The 12th annual Queens World Film Festival kicked off Wednesday, Nov. 2, with a pre-screening champagne toast at Queens Theatre in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Opening night began a week of screenings of 157 independent films at Kaufman Astoria Studios, Flushing Town Hall, The Museum of the Moving Image, Queens Theatre and The Local in Long Island City. The screenings will also be available virtually on FilmFestivalFlix.com.
“Opening night was incredibly special as QWFF welcomed local and international filmmakers to the glorious Queens Theatre, where we celebrated their accomplishments with live green carpet interviews and a pre-show toast. The opening night films from Spain, Iran, Switzerland, California, and Queens, curated into a block called Now What?!, gave the excited audience a taste of what to expect this year at the festival,” QWFF Executive Director Katha Cato said. “It was a stunning opening night, everything we could hope for from the filmmakers. We kicked major ass at Queens Theatre on opening night!”
Cato added that there are over 35 blocks of thematically programmed shorts and features.
“Prizes and awards will be given in a variety of categories, including direction, screenplay, acting, cinematography, and more,” Cato said. “Our filmmakers know that their work is appreciated and they’re receiving the world-class screening that films deserve.”
QWFF board members and staff joined more than 100 special guests for the champagne toast before honoring four of this year’s five Spirit of Queens Honorees: Taryn Sacramone, executive director of Queens Theatre and chair of the Cultural Institutions Group; Sade Lythcott, CEO of the National Black Theatre and chair of the Coalition of Theatres of Color; Lucy Sexton, executive director of New Yorkers for Culture & Arts; and Ellen Kodadek, executive and artistic director of Flushing Town Hall.
The honorees were recognized for their tireless work before, during and after the pandemic lockdown by establishing spaces for cultural institutions to gather online, and share resources, needs and support. The presentation was followed by a curated block of short films called “Remarkable Women: Six short films about women being who they are,” QWFF Artistic Director Don Preston Cato explained.
“Rave audiences have joined in the festival as QWFF dives deeper into its signature thematic programming,” he said.
Tickets for both the live and virtual festivals are available here.
Filmmaker and two-time Emmy winner Alex Lora had high praise for the Queens World Film Festival.
“With no doubt, the best Independent Film Festival in the New York Area,” he said. “Extremely open to filmmakers and audiences, nice venues, great for networking and creating synergies for new projects. In summary: all what an independent film festival should be!”
