Miami International Film Festival’s Screening of “The Little Prince”
Hosts “Read to Learn Books for Free” Book Drive
The 33rd Miami International Film Festival screened “The Little Prince” to a sold-out audience on Sunday, March 6, at the Coral Gables Art Cinema. “The Little Prince,” directed by Mark Osborne, made its Florida debut at the festival. The film plays homage the classic French children’s book “Le Petit Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
The screening served as the perfect opportunity to host a book drive benefiting the “Read to Learn Books for Free” program, an initiative of The Children’s Trust. Children who attended the screening donated books they had outgrown and grownups donated favorite titles. The nonprofit program encourages children and parents to read together by placing bookshelves full of free books in locations throughout Miami-Dade County where they visit together often, including clinics and doctors’ offices, the Juvenile Justice Center, and Community Service Centers — 40 locations in all.
The Read to Learn Books for Free program also holds Community Reading Circles and book drives in businesses, schools, and events. The book drive was co-hosted by The Miami International Film Festival, GablesCentral.com, The Children’s Trust, and The Miami Book Fair. To learn more about a hosting book drive, donating children’s books or volunteering, visit www.FLCenterLitArts.com/ReadtoLearn/Index.html.
The Read to Learn Books for Free program will host another book drive during “The Little Prince” April release to general theaters. To win a pair of tickets to the special screening, donate a gently used or new children’s book to the Read to Learn Books for Free book bins located in Coral Gables at Books & Books, the War Memorial Youth Center and the Coral Gables Art Cinema. Snap a selfie as you drop a book in the donation bin. Tag #MiamiReads for the chance to win a pair of tickets for you or your friends to see “The Little Prince” when it opens in April.
The 33rd Miami International Film Festival runs from March 4-13, 2016, featuring 129 films. The line-up included numerous important premieres, with 12 World Premieres, 16 North American Premieres, and 13 U.S. premieres, all debuted in various venues in Miami.
Photography by ©LaRae Lobdell www.LaRaeLobdell.com.
Onelia Collazo Mendive is the founder and publisher of GablesCentral.com, a news and culture website covering Coral Gables. She has covered the City of Coral Gables in print and online publications for almost a decade. She has particular interest in the Golden Gate and MacFarlane Homestead Historic District of Coral Gables. Onelia has covered the internet industry since 1999 and has worked as a web editor for various websites. She has covered the arts and cultural scene in Miami since 2007. In addition, she was awarded a National Press Foundation Fellowship for editors and writers program on E-commerce from Vanderbilt University in 1999, and was named a Fellow for the Knight Community Info Challenge Boot Camp in 2012. Onelia co-organizers a monthly Read to Learn Reading Circle and book drive in conjunction with The Children’s Trust, The Miami Book Fair and Books & Books. The Read to Learn Books for Free donates children’s books to 40 bookshelves in Miami including DCF, juvenile hall, and doctors’ offices. She graduated from Florida International University in 1995 with dual degrees with a BA English Literature and a BS in Communications.
