Press, and a Blast From the Past

Press Release July 15, 2010

Long Island Film Festival Founding Director and President, Christopher Cooke, is pleased to announce that WHSU radio out of Fairfield, Connecticut has joined the festival as its Official Media Sponsor. "This will provide the festival with a tremendous amount of publicity for our 27th season's festival. Never before have we had such a powerful ally to help spread the word to the public about our outstanding screening schedule for 2010.”

Thomas Santorelli, the Long Island Film Festival’s new Vice President has had a long term relationship with WSHU as a freelance journalist and over the years provided the station with special news items and local All Things Considered productions. Santorelli is an alumnus of rock station WBAB in West Babylon. Between 2002 and 2005, Thomas Santorelli’s company, Santorelli Historical Media, Inc. produced a weekly one-hour program entitled Author! Author! that had as its host his old boss and veteran broadcaster Joel Martin. Author! Author! was distributed to National Public Radio affiliates and had as guests A-list authors. Santorelli was also one of the first filmmakers to have an entry in the Long Island Film Festival’s first competition.

According to WSHU’s Communications Director, Janice Portentoso, ”As a public radio station that has been serving the Long Island community for over 20 years, WSHU is thrilled to partner with such a wonderful organization and sponsor the Long Island Film Festival.”

WHSU is situated at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut and its coverage saturates all of Suffolk County and part of Nassau. Its signal includes WSHU for its classical and weekend programming at 90.1 Fairfield, CT, 90.1 Stamford, CT, 91.3 Huntington Station, NY, 91.7 Ridge, NY, 103.3 Noyack, NY with news and talk on WSUF AM and FM 89.9 Greenport, NY, 93.3 Northford, CT, 105.7 Selden, NY, 106.5 Derby, CT, and 1260AM Westport, CT. WSHU is an affiliate of National Public Radio, American Public Media, BBC, and Public Radio International.

The promotion and support that will be given to the Long Island Film Festival will fortify its status as a major cultural and entertainment event for Long Island and the metro area. The Long Island Film Festival has attracted independent filmmakers from all over the world and the community will be greatly enhanced by the media support of its powerful arts ally, WHSU.

Screenings are scheduled at the Boulton Center for the Arts in Bay Shore, NY in September and the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, NY in October.

Actor Rod Steiger, 2nd from left. Christopher Cooke on extreme right.