary endurance of the human spirit and the critical need to amplify the voices of those who have been unheard for too long.
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NY Premiere of ‘The Blond Boy from the Casbah’ to Open 29th Stony Brook Film Festival
The Blond Boy from the Casbah (courtesy Stony Brook Film Festival) The 29th Stony Brook Film Festival will run from Thursday, July 18, through Saturday, July 27, 2024, offering 36 feature and short films from 19 countries.
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Michael Moshe Dahan’s YES REPEAT NO Wins Top Award at 2023 Stony Brook Film Festival
Michael Moshe Dahan’s Yes Repeat No, a challenging and engaging meta masterpiece film, won the Jury Award for Best Feature at the 28th Stony Brook Film Festival. “Thank you to all of the people who believe in human rights and democracy all over the world … and to all the people who want to make difficult material all over the world because finding the questions to ask is sometimes harder than getting the answers,” Dahan said in his acceptance speech.
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Dutch Film ‘Sea of Time’ to Kick off Stony Brook Film Festival 2023 Lineup
Sea of Time directed by Theu Boermans The U.S. premiere of the Dutch film Sea of Time will kick off the 28th Stony Brook Film Festival, at the Staller Center for the Arts, set to run from Thursday, July 20, through Saturday, July 29, 2023.
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Stony Brook Film Festival 2022 Award Winners ‘Berenshtein’ ‘Contra’ and ‘Glob Lessons’ Win Top Prizes
Berenshtein directed by Roman Shumunov Berenshtein, Roman Shumunov’s film on the true story of Leonid Berenshtein, the last surviving member of the World War II partisan battalion that located Hitler’s secret weapon, won the Jury Award Best Feature at the 27th annual Stony Brook Film Festival. The German film Contra directed by Sönke Wortmann took the Audience Award Best Feature, and Nicole Rodenburg’s Glob Lessons won the Spirit of Independent Filmmaking Award.
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PEACEFUL Starring Catherine Deneuve to Open 27th Stony Brook Film Festival Lineup of 38 Films
Peaceful starring Catherine Deneuve Now in its 27th year, the Stony Brook Film Festival returns to Staller Center for the Arts, live and in-person this year, from July 21-30, 2022 showcasing 38 films from over 28 countries.
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2021 Stony Brook Film Festival Winners – ‘Anchorage’ ‘Willow’ ‘The Castle’ Win Top Prizes
Winners of 2021 Stony Brook Film Festival Anchorage directed by Scott Monahan is the winner of the Grand Prize at the 2021 Stony Brook Film Festival, held at the Staller Center for the Arts. In the film, two brothers attempt to drive a trunk full of opioids from Florida to Alaska to cash-in big in the Land of Gold, but their plans don’t go as expected.
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‘The 5th Man’ to Open Stony Brook Film Festival on Thursday, July 22
Stony Brook Film Festival, now in its 26th year, kicks off on Thursday, July 22 with the world premiere of The 5th Man, a documentary on Paul Limmer, a former track coach at Bellmore’s Mepham High School. During his 50-year career there, Limmer racked up hundreds of wins, though director Trey Nelson focuses on the story of all the other kids – the ones who never felt “seen” – until Paul Limmer came into their lives.
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Stony Brook Film Festival 2021 Set for July with Live, In-person Screenings
2019 Stony Brook Film Festival Grand Prize Winner Priya Ramasubban, Director, Chuskit with Stony Brook Film Festival and Staller Center for the Arts Director, Alan Inkles. (photo: Nick Koridis) The Stony Brook Film Festival returns for the 26th edition from July 22-31 at the Staller Center for the Arts with live, in-person screening. The festival will also virtually offer this year’s Festival as another way to watch, streaming August 5-30 via the IndieFlix Festivals app.