August 23, 2024

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48 Hour Film Contest Winners!

Last Friday, the Cinema Arts Centre screened the submissions for this year's 48-Hour Film Contest. The contest, presented by the Cinema's Youth Advisory Board, invites people in our community to spend one hectic weekend immersed in filmmaking, completing a film in under two days!

This year's participants created some incredible films, working hard within the intense time restrictions. In order to ensure the films are really made within that 48-hour contest period, teams are required to include elements that they don't find out about until the launch of the contest. This year, they had to include a character named William Staniforth Donahue, a drink being spilled, and the line, "I'm the one who knocks." On top of all that, teams were randomly assigned genres, and judged in part by how they engaged with their genre.

The Cinema's Youth Advisory Board - made up of volunteers ages 14 through 25 - put together the contest, promoted it on social media, and judged the entrees. This is their second year managing a 48-Hour Contest, and they also hosted a Short Filmmaking Contest this past winter.

While all teams were awarded certificates recognizing their work and the area of filmmaking they excelled at, the three winning teams were all awarded memberships to the Cinema Arts Centre. Third place went to Indistinct Chatter, with their paranoid thriller film, "Who's There?" Second place went to MoonGroove, who produced the film "A.D.A.M." as a romance. And the winning team, The Family Skeleton, produced a martial arts film called "Breakroom."

In addition to the CAC memberships, The Family Skeleton will take home $400, as well as a full week of screenings of their film before each regular show at the Cinema. The film will also screen as part of another Youth Advisory Board filmmaking event, the first ever Long Island Youth Film Festival, which will be the weekend of September 20th through 22nd. The LIYFF will feature, aside from "Breakroom," films made by filmmakers 25 and under who live or work on Long Island.

You can see all of this year's 48-Hour films here. If you're interested in the projects of the Cinema's Youth Advisory Board, contact Ted Cavooris at ted@cinemaartscentre.org.

Message to thousands of local people through sponsorship and advertising at the Cinema Arts Centre...

With thousands of active members and monthly visitors, over 20,000 opt-in subscribers on our email list, and over 30,000 social media followers, supporting the arts in our community is a great opportunity to connect with local prospective customers and clients.

PROGRAM SPONSORHIP aligns your business with beloved programs and events, reaching dedicated fans and local individuals and families. Our community sees that your support makes our programs possible, and we deliver great benefits to your business. Click below for specific program opportunities:

CLOSING SOON: Long Island Youth Film Festival

Anything But Silent – CLICK for details

Cinema for Kids, Sundays at Noon – CLICK for details

North Shore Open Mic and Hard Luck Café – CLICK for details

Pride Cinema – CLICK for details

NEWSLETTER SPONSORSHIP brings your message directly to over 20,000 opt-in newsletter subscribers, and let's you share detailed content through featured articles, with images and hyperlinks. Tell your story with dedicated content:

Community E-Newsletter Sponsor – CLICK for details

Our CORPORATE PATRON PROGRAM includes premium memberships and free tickets that you can use to reward employees, cultivate clients, or any way you like, PLUS networking opportunities, use of our theaters and Sky Room Cafe for corporate events and more. Click below to learn more:

NEW: Corporate Patron Program – TONS of benefits!

ON-SCREEN ADVERTISING brings your still ad to thousands of members and patrons through our pre-screening slideshow which runs in our three theaters before each regular screening and most of our special events. Click below for ad rates:

Rates and Specifications

FOR MORE INFORMATION please contact Rene Bouchard at rene@cinemaartscentre.org, or (631) 423-7610, ext. 18.

A message from our partners at Crossing Party Lines and Braver Angels:

Exciting news!  

The Long Island Chapter of Crossing Party Lines and The Long Island Alliance of Braver Angels have formed a partnership supporting our mutual mission of political depolarization. 

Geographic Reach

The partnership will broaden our reach beyond the North Shore to communities on the South Shore. We will hold events at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Bay Shore, as well as at the Cinema Arts Centre, and Huntington and Connetquot Public Libraries.  Many of our gatherings will include the option of attending remotely.

September 15: An Exciting Kick-Off to the Partnership

A film-discussion program on September 15, 2024, at the Cinema Arts Centre will kick off our partnership. The Cinema has scheduled a showing of the 2023 documentary “Join or Die,” which features social scientists and civic and political leaders discussing the “half-century story of America’s civic unraveling” and making an argument for how to address our democracy’s present crisis. We will follow the film with a structured discussion moderated by co-hosts Swati Srivastava (Crossing Party Lines) and Herb Lape (Braver Angels). This promises to be entertaining, stimulating, and motivating—if a bit sobering at the same time. Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more information and the registration link! 

In the Works

Discussions, presentations, debates, workshops, and other opportunities to engage and learn are being planned jointly by leaders of both the LI Chapter of Crossing Party Lines and the LI Alliance of Braver Angels. Crossing Party Lines will continue hosting monthly conversations at Cinema Arts on topics proposed by members such as Propaganda, Single Issue Voting, Conspiracy Theories, Sources of Information, Group-Think, Cognitive Biases, and How to be a Citizen. Two Braver Angels events have been scheduled for the Connetquot Library this fall: a “Living Room Discussion” on Trustworthy Elections on September 15; a workshop “Depolarizing Within,” on October 7.  Braver Angels hybrid Huntington Library debates will be considering topics like the threat of election violence and state legislation on transgender issues- age limits, trans women competing in women’s sports, and schools informing parents of their child’s transitioning.  At the Bay Shore Unitarian Universalist Society venue we will offer discussion-format events focused on various topics similar to Cinema Arts. 

