The 2026 Barrier Island Film Festival is set to showcase some of the most talented filmmakers and performers from the Long Beach area. On March 7 and 8, the Long Beach Historical and Preservation Society will host the second annual festival — eight short films featuring local actors, directors and locations — as the museum’s latest fundraising activity.
Long Beach resident Mark Montalbano, the festival curator, has had a hand in nearly every aspect of filmmaking — acting, writing, directing and producing. Not only can he be seen in several of the featured films, but his semi-autobiographical entry, “Bound by Bushwick,” will cap the event with one showing on Sunday night.
“It started because Mark and his colleagues featured in the murder mystery plays that we do as a fundraiser,” Jeanne Browne, director of the historical society. For more than five years, the museum has hosted and coordinated annual murder mysteries as an interactive fundraising event.
This year’s film festival, Brown explained, “is an outgrowth of that that we started last year. It’s really a fundraiser for us.”
This year’s films cover a range of genres. “Last Set” explores the life of an aspiring bodybuilder. “Blood is Bond,” from Atlantic Beach-based duo Danny Pyle and Tyler Tamulinas, shows how far TV writers will go to get a big break. “Suction,” which has many scenes that were filmed in and around Long Beach, pulls viewers into a tense interrogation room, with Montalbano in a key role. Long Beach native Kyle McCarthy created “Club Soda,” which takes viewers into an awkward birthday party.
“The Whirl of Life” uses authentic footage from 1915 to spotlight dance legends Vernon and Irene Castle, owners of Castles by the Sea nightclub and theater. Long Beach resident Elaine Del Valle directed “Princess Cut,” which begins at a laundromat in the Hamptons and ends with a murder. “Surfing on 9/11,” another film from McCarthy, depicts Sept. 11 from the perspective of a young teen riding the waves in Long Beach. And “The Rooftop” stars Montalbano as a man on a mission, working against the distraction of a beautiful woman.
The event kicks off on March 7 with two seatings, at 3 and 7 p.m. The following day, showings begin at 2 p.m. All eight films will be presented in each session, with roughly two hours of total running time. A Q&A panel with several filmmakers will follow each showing. On Sunday, “Bound by Bushwick” — written, directed and co-produced by Montalbano — will be screened as a bonus feature. Former Long Beach City Council member Tina Posterli also appears in the film.
Montalbano moved to Long Beach in 2021, after living in Manhattan for nearly 40 years, and soon began acting in the historical society’s murder mystery fundraisers. He eventually saw an opportunity to blend his connections in the film world with the local cause, creating the film festival in 2024 and launching the inaugural event in March 2025. He wasn’t after accolades or notoriety; he just wanted to give back to his new hometown.
“It’s strictly a fundraiser,” he said of the event. “It’s to bring the community together. It’s to try to showcase the talent we have here.”
Browne maintains that it’s a way to reach the community with an interesting presentation and highlight local performers, while raising crucial funds in a creative way. Last year’s inaugural festival featured six short films and two music videos, one of which was filmed on location at the historical society headquarters on West Penn Street.
City Council member George Ennis is no stranger to the world of film. He not only organized his own Long Beach-based film festival from 2007 to 2015, to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, but he has a role in this year’s entry “Blood is Bond.” Ennis said he hoped the Barrier Island event would continue to grow. “It’s good to highlight local filmmakers,” he said. “It’s kind of what I did when I had my film festival, too. It was all local filmmakers. I’d love to see this happen again. I’d love to see it continue, for sure.”
The film festival is a significant fundraiser for the historical society, which relies on an all-volunteer staff to maintain and operate the museum.
Tickets, starting at $25, must be purchased in advance; seating is limited. More information about the event and registration details can be found at longbeachhistoricalsociety.org.