KENNY LOGGINS: CONVICTION OF THE HEART to Open LIMEHOF Film Festival
Dori Berinstein's film on Kenny Loggins headlines a lineup featuring Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, and Peter Gabriel.
The event details and film lineup for the second annual LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival, from September 25th through 27th at the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) in Stony Brook Village (at 97 Main Street), has been announced. Ticket information is available on LIMEHOF's website.
'If you love music, there's really nothing else quite like spending a day surrounded by great music documentaries, filmmakers, and fellow music fans,' said Tom Needham, Executive Director, LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival. 'We've brought together an extraordinary variety of movies, and our hope is that people will come for one film and find themselves wanting to stay for three or four.'
This year's festival has expanded significantly in scope over last year's and will include 43 short and feature-length music documentary films, live performances, and Q&A panel discussions to be held in two theaters. Featured artists in the films include Ann Wilson, Kenny Loggins, Billy Preston, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, Biz Markie, Beastie Boys, James Taylor, Foo Fighters, Paquito D'Rivera, John Popper, Billy Joel, James, The Rose, Peter, Paul & Mary, Iggy Pop, Nash the Slash, Eraserheads, Yello, Robert Charlebois, Alceu Valença, Madalitso Band, Sugar, Leiva, Mark Fry, and JVC Force, among others.
In addition to the United States, the festival includes films with ties to 14 other countries, including Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Japan, the Philippines, Malawi, Brazil, Iran, Malta, and Australia. Sixteen of the films are premiering on Long Island, with three of them being world premieres.
Opening night (Friday, 9/25) will feature Kenny Loggins: Conviction of the Heart by Dori Berinstein, a six-time Tony-winning Broadway producer, Olivier winner and Emmy Award-winning director, producer and writer of film and TV. Dori Berinstein is also expected to attend and participate in a Q&A panel.
The film focuses on the life of multi-platinum, Grammy, Emmy-winning and Oscar- and Tony-nominated songwriter/recording artist Kenny Loggins, who was a shy, gawky, unpopular kid with low self-esteem. Thinking he had to create a persona to do the 'rock star thing,' Kenny spent the subsequent 50 years reinventing himself repeatedly. His career has been a journey into being himself.
'We're absolutely thrilled that Kenny Loggins: Conviction of the Heart will open the LIMEHOF Music & Documentary Film Festival this year!' Berinstein said. 'The festival's commitment to celebrating the artistry of both documentary filmmaking and music makes LIMEHOF the perfect home for our film. I'm deeply grateful to be part of this community of filmmakers and music lovers and very much looking forward to the Festival!'
Saturday night will feature The Long Island Underground Legends of Hip Hop, directed by Archie H. Snowden, who grew up in Amityville and Central Islip. This film marks his directorial debut. This is a film that challenges traditional hip hop narratives which usually focus strictly on the concrete landscape of New York City's five boroughs and honors the true pioneers whose contributions were historically overlooked in the early creation of rap music.
Following the screening, Archie Snowden will participate in a Q&A discussion panel along with Diamond the Artist (a.k.a. DTA Experience), B-Luv and AJ Rock (from JVC Force), Will Castro, DJ Spider (Mike Watts), DJ Pleasure (Pastor Greg Williams), and DJ Kaos (Fred Cox) who are all featured in the film. The panel will be moderated by hip hop journalist Amelia Moore. After the panel, there will be a live music performance by some of the artists featured in the film. Full details to be announced.
'After all of those nights of hard work, sitting in the editing bay until 3 a.m., it's the greatest honor to have my film selected to the prestigious LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival; a film presentation in my hometown of Long Island organized by true music and film lovers,' said Snowden.
The closing night's film will be Newport & the Great Folk Dream, directed by Emmy and Grammy Award winning filmmaker Robert Gordon and produced by Greenport resident Joe Lauro, CEO of Historic Films Archive. This film has become quite popular, having won over 15 awards in its festival run so far. The film features musical performances by Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, Howlin' Wolf, Mississippi John Hurt, The Lovin' Spoonful, Judy Collins, The Freedom Singers with Bernice Reagon, John Lee Hooker, Pete Seeger, Richard & Mimi Fariña and more.
