September 24th, 2026
FOR IMMEIATE RELEASE
INAUGURAL EMPIRE STATE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES SLATE
CONTACT: Gregory Lamberson, Festival Director gregory.lamberson.author@gmail.com
The inaugural Empire State Film Festival will screen 46 films
produced in New York State at the Cinemapolis in Ithaca
Ithaca, New York – The inaugural Empire State Film Festival, devoted exclusively to films produced in New York State, will screen 46 films at the Cinemapolis in Ithaca. The three-day festival runs Friday, October 23rd – Sunday, October 25th.
The Opening Night Feature will be Trauma or, Monsters All, written, directed and produced by acclaimed New York City independent filmmaker Larry Fessenden, who co-stars with Laetitia Hollard (HBO Max’s medical drama The Pit). The film is the concluding chapter in Fessenden’s “monster quadrilogy” (Habit, Depraved, Blackout) which has spanned most of his career. Fessenden’s arthouse horror film is screening at major festivals prior to its nationwide release.
Four other features and short features will screen: It’s Always Almost Over, a dramedy filmed in Amsterdam; Green Flag, a feminist horror-thriller from Buffalo; The Sight Unseen, a provocative docudrama recreating a mysterious incident involving a glowing cross in 1970s Harlem; and The Freaks Go Marching, a horror-comedy anthology set in the Bronx.
Representative standout shorts include Aqueduct, a drama from Queens; The Pickup, a romantic drama from Manhattan; Papa Vanya, a period drama from New York City; and The Watch, a thriller produced and directed by Shem Doupe in Syracuse.
The festival will screen 13 student films, including four from Ithaca College: Evermore, a romantic drama directed by Madeline Dombrow; Heartbreaker, science fiction satire directed by James Reade Smith; Joyce Jarvish is Actually Cool, a comedy directed by Maya Rosenthal; and Not My Story, a drama about immigration detention directed by Noah Darling.
“We wanted the best films in the state and we got them,” says festival director Gregory Lamberson. “We’re showing animated films, comedies, action films, dramas and horror films, an eclectic mix for discerning cinephiles, running from two or three minutes to feature-length. The level of quality is tremendous, and many filmmakers are traveling to Ithaca to present their work. They’re going to experience this city, surrounded by mountain-like hills, and think they’ve stumbled upon a miniature Sundance.”
Cinemapolis executive director Kate Donohue says, "We were really excited when we were approached to host this festival. This is a great opportunity to feature the work of filmmakers from across the State including several from Ithaca. Hosting the Empire State Film Festival is a new way for our theater to celebrate and support film making in this region."
Programming at Cinemapolis is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
Lamberson, who is a member of the Producers Guild of America, will conduct a free seminar, “How to Produce a Feature Film,” at Tompkins County Public Library, just a block away from the Cinemapolis, the night before the festival, on Thursday, Oct. 22nd from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., with a meet-and-greet at 5:30.
“I want to meet as many filmmakers from the area as I can,” he says. “I have a lot of information to share from my decades of working in independent film.”
A full listing of the films screening at ESFF is available at www.empirestatefilmfestival.com along with a schedule. Admission follows Cinemapolis’s regular pricing, and Day Passs for $25 and Full Festival Passes for $50 will be available at the box office.
Cinemapolis - https://www.cinemapolis.org/
Tompkins County Public Library - Home | Tompkins County Public Library
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September 2nd, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LAMBERSON LAUNCHES AMAZING ANIMATION FESTIVAL IN BUFFALO
CONTACT: digitalguerillacinema@gmail.com
A two-day festival for Animated Films
Is coming to The Screening Room
Buffalo, New York - Filmmaker Gregory Lamberson, a member of the Producers Guild of America, is launching Amazing Animation Festival at The Screening Room Cinema & Arts Café in 2027. The boutique cinema re-opens at its new location in Elmwood Commons, 3200 Elmwood Avenue in North Tonawanda, December 1st and Amazing Animation Festival will run Saturday, May 1st and Sunday, May 2nd.
