FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com september 25, 2014 • The Queens Courier 5 Sesame Street films episode about diversity in Queens BY ERIC JANKIEWICZ @ericjankiewicz ejankiewicz@queenscourier.com When the children’s show Sesame Street is doing an episode about racial and cultural diversity, where do they turn? Queens. Sesame Street filmed an episode that celebrates diversity, and they filmed part of it in a Fresh Meadows children’s athletic center, My Gym. But the film crew used more than just the gym’s child-friendly space; they also asked the gym’s director, Meredith Coleman, if they could film the students for their athletics and aesthetic. “And they asked that I make sure that the kids are as diverse as possible. We’ve always been diverse. That’s part of living in Queens,” Coleman said. The Sesame Street episode, “Proud to Be Me,” aired on Sept. 17, and the bulk of it came from filming the 60 kids from My Gym, including the “beautiful skin song” in the episode. When the film crew first started recording the children, ages 1 through 12, on June 16, they were shy. “They had a camera literally in their face so it was awkward at first,” Coleman said. “But soon the kids got used to it and some of them were even fighting for the camera’s attention. We try to build up the confidence of our kids and this helped perfectly, especially that it was an episode about being proud of who you are.” Coleman believes that the nonprofit education show chose My Gym, an international franchise, because they have always been very active in the community and have performed in Hershey Park and alongside the singer Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas. In December, a group of the older children will perform at halftime for the Harlem Globe Trotters in the Barclays Center. LIC film series to combine curated films and free local beer Sponsored by Providing comprehensive end-of-life care in the home, Photos courtesy of My Gym nursing home, and in-patient setting throughout the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Nassau County. For referrals or information call 718.472.1999 or visit www.hospiceny.com BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com @aaltamirano28 A new film series is looking to bring the borough monthly fun evenings with curated classic films and free drinks. The inaugural event for the series called Cinema Under the Influence will kick off on Oct. 11 with a showing of the films “Blue Velvet” and “Halloween” at the Chain Theatre located at 21-28 45th Rd. in Long Island City. Cinema Under the Influence, which curators plan to continue monthly, will include a double feature with free beer provided by Queens Brewery. The idea came after such events were seen popping up around the city, yet none could be found in Queens, according to Jon Hogan, one of the curators. “I’d like people to come realizing that programs like this can happen in Queens and Queens is fertile ground with something like this,” Hogan said. Hogan and the other curators, Brian Essman, Benham Jones and Edwin Adrian Nieves, get together and pick films that “speak to each other,” whether they share same themes, focus or other qualities. For the inaugural program, which begins at 7 p.m. with a reception, the curators picked “Blue Velvet” and “Halloween,” because both of the films show what is scary about the suburbs and are a good lead into the Halloween season, according to Hogan. Cinema fans who come to the Oct. 11 event will also receive a program featuring essays comparing and investigating both films. The essays are written by Nieves, who writes a film blog called “A-BitterSweet-Life,” Dr. Kendall Phillips of Syracuse University, and others. “We hope to continue doing this for the community because it seems like something that people have been wanting for a while,” Hogan said. “The seeds are there and we would like to pursue that.” The screening of “Blue Velvet” will begin at 8 p.m. and will be followed by a half-hour intermission featuring a raffle with prizes donated from local businesses. The night will end with “Halloween.” The details for the November event of Cinema Under the Influence will be announced on Oct. 11. Tickets, which include three beers, are $15 and are available at the door the day of the event or online at https://web.ovationtix. com/trs/pe.c/9950719. Image courtesy of Eric Fensterheim Image courtesy of Kate Melvin
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