'In the last year, we have screened [Newport &] the Great Folk Dream at festivals around the globe, but I am particularly proud to have it in [the] LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival,' Lauro said. 'It's a coming home for me; a special occasion, and I hope my LI friends and music lovers enjoy it. In my opinion, America's music is our gift to the world, and I hope my film properly celebrates some of its great creators.'
Over the last 22 years, LIMEHOF has inducted over 130 Long Island artists from a wide range of artists in all music genres, including Billy Joel, Stephen Schwartz, Mariah Carey, Lou Reed, Clive Davis, Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, The Ramones, Public Enemy, Carter Burwell, John Coltrane, Run DMC, Cyndi Lauper, Louis Armstrong, and Simon & Garfunkel. The first LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival launched in 2025, featuring 24 films to award-winning acclaim, earning both the Four Leaf 2026 Best Film Festival on Long Island Award and TBR Media's Reader's Choice Award for Best Film Festival.
'I'm truly excited to be part of presenting the second annual Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame Music Documentary Film Festival this September,' said Wendy Feinberg, Artistic Director of the LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival. 'After winning the Four Leaf Best of Long Island Award for Best Film Festival in our inaugural year, we've worked hard to make this year's festival even more spectacular, with so many more incredible feature-length and short films, two screening rooms, and an exciting lineup celebrating the power of music and storytelling!'
Tickets are on sale now on LIMEHOF's website. Additionally, tickets include access to LIMEHOF's exclusive 'Everybody Loves Raymond: Celebrating 30 Years' exhibit.
For details about the films and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.limusichalloffame.org/music-documentary-film-schedule/
Friday, September 25th
Whistle
Symphony for the Future
The Final Bow
Built on Zydeco: A Louisiana Music Documentary
Drive Through the Smoke – A Night with John Popper
RECOLLECTIONS: Val Shively and 50 Years of Collecting Records
Last Seat in the House
The Banjo Boys
Forced Symphony
Ann Wilson: In My Own Voice
1971: Billy Joel's Lost Interview
For the Love of the City
Keeping Time: The Malta Jazz Festival Story
Kenny Loggins: Conviction of the Heart
VIVO 76: Alive in '76
Saturday, September 26th
The Rose Come Back to Me
Hallelujah, I'm Thin and Beautiful Again
The Blind Reggaetonera
The Art of Being Different
Four Hands
The Best Summer
Changes: The Story of Sugar
Till The Last Note
Naumberg at 100: A Legacy of Greatness
Summer Tour
The Song of Hiawatha: The Life and HIGH Times of the First Black Hippie
Billy Preston: That's the Way Good Planned It
Nash the Slash Rises Again!
Making Music From Monsters
The Long Island Underground Legends of Hip Hop
James: Getting Away With It
Sunday, September 27th
Paquito D'Rivera: From Carne y Frijol to Carnegie Hall
Sunset and the Mockingbird
A Gift for Ethan
Where the Water Meets the Land
Peter Gabriel: Sledgehammer Revealed
Oh Yeah
Until My Voice Breaks
Peter Asher: Everywhere Man
Eraserheads: COMBO ON THE RUN
Newport & the Great Folk Dream
The Extraordinary Life of Robert Charlebois
Recife Tem Un Coração (Recife Has a Heart)
For more information, visit https://www.limusichalloffame.org/long-island-music-and-entertainment-hall-of-fame-music-documentary-film-festival/
About LIMEHOF
Founded in 2004, the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the idea that Long Island's musical and entertainment heritage is an important resource to be celebrated and preserved for future generations. The organization, which encompasses New York State's Nassau, Suffolk, Queens and Kings (Brooklyn) Counties, was created as a place of community that inspires and explores Long Island music and entertainment in all its forms. In 2022, LIMEHOF opened its first Hall of Fame building location in Stony Brook, New York. To date, the organization has inducted more than 130 musicians and music industry executives, and offers education programs, scholarships and awards to Long Island students and educators.
