'At the Jersey Shore' screens at Island Baptist Church Sept. 27

“At the Jersey Shore,” a coming-of-age film about life and love in the summertime, will screen at Island Baptist Church, located at 215 Third St. in Beach Haven, on Saturday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m. The event, hosted by the Lighthouse International Film Society, a division of the Lighthouse International Film Festival dedicated to showcasing ground-breaking films and promoting the next generation of filmmakers, will also include a question and answer period with the film’s director, Thomas Bentey.

Photo via At the Jersey Shore Movie
The film 'celebrates life, love, redemption and
everything else a summer at the shore has to offer.'

An accomplished screenwriter, actor and director, Bentey debuted the film in 2010. He stars as the main character, “a twenty-something man-child” looking to get away from his everyday life as a journalist in the New Jersey suburbs. The film captures the reporter’s journey at the shore, as he traverses the dating scene for an article that he hopes will land him a job at a big, New York City paper.

“The film is based on my personal experiences in the Jersey Shore clubs and beaches and all the craziness and beauty that comes with it,” Bentey told The SandPaper. “I hoped to find true love in those clubs when I was in my 20s; now I’m way too cynical to even think that way.

“I just learned so much about the filmmaking process,” he added. “Also, filming on location made it that much more exciting. It was definitely real and raw, which I feel added to the style of the piece.”

The film, which has garnered recognition for its moving plot, has been an official selection at a number of festivals, including the Montclair, Sonoma International, Garden State and New Filmmakers New York film festivals.

“It’s great to show the film to a group that truly understands what the area is all about,” Bentey said. “I hope Lighthouse International Film Society appreciates the effort to tell a ‘real’ Jersey Shore story.”

Tickets to the screening cost $5 at the door. Admission is free for LIFS members.

— Kelley Anne Essinger


This article was published in The SandPaper.