Lamberson is the founder of the multi-genre film festival Amazing Fantasy Fest, which runs Friday, Sept. 11th – Thurs, Sept. 17th at Dipson’s Amherst Theatre in Buffalo, and the new Empire State Film Festival, which screens films produced in New York State and runs Friday, October 23rd – Sunday, October 25th at Cinemapolis in Ithaca, New York. His wife Tamar and daughter Kaelin run Valkyrie International Film Festival, which showcases films directed by women.
“All of the ‘Lamberson’ film festival screen some animated films and so do many of the film festivals in Western New York,” says Lamberson. “But the art form warrants a dedicated festival bringing together artists and fans over a period of days, not hours – especially with strong animation programs at local universities like R.I.T., Villa Maria, Buffalo State and SUNY Niagara.”
Amazing Animation Festival is open for submissions on FilmFreeway.com and is seeking sponsors. Programming will include 2D Animation, 3D Computer Animation, Stop Motion Animation, Anime, TV Commercials and Music Videos. The festival will screen films of all lengths: Flash Films, Micro Shorts, Shorts and Features. There’s even a category for animation combined with live action.
“The term ‘animation’ encompasses a lot of styles and techniques,” Lamberson continues. “We want to showcase all of them, from all over the world. This is going to be a lot of fun.”
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Amazing Animation Festival – https://www.amazinganimationfestival.com/
AAF on FilmFreeway - https://filmfreeway.com/AmazingAnimationFestival
The Screening Room - https://www.screeningroom.net/
August 4th, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EMPIRE STATE FILM FESTIVAL LAUNCHES AT CINEMAPOLIS
CONTACT: digitalguerrillacinema@gmail.com
Empire State Film Festival will screen films
produced in New York State.
Ithaca, New York – Empire State Film Festival, which will exclusively screen films produced in New York State, launches at Cinemapolis in Ithaca on Friday, October 23rd and runs through Sunday, October 25th. ESFF will screen narrative shorts and features of all genres, with special categories for Ithaca filmmakers and students. An awards presentation will be held at TreeHouse Studio & Lounge on Cayuga Street at the conclusion of programming.
Festival director Gregory Lamberson will conduct a workshop, “How to Produce a Feature Film,” at Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green Street in Ithaca, from 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm on Thursday, October 22nd, the evening before the festival, with a meet-and-greet scheduled at 5:30 pm. The seminar is free to public and is sponsored by the library.
Lamberson is a member of the Producers Guild of America, with four decades of experience as an independent filmmaker. He has produced and directed 10 feature films of his own; worked in different capacities on many other films; authored 15 published books, including Cheap Scares: Low Budget Horror Filmmakers Share Their Secrets; taught screenwriting at University of Buffalo; and has run Amazing Fantasy Fest in Buffalo for 16 years.
Tamar Lamberson, also a film producer, is Empire State Film Festival’s organizer. She and her daughter Kaelin, a junior at Cornell University, run Valkyrie International Film Festival, also in Buffalo, showcasing films directed by women. Kaelin will assist her parents in this new Ithaca venture.
“I’ve lived in New York State my whole life and have been thinking about a festival just for films produced here for a while now,” says Gregory. “I originally thought we’ hold it in Buffalo like our other festivals, but my wife and I visit our daughter in Ithaca so often that the idea of holding it here appealed to us. Once we checked out the Cinemapolis there was no other consideration.”
Filmmakers can submit their work for screening consideration via the film festival submission platform FilmFreeway until September 6th: https://filmfreeway.com/Empirestatefilmfestival .
Gregory is seeking financial sponsors for the event. “We’re going to grow this festival into a destination festival that will attract filmmakers from across the state, and we want sponsors who will grow with us. New York City is a lot closer to Ithaca than it is to Buffalo, with buses running every hour. Visiting filmmakers need places to stay, places to eat, places to drink, and will love the local scenery. A successful festival can benefit the whole community.”
Prospective sponsors can visit www.empirestatefilmfest.com for more information or contact digitalguerrillacinema@gmail.com .
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