36 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • DECEMBER 24, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Whitestone resident launches Christmas toy drive
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Whitestone resident Arianna Sorrento
is bringing a smile to children’s faces this
holiday season through her Christmas
Toy Drive, Operation: Give Back.
Sorrento has partnered with the We
Love Whitestone Civic Association to
establish several drop-off locations within
the community and in Long Island
City and Brooklyn.
When Sorrento was furloughed from
her job in April amid the COVID-19
pandemic, she wanted to give back to the
community, she said.
“Once the weather got colder and time
went by, I realized there’s a lot more people
Submissions now accepted for annual fi lm festival
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Jackson Heights residents Don and
Katha Cato are accepting submissions
for the 11th edition of the Queens World
Film Festival.
Th e leading indie fi lm celebration in
the borough is consistently ranked in
the top 100 fi lm festivals worldwide by
FilmFreeway.com and is the fi rst fi lm festival
in the world that was fully realized
virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic
when it broke out last March.
From June 23 to 26 next year, the Catos
will bring the festival to Th e Museum of
the Moving Image and Kaufman Astoria
Studios, adhering to all regulations in
order to bring indie fi lms to Queens. Th e
festival will be celebrating HOPE: Healing
Opportunities Promote Equity.
“Th e very act of making a fi lm is
hopeful,” Queens World Film Festival
Executive Katha Cato said. “We are witnessing
a changing landscape on every
level in front of our weary eyes: friendships,
jobs, politics, health … nothing is as
it was. All of us could use HOPE.”
In March, just three days aft er learning
that all cultural organizations in New York
City were to close as the coronavirus shutdown
went into eff ect, the Queens World
Film Festival became the fi rst of its kind to
shift nimbly into a virtual format to screen
a record number of fi lms — 191 from 32
countries — for 11 days. Eighty-three
fi lms were by women, 23 by LGBTQIA+
artists, 11 by children and 26 by fi lmmakers
from Queens. At the end of its virtual
run, the festival had the attendance and
engagement of more that 30,000 fi lmmakers
and their audiences.
“We are refocusing the conversation
onto HOPE with fi lms that examine,
explore, defy, contradict and support
our theme,” Queens World Film
Festival Artistic Director Don Preston
Cato said. “Queens World will continue
to bring unheard voices forward with
waivers for submission fee discounts for
BIPOC, women, LGBTQIA+ and other
underrepresented fi lmmakers. We want to
hear from you.”
For information about waivers and submissions
visit queensworldfi lmfestival.org.
While Queens was the hardest hit community
in the world by the pandemic
last spring, the Queens World Film
Festival organized 19 live broadcasts, simply
called Wednesday Nights @9, a weekly
celebration of community organizations
from around the borough who were
making a diff erence during the lockdown.
More than 19,000 people from around
the world tuned-in to watch past festival
fi lms and support organizations including
CommonPoint Queens, Minkwon
Center for Community Action, COVID
Care Neighborhood Network and the
Far Rockaway Youth Alliance. Audiences
from as far away as Japan, Australia, Italy,
Spain and the Netherlands, and as close as
Kansas, California, Bellmore and Corona
joined in those broadcasts.
“Wednesday Nights @9 was our way of
saying thank you to community members
who were making sure that food
was delivered, that young people in distress
had someone to turn to, and that
our elderly neighbors were taken care of,”
Katha Cato said.
Now, with the 11th annual Queens
World Film Festival is on the horizon,
submissions are already open.
“Within the fi rst 24 hours, we received
fi lms from South Africa, Germany, Spain,
Croatia, Turkey, the Philippines, a true
testament that we are, indeed, the festival
that brings fi lms together from all round
the world, and around the corner,” Katha
Cato said.
suff ering than I am right now, especially
with COVID and everything else
happening in life,” Sorrento said. “I just
wanted to use the time that I had off to
give back to people who really need it
during this time of the year.”
Sorrento had started the toy drive on
Dec. 1. To date, she has collected an estimated
total of 2,000 toys exceeding her
goal of 500 toys. According to Sorrento,
she had created a GoFundMe campaign,
raising under $1,600 from donations by
close family and friends. Th e funds were
then used to purchase the toys.
“I never thought that it would become
this big,” Sorrento said. “I’m so grateful
and thankful for the people in the communities
who wanted to help me help
others, and bring a smile to so many children
this year. It’s really incredible with
the amount of toys I’ve gotten.”
With so many bags of toys, Sorrento,
along with friends and family, made
deliveries to several locations, including
St. Margaret Mary Church, Our Lady
of Sorrows Church, Ronald McDonald
House, Little Flowers Orphanage, Bridge
to Life Foundation, Corona Ambulatory
Corp. and Astoria Houses.
Since St. Mary’s Children’s Hospital
isn’t accepting physical donations this
year due to COVID-19, they provided
Sorrento with an Amazon registry
link that was posted on the We Love
Whitestone page, where people can buy
a toy and send it directly to the hospital.
“I want to thank everyone who donated,”
Sorrento said. “Th e turnout is really
incredible and I would like to do it again
next year.”
Alfredo Centola, president of the We
Love Whitestone Civic Association, said
they were proud to be part of the amazing
toy drive along with its merchant
members.
“Once again another young member of
our community has stepped up to give
back. Th ank you Whitestone and our
surrounding communities for making
this an incredibly successful toy drive,”
Centola said. “A huge thank you to all
the local businesses listed on the fl yer for
donating toys, time and space and serving
as drop-off locations. Th ank you,
Arianna for getting up, getting out and
getting involved.”
Donations to the toy drive will be
accepted until Sunday, Dec. 20.
New and unwrapped children’s toys for
infants to 18-year-olds can be dropped
off at the following locations:
Harpell Pharmacy – 150th Street
and 14th AvenueExxon Gas Station
– Clintonville and Service RoadBagel
Parlor – 14-37 150th St. across from
the Post Offi ceWhitepointe Cleaners –
132-07 14th Ave., Whitepointe Shopping
CenterCentro Pizza Bar and Italian
Kitchen – 47-23 Vernon Blvd., Long
Island CityFabio’s Pizzeria in Brooklyn –
635 Meeker Ave., Brooklyn
Photos courtesy of Arianna Sorrento
File photo by Dean Moses
(From l. to r.) Arianna (third from left) with her
family.
/lmfestival.org
/FilmFreeway.com
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