Gold Coast film festival returns

It's the second installment of a festival that began as an outgrowth of the Great Neck Arts Center's long-running Furman Film Series and aims to build on the region's reputation as a haven for Vanderbilts, Roosevelts and Fitzgeralds. Monday night's free kickoff event is a conversation with old-school Hollywood agent Budd Burton Moss (whose clients have included Rita Hayworth and Cliff Robertson). Garden City author Nelson DeMille ("The General's Daughter") will be honored at Oheka Castle in Huntington on Wednesday; the festival closes with an awards gala at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point.

Other events include Tuesday's 50th anniversary screening of "West Side Story" in Manhattan, featuring a guest appearance by the singing Jet Russ Tamblyn, and a screening Oct. 27 of the 1920 silent "The Mark of Zorro," with live organ accompaniment at Chaminade High School in Mineola. Most films will screen at the area's Clearview Cinemas, owned by Newsday's parent company, Cablevision.

"It's going to be a hometown festival, our festival," says founder and executive director Regina Keller Gil. "We know that we're going to build up audiences that are going to trust us, and they're going to come because they know the films are quality."

Here are several highlights of the festival's movie lineup.