Also in the works is “American Hope,” a media project intended to counter the mainstream media stories of fear & despair with hope & love.

We will keep you informed about the details of all our plans, and we encourage you to share your suggestions with us by emailing crossingpartylinesli@gmail.com. And let your friends and associates know of these opportunities to join in the mission!

Together we can better pursue the overlapping missions of our parent grassroots organizations: “Bringing America together to strengthen the partisan divide” (Braver Angels) and “Uniting America one conversation at a time” (Crossing Party Lines).

We look forward to seeing you and engaging with you in the near future!

Peace and Hope,

Swati Srivastava,

Crossing Party Lines Long Island

Herb Lape, Brian Kell, Alex Edwards-Bourdrez

Co-Chairs, Long Island Alliance of Braver Angels

We Support Independent Filmmakers!  

A message from our partners at Hidden Light:

Dear CAC Members,

Cinema Arts Center is a strong believer in Independent Films and Huntington. We believe you are too and hope you will join in crowd-funding the production of HIDDEN LIGHT by clicking HERE. (Your gift will support the film AND the Cinema Arts Centre.)

ABOUT THE FILM:

HIDDEN LIGHT is a Holocaust-set animated short film written and produced by Jacob Fiskus, Academy Award nominated Yoni Goodman, and the Cinema Arts Center’s very own Dr. Jud Newborn. (More about the team below.)

HIDDEN LIGHT is a historically accurate folkloric Holocaust story unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. The film follows a boy named David, a uniquely talented artist whose gifts are unappreciated in his environment of strict textual Torah study. One day David sees glowing, multicolored Hebrew letters floating over town. Nobody else can see them. Amazed, he follows the trail of letters. They lead him to a careworn Hasidic man who, to David’s shock, is painting. However, the Nazis invade. David is imprisoned in the ghetto-camp of Terezin, never getting to meet this kindred spirit. In despair, David secretly begins to draw in the barracks, and the letters start flowing out of him. In the ghetto courtyard, who else sees the letters but the painting Hasid! This wise and mystical man takes David on a magical journey, showing him that art can transform despair into something even more powerful than hope: the assurance that, while they may perish, their people and their traditions can never be destroyed. 

Of the estimated 15,000 children who passed through Terezin, fewer than 150 survived. But 4000 of the pictures they drew were discovered after the war, hidden away in the ghetto-camp. This film is dedicated to them, and to children of the world today whose inner light is hidden by fear. 

ABOUT THE TEAM:

Jacob Fiskus, Writer/Producer: A young Queens-based filmmaker passionate about telling authentic Jewish stories and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, Jacob previously co-produced HBO’s “A Tree of Life” (2022), a documentary about the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that occurred in 2018. 

Dr. Jud Newborn, Co-Producer/Historical & Creative Consultant: Dr. Newborn is a dynamic multimedia lecturer and storyteller, as well as an author, Founding Historian Emeritus of NY’s Museum of Jewish Heritage, and the Emmy Award-winning Producer of Celebrity Guest Programs for the Cinema Arts Centre.

Yoni Goodman, Director of Animation: Yoni is one of the most prolific indie-animators in the world. Winner of numerous international awards, he was nominated for an Academy Award for his feature animated film “Waltz with Bashir.” His most recent feature, “Where is Anne Frank,” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Hive Studios, Co-Producing Partner: The Hive is an Israel-based animation studio and animated film production company. Their film, “Letter to a Pig,” was nominated for an Academy Award Best Animated Short in 2024, Israel’s first ever nomination in that category.

Educational Distribution: In conjunction with Dr. Newborn, our education campaign partners will develop curriculum and utilize their public school and university distribution channels to ensure that the film has a lasting impact.

INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS INCLUDE:

The Anne Frank Center, The Defiant Requiem Foundation, The Czech Memorial Torah Scrolls Foundation, The Sousa Mendes Foundation, and The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism.

We have an A-list team to bring this beautiful and unique story to life. Join us in infusing more light into this challenging moment in history by making a tax deductible donation to our project. 

Thank you!

The "Hidden Light" Team

Fiscal Sponsorship is a way that the Cinema Arts Centre can help make local independent film possible, benefiting the production of the film and the Cinema Arts Centre's programs and operations at the same time.

Current fiscally sponsored projects:

DEALERS; HIDDEN LIGHT

DEALERS is a warm and witty film written, directed, and produced here in Huntington, NY that CAC is excited to support. DEALERS is an ensemble film that tells the story of a collection of antique dealers on Long Island struggling with the vanishing, transient nature of their trade. The movie asks the questions: What does it do to a person’s present when they are surrounded so incessantly with the past? What does it mean to sell these loaded items? The film has undeniable momentum, yet within that framework our dealers, and the audience, are given the rare collective chance to think, to remember. CLICK HERE for more.

Sponsored Content and Special Thanks to our Current Program and Reception Sponsors:

CLICK HERE to review current sponsorship opportunities.