Long Island Film Expo comes to Bellmore

Hollywood glitterati descended on Bellmore Village from July 12 to 19 for the 15th annual Long Island International Film Expo, which boasted independent films from around the world that were screened at the Bellmore Movies on Pettit Avenue.

The Long Island Film/TV Foundation and the Nassau County Film Commission hosted the festival, which began with an invitation-only opening-night gala, and continued with nearly continual showings of featured films.

Films ranged from music videos like the four-minute “My Will to Live” and the five-minute “Winter Time” to short films like the 14-minute “Destiny Calling” and the 15-minute “Wedding Ring” to hour-and-a-half-long documentaries like “Midcentury Architecture on Long Island.”

Academy Award-nominated actor Robert Vaughn made a special appearance and received the expo’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Vaughn’s signature role as international spy Napoleon Solo in the hit NBC series “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” which ran from 1964 to 1968, propelled him to stardom.

Bellmore’s Piccolo Ristorante was among this year’s festival sponsors.