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Vol. 29 No. 29
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Bringing local and global film to theaters The sponsors for the event included Nassau County, the county Industrial Development The Long Island Internation- Agency, Gold Coast Studios, al Film Expo, Long Island’s sum- Drink Media Network, Hani, and mer playground for filmmakers, Screen Vision. “I’m here today on behalf of returned to Bellmore Movies and Showplace for its 29th year all 1.4 million people that live in this month. Nassau County”, county CompThe festival featured 113 films troller Elaine Phillips said. “We from around the world, includ- are culturally rich. We celebrate ing Spain, Hong every race, every Kong, Ghana and religion, every ethbeyond, as well as nicity. We have the domestic films, best hospitals, the including those from best beaches, the Long Islanders. best restaurants, the Merrick resident best shopping, and Debra Markowitz is the best film festia filmmaker and val.” active member of D o n n a D r a ke, the local film com- DEBRA founder of Drake munity. “I can tell Media Studios and MARkowiTZ you how vital LIIFE the executive prois to the community Long Island filmmaker ducer and host of — the economic “The Donna Drake community, and to the communi- Show,” on CBS, spoke to the ty itself,” she said. “The film gathered filmmakers. industry is a big part of the “My love for this film festival Island, a big part of our econom- starts basically from day one,” ic development, so this is so she said. “I am thankful for all important for so many reasons, the years that the festival has and art itself is always impor- thrived here, and that’s why I tant.” decided to sponsor it. It is an ecoThe expo ran from July 7 to nomic driver for us, but it’s also 11, and featured free panels on a creative driver for the world.” screenwriting, directing, foreign Eddie Lebron, a three-time markets, and a live table reading Emmy Award-winning editor, of a screenplay.
By JoSEPH D’AlESSANDRo
jdalessandro@liherald.com
T
Courtesy Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District
Art teacher Mike Goldberg with his student, Joseph Solorzano-Ruiz, a junior at Sanford H. Calhoun High School.
Inspired by older brother, student creates towering alien sculpture By HERNESTo GAlDAMEZ hgaldamez@liherald.com
Long before Sanford H. Calhoun High School junior Joseph Solorzano-Ruiz spent eight months building a towering sculpture that turned heads at the school’s annual art show, he was a kindergartner admiring his older brother filling sketchbooks with drawings. “I would see my brother using sketchbooks all the time, and I just always was inspired by his example,” Joseph said. “Since then, there’s been a bunch of movies and shows that I love that inspire me, and I want to recreate a lot of the things I see.” That inspiration culminated this spring in “The Xenomorph Warrior,” a nearly
9-foot-tall sculpture inspired by the creature from the “Alien” film franchise. Created in AP 3-D Art and Design, under the guidance of teacher Mike Goldberg, the piece became one of the highlights of Calhoun’s annual art show in June. The sculpture also served as the centerpiece of Joseph’s Advanced Placement portfolio, which explored themes surrounding technology and artificial intelligence. “I chose to go as big as I possibly could,” he said. “I wanted to show a very evil, large, imposing figure.” The project demanded eight months of work, often late into the night after balancing school, sports and homework. “It was almost every day,” Joseph said. Continued on pAGe 9
he film industry is a big part of the Island.
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