Southold teens launch Youth Advisory Board at NFAC
Back in June, Sophie Heidemann went to see “Moonrise Kingdom,” one of her favorite movies, at the Huntington Cinema Arts Centre. The theater didn’t just show the film, it invited one of the lead actors for a post-screening Q&A.
Sophie, a junior at Southold High School, was curious about how they pulled that off. When she found out the venue had a youth advisory board, it sparked an idea.
“That really got me thinking, ‘Hey, we’ve got the North Fork Arts Center out here. What if they had a youth advisory board, and we could get together really cool events like that?’”
Four months later, Sophie is part of the four-member NFAC Youth Advisory Board and curating weekly film screenings that introduce local teens to cinema beyond mainstream blockbusters.
The students launched Free Friday Films in October with “The Breakfast Club” at the Sapan Greenport Theatre. The next film on the slate is “Rebel Without a Cause” on Nov. 7, followed by “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” on Nov. 14.
High school students get in free to the 8:15 p.m. screenings; others pay $10. Nearly 20 students attended the Oct. 17 debut.
The goal isn’t just to show the latest “Superman” flick, but to expose kids to foreign films, black-and-white classics and different genres they might skip over or aren’t streamed on Netflix.
Sophie and her mom, Erika Wood-Heidemann, approached executive director Tony Spiridakis after seeing “Moonrise Kingdom” to chat about the screening. Out of that, NFAC’s Youth Advisory Board was born.
“I’d always wanted to have a junior board,” Mr. Spiridakis said. “I just thought this was an opportunity to give a voice to teenagers so that they could program their own films.”
Sophie brought in two friends from Southold High: Leone Bartolani, a sophomore, and freshman Nicholas Gianopulos. Nate Steinfeld, a senior who was already working at NFAC, recommended by Mr. Spiridakis to round out the four-person board.
All four share a love of cinema.
“Ever since I was really young, film has completely been a part of my life,” Sophie said. “My parents always showed me films, generally older films, and I was just hooked. Now that I have friends who also share that interest with me, it’s just a magical connection when people can all come together over the same film.”
Students who attend the screenings can join the teen film club. Sophie’s mom, who’s acting as parent liaison, takes attendees’ names, email addresses and grade levels at the door. Once enrolled, Mr. Spiridakis provides them with a full NFAC membership — which normally costs $125.
That membership includes access to Free Friday Films, discounts on future programming and free popcorn on their birthday.
Sophie and her mom hope to eventually expand ther youth board to seven to nine board members from high schools across the North Fork, not just Southold. They have contacted other schools to recruit more members.
“We just hope to grow it, we’re trying to really promote it,” Ms. Wood-Heidemann said. “Tony has just been phenomenal. Everybody at the Arts Center is so willing to help get the word out and give us the theater space and the licensing we need. Tony pays attention to them in a way that gives them agency and makes them feel like they’re really part of the conversation, and he’s just been phenomenal as their cheerleader.”
The mother and daughter, and the rest of the board, are extremely grateful for the opportunity to start the Youth Advisory Board at NFAC. There’s hope that, together, they can bring in actors for special screenings, the same way Sophie experienced at Huntington Cinema Arts Centre.
“With this Youth Advisory Board, let’s be clear: They’re part of NFAC now,” Mr. Spiridakis said. “They have a seat at the table for how things will operate at the Sapan Greenport Theatre. I tell them all the time, they have a responsibility now to really engage not just with high school students, but with theater itself